I never considered myself a KISS fan; in fact I am not fond of the current money industry they have got into despite the fact that they have released a pretty good album. On the other hand I would be a fool not to acknowledge the band's impressive and to the death dedicated fans who are literally following KISS all around the world. So, that cold and windy night of September (it was 15 degrees) METAL TEMPLE drove down to the always comfortable First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre to see what KISS concert would 'taste' in the U.S.

As before finding a parking spot was a walk in the park and I have to give credit to the promoters for the excellent organization in getting everyone in and out without ridiculous delays (the Greek readers know what I am talking about). Nevertheless, while still on the parking lot I realized that the first supporting band was already on stage. This should have been the winning band of the Guitar Center competition giving to a local band to open for KISS. Please excuse my ignorance since I did not find out the band's name and on top of that I did not have the chance to watch it on stage.

The first band I watched was THE ENVY. This is a fresh band with a debut album –with an autumn release– that had the fortune to open for KISS during the entire "Hottest Show On Earth' tour. Their musical id was at least indifferent for my old-school ears presenting modern Rock easy-to-listen songs that after a while (after one song to be precise) sounded boring. But, part of the crowd seemed to have a good time and in the end they applauded for the band's effort to warm us up.

Next on the billing, was another Rock band called THE ACADEMY IS… that has been around since 2003. Their music was more up-tempo and judging by the audience reaction they had quite an impact. William Beckett, the band's frontman, looked totally pumped on stage and his almost THE CLASH sounding vocals drew my attention a couple of times before decided to walk around the venue and browse the KISS fans.

The atmosphere outside the concert area was totally into KISS. There were kids with their parents having their faces painted like the favorite artist's makeup. Seriously now, there were entire families looking just like a KISS copycat! It was that delightful that I started taking pictures and these seemed to enjoy it. I don't want to brag about but if you are a die-hard KISS fan you have to watch the band here in the US and breathe this party-like atmosphere that gives in the concert another flavor.

I had watched KISS as the headliners of this year's 'Graspop Metal Meeting' and I was amazed by their attitude, their performance and their show so I was not sure what to expect here. Nevertheless, I started worrying a little when the lights when out the same with 'GMM' video was projected in the big screens. 'Could they present the same show like that in Belgium?", I thought despite the loud response from the US fans. "Modern Day Delilah" was the concert opener and KISS did show up in the same way atop of a moving platform from the back of the drum kit. The loud was perfect (despite the wind), the lights were and the pyro effects were ear blowing. After this track Paul greeted the ecstatic crowd by remembering the concert at the Aragon Ball Room just before introducing "Cold Gin" as the following song. Paul was in a great mood 'playing' with the crowd with his moves while Gene was the classic Gene… "We have to call the firehouse" Paul said and the entire stage looked like it was on fire. Of course, there were fires and smoke and somewhere near the end Gene grabbed a fiery torch and spitted flames for our delight.

"Say Yeah" was the second stop at the latest album and I have to say that despite the sing along part it wasn't welcomed with the same enthusiasm like the rest of the songs. But, this can be explained by the fact the 10000+ fans had a 35+ average age. Nevertheless, the heat was high again when Paul said "I know the weather has been changing and some might have Rock 'n' Roll pneumonia, so it is time to call Dr Love". And KISS hit us with "Dr Love" with the very good vocals of Gene Simons. It was great singing and dancing with the rest of the audience enjoying to the maximum the KISS experience that by then have met my expectations raised by the 'GMM' show.

What I also liked is that all the band members had their time under the spotlight and after "Shock Me" sung by Tommy Thayer there was a nice guitar solo accompanied by the drums ending in some additional explosions. It looked really cool and people seemed to enjoyed it.

The band returned with another new track "I Am Animal" after which the show became even better; first of all the songs performed from that point were all the must-listen-live list. "100,000 Years", "I Love It Loud", "Love Gun", "Black Diamond" and "Detroit Rock City" are such killer live tracks. And if you add Gene's blood spilling and "demon flight" above the stage, the explosive intro of "Love Gun", Paul's clean guitar intro in "Black Diamond" and Paul's asking "you wanna go with us to Detroit?" just before "Black Diamond" you can understand my saying.

The latter song marked the end of the regular setlist and of course everyone knew that there was more… Paul returned and simply said "Let the party continue". But this happened with a short of surprise since the next track was not included in the 'GMM' setlist. Erick Singer took over the vocal duties and gave an excellent performance in "Beth" along with the audience that was singing along. Next, Paul took over the mic and explained that KISS every night donated one dollar per ticket to the Wounded Warrior Care Project.This is a project for the all US soldier who are sent by the government to find in wars they shouldn't. I do not want to mix politics and music so, I will just say that KISS did a nice thing earning money for people who are left alone by their own government. So, after the "USA, USA" cheers Paul said "We are going to play the longest encore you have ever heard!" And so they did; "Lick It Up", "Shout It Out Loud", "I Was Made For Lovin' You", "God Gave Rock 'n' Roll To You" and "Rock And Roll All Nite". Paul 'flew' over the audience singing "I Was Made For Lovin' You" and the pyro / explosive show continued in full force leading the concert into a might conclusion with "Rock And Roll All Nite" during which Paul broke his guitar into pieces.

There is absolutely no doubt that KISS gave an excellent performance that night at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre. And also there is no doubt that in my mind they manage to top off their show at 'GMM' that I thought was superb. In the end, I cannot but to agree that this is the hottest show on earth.

KISS setlist:

1. "Modern Day Delilah"
2. "Cold Gin"
3. "Let Me Go, Rock 'N' Roll"
4. "Firehouse"
5. "Say Yeah"
6. "Deuce"
7. "Crazy Crazy Nights"
8. "Calling Dr. Love"
9. "Shock Me"
10. "I'm An Animal"
11. "100,000 Years"
12. "I Love It Loud"
13. "Love Gun"
14. "Black Diamond"
15. "Detroit Rock City"
16. "Beth"
17. "Lick It Up"
18. "Shout It Out Loud"
19. "I Was Made For Lovin' You"
20. "God Gave Rock 'n' Roll To You"
21. "Rock And Roll All Nite"

(distant photos from the 2,000 man)