KISS & Ted Nugent

You may be fooled into believing in the great spirit of rock ‘n’ roll, but as this recent show proved, the music industry is imbued by as much politics as exist inside the Washington DC beltway. And politics and Marysville — what an awful combination. I like KISS as rock deities, but it just amazes me that a large number of people still exist in some sort of early ‘80s time warp and this is their everyday reality. Anyway, my girlfriend and I couldn’t help but laugh at the Mulletites in their faded and torn denim and leather fringe, particularly those parading in concert tees reading "One nation under Ted."

So I’ll get to my point and say when the Nuge was in the spotlight, the ignorance of the crowd was as well. In honor of his personal president, Charlton Heston (president of the NRA), the great white hunter dedicated his tune, "Kiss My Ass" to "pieces of shit" such as Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstien, Willie Brown, and various other democrats and the "pieces of shit" who drink and drive, a comment which left the majority of the crowd scratching their heads in silence until the Nuge returned to a topic this crowd could understand, intolerance: "If you can’t speak English, get the fuck out." Exercising the superb poignancy he is known for, the Motor City Madman then went on to exclaim that his standard "Cat Scratch Fever" (which is filled with lines such as "I make the pussy burn with the stroke of my hand") is such a good song that "Even faggots will be eating pussy tonight." This I believe is how the Nuge got the name Terrible Ted, but he did write "Stranglehold," so hey...

Anyway I was glad when my thoughts of the incredibly asinine concert-goers and the hour I wasted sitting the heat were shattered by the opening power chords of KISS’ "Detroit Rock City." I looked up to see Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, Peter Kris and Paul Stanley descending from the rafters in full gear and makeup as the stage exploded with lights and pyrotechnics. My guess is the trademark KISS light display originated with a very young Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley playing LiteBrite in their mother’s makeup. As the band rocked through classics like "Shout It Out Loud," "Do You Love Me," "Heaven’s On Fire," "Lick It Up" and "Calling Dr. Love," I began to wonder why a band as big as KISS, who has been around for close to 30 years, sold millions of albums, and countless articles from clothing to lunch pails, rarely receives any radio air time.

Ace Freely demonstrated his string wizardry, Gene Simmons showed just how strange he can be, Peter Kris came out from behind the drums to sing "Beth," and Paul Stanley rappelled over the crowd to strut his not-so-old stuff. The stage was filled with explosions and fire and computer animated video clips with KISS fighting aliens and flying spaceships and stuff. And props must be given where they are deserved. The video crew was so good it was almost like watching a live music video, and of course there were a few ladies who made the most of the cameras’ attention. But these guys were good. The whole show was like a choreographed dance routine and the crowd loved it, yet Thunder 100.7 Classic Rock spins more Bon Jovi and Brian Adams than KISS. I know KISS’ music is certainly not the greatest music ever written but it’s no more mindless than anything on the rotation at KFM 93.9. Yes my little ones, that is politics and that is why you must keep shouting: "I want to rock n’ roll all night and party everyday!"

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