KISS, Motley Crue & Thin Lizzy Review from Perth

Live review: KISS, MOTLEY CRUE at THIN LIZZY at Perth Arena, February
28 2013
By STEVE MASCORD/Hot Metal

SOME of KISS staging staff may be lined up outside the unemployment office in
Perth this morning but the first-night gaffes did absolutely nothing to detract
from a dazzling performance by the veteran glam rockers.

Bassist Gene Simmons, in full battle regalia and dangling from cables, was forced to
crawl onto his platform 15 metres above the Perth Arena stage before performing God
Of Thunder on the first night of the Monster Tour, which also included a disappointing
Motley Crue and feisty Thin Lizzy.

The microphone cut out during Simmons 35-year-old pre-amble to the song, forcing
him to say well alright twice.

When guitarist Tommy Thayer shot balls of fire from his instrument during his solo
turn, the explosions in the overhead rig were nowhere near where he was aiming. The
flashpots during the clap breakdown of I Was Made For Loving You were so out-
of-synch that singer Paul Stanley was left with a bemused expression.
Simmons stumbled over some of the lyrics from the welcome setlist inclusion of 1982s
War Machine, singing at one stage Strike down the one who leads me/Let the arrows
fly. Additionally, the mix during Thayers vocal turn on Outta This World was tinny
and Simmons bass was almost inaudible during his own turn on vox with another
newy, Wall Of Sound.

But only the afficonado would have spotted such flaws. With Eric Singer on drums
completing the current line-up, KISS tendered one of their most accomplished
performances ever on Australian soil.

Songs which many of us have carried in our heads longer than we have retained most
worldly posessions, like Calling Dr Love and Black Diamond, suddenly assumed a
new life thanks to the crunching delivery while the 99 per cent of staging which did
work was mind-bogglingly spectacular.

The $250-a-head Monster Madness zone was under-patronised, giving those in the
area the surreal opportunity to walk casually around sipping a drink as the encore
finished with Simmons and Thayer pushed out over their heads by extending cranes and
Stanley smashing his guitar on a mid-stage platform amid twirling fireworks all as
confetti rained down.

Even diehard KISS fans mock the bands mercenary ways but it was apparent as one
made ones way out of the brand new venue late on Thursday that Simmons and Stanley
managed to trap lightning in a bottle four decades ago this year.

They have never had the cork jammed more securely in that bottle than it is now as they
enter their 41st year of quasi-religious bombast in career-best form.

Irish veterans Thin Lizzy attracted some 65 per cent of the total audience for their early
set and managed to get fans even in the back row of the cavernous arena on their feet for
classic rock hits like Rosalie.

Folk music standard Whiskey In The Jar was a highlight, with former Almighty
frontman Ricky Warwick having little trouble winning over the crowd with his
energetic stage presence and rock poses in an hour-long set that climaxed, predictably
but pleasantly, with Boys Are Back In Town

That Thin Lizzy respect their audience enough to change their name before releasing
new material is an enormous testament to the integrity of long-standing members Scott
Gorham, Brian Downey and Darren Wharton. They come across as sincere enough not
to have gone to the trouble.

Members of Motley Crue walked through the audience to the stage before opener
Saints Of Los Angeles and their set was half over before it became anything better
than terrible.

The mix was so muddy that a brontosaurus could have been buried in it. Had they
bothered to soundcheck? It was if drummer Tommy Lees DJ set at a local nightclub
had started early.

The distortion and heavy bass was almost unbearable, singer Vince Neils delivery
nonchalant and there was a palpable lack of emotion until drummer Lees ride on his
drum rollercoaster.

It is just as well no glass was allowed inside Perth arena, as much of it would have
shattered with some of the bum notes hit by Neil during Dont Go Away Mad (Just Go
Away). The high-fives and handshakes that proceeded Home Sweet Home appeared
wan and routine.

Even when the band returned for Live Wire, the Crue seemed to be going through the
motions in the most isolated city in the world outside of Siberia. But with Primal
Scream, the mix improved and the musicians minds seemed to be finally on the job.

A semblance of groove and momentum finally imbued their set in the run through Dr
Feelgood, Girls, Girls, Girls and Kickstart My Heart, the performanc rescued from
being a complete shambles. But for a coheadliner, Motley Crue sounded and looked
like an apathetic opener.

Guitarist Mick Mars concerns. aired last year, that Motley Crue are not making the
right decisions for their legacy appear well-founded. This often seemed like tiredly-
delivered nostalgia from a titan of the Sunset Strip era.

This reviewer has been watching both bands live for 23 years. This was KISS best
performance in that time and Motley Crues worst.