In one of the most unexpected tours to come along in a while, the semi-reformed Public Image Limited will be playing the Midland theatre on April 26.

The end of April is getting filled with a bunch of crazy good concerts.  Unfortunately that’s also when my wife is due for our new son.

So to summarize, I will be missing the following shows:

- Jeff Beck, who is the last on my list of living guitarists that I really really really want to see.

- Mastodon playing at Liberty Hall.  Not a huge deal since I saw them with Dethklok, but it kills me that they’re playing just a few minutes away from my house.

- Steve Martin playing a bluegrass concert.  The guy is an amazing banjo player and I would really like to see this.

- Public Image Limited, who canceled their Las Cruces show that I had tickets to back around 1990 and I’m still bitter about it.

Maybe Paul McCartney can go ahead and schedule an appearance in Kansas City at that time as well.

The last time I saw Kiss live was on their 1996 reunion tour and I was hugely disappointed. Despite being fairly early in the tour the performance was completely lifeless (with the exception of Ace Frehley’s two songs) and it seemed like a by-the-numbers performance. After that I wasn’t really interested in seeing them again.

However, with the release of the excellent Sonic Boom I thought I would give them another chance. I was hoping that the addition of Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer would revitalize the band. Based on their performance at the Sprint Center, that’s exactly the case. Their performance reminded me of their better shows I’ve seen, with an energy I haven’t seen since they put their makeup back on.

The night started off well between finding two dollar parking across the street from the Midland Theater and then buying tickets with a $75 face value for $40 from a scalper.  This is the first time I’ve gotten cheap tickets from a scalper right before a concert.  I’m thinking I might try it again for AC/DC in April.

The set list was about what they’ve been sticking to for the past few years (standards like “Strutter” and “Deuce”) but with a couple of surprises thrown in (most notably “Parasite”, one of my favorite Kiss songs). Unfortunately a couple of my favorites, “God of Thunder” and “Firehouse”, were given the boot but they didn’t play any song that I absolutely despise.

The stage set up was impressive. In addition to the large video screens there were several smaller video screens across the stage with a different set of images for each song. The other usual things you expect at a Kiss concert were there too - a lot of pyro and Gene Simmons’ standards like spitting blood and blowing fire.

I’ve read a lot of complaints about Paul Stanley’s voice and while it’s true that his voice isn’t as strong due to his age, I don’t think it impacted the show too much. The overall quality was good and more than made up for any vocal shortcomings. That being said, I purchased a CD of the show and listening to it the weak vocals are more evident on repeat listenings.

Setlist:
Deuce
Strutter
Let Me Go, Rock ‘N’ Roll
Hotter Than Hell
Shock Me
Calling Dr. Love
Modern Day Delilah
Cold Gin
Parasite
Say Yeah
100,000 Years
I Love It Loud
Black Diamond
Rock and Roll All Nite
———————
Shout It Out Loud
Lick It Up
Love Gun
Detroit Rock City.

As I texted my wife, the crowd was mainly my fellow middle age burnouts, a lot of whom brought their kids.  Normally I cringe when I see kids at concerts (like Ratt…really, you have to bring your kids to Ratt?) but for some reason this seemed like a good one for them.  Paul Stanley’s stage rap hasn’t changed much since I was young, but it’s definitely toned down from their non-makeup days.

I absolutely love the idea of being able to buy a recording of a show.  They were available for the Metallica concert last year and the set from Kiss is pretty nice.  It was pretty reasonable at $20 because I figured that this is one of those things they would try to gouge you on.

Lawrence’s own The Dead Girls opened up the show. Despite being an odd match for the Kiss crowd they put on a great performance. I’m completely ignorant on the local music scene but definitely plan on checking them out in the future.

First off, Alice in Chains announced their latest set of tour dates and they’re playing in Kansas City on 02/21/10 at the Midland Theater.  They came through a couple of years ago and even though I passed on it then I think I’m going to go this time.  The new singer is good and the new album is decent enough that it should be a good show.

Bon Jovi’s also coming on March 15.  Somewhere around New Jersey I lost interest in them as they became more of a generic rock band with a bunch of blah songs.  I’ve seen them twice before during their 80s heydey but at this point they interest me so little that I wouldn’t go even if it was free.

The reason I bring up this show I that I saw a link to the ticket packages.  There’s six of them, not including the travel package:

Diamond - $1725.00

Emerald - $989.00

Platinum - $575.00

Gold - $365.00

Silver - $142.50

The packages give you a seat whose location is appropriate to the amount of money you spend.  For me the kicker is that this is the first time that I’ve seen these expensive packages where there’s no mention of meeting the band.  For the most expensive package you get a front row seat and a fucking chair you get to take home and other than a bunch of crap that’s it.  You’re paying Bon Jovi $1700 for a front row seat.  The $142 package gets you a “second price” reserved ticket, whatever that means, and it doesn’t sound good.

I think what gets me is that this is Bon Jovi.  Bon Jovi.  They sang “Living on a Prayer” and “Wanted Dead or Alive”.  They’re not the Beatles or the Stones.  They’re a hard rock version of Genesis for Pete’s sake.  I just don’t get it, but good for them that they’re able to get that kind of money for their shows.

I learned something very valuable after attending my first Motorhead concert.

I don’t like Motorhead.

I already suspected as much.  A few years back I bought a used copy of Overkill - one of the albums considered a classic by their fans - and it didn’t do anything for me.  It’s one of those things that just doesn’t click.  As a metal fan there’s no reason I shouldn’t like them, but it doesn’t work for me.

Anyway, the main reason I went to the concert was to see the other two acts on the lineup - Reverend Horton Heat and Nashville Pussy.  I figured the addition of Motorhead was a bonus.  I thought maybe they were like a lot of bands where you have to see them live to appreciate them.  But I don’t.

The show was advertised to start at 8:00.  I showed up around 7:45, right as Nashville Pussy took the stage.  That’s right, the show started early.  Maybe it was advertised for 7:30 somewhere else, but starting a show early really sucks. 

I’ve seen Nashville Pussy a few times before and while they usually put on a good show, their performance was letdown.  First off, the vocals were buried way into the mix, a problem that continued into Reverend Horton Heat’s set.  The other thing is that the band seemed off and the overall performance wasn’t as good as usual.  Maybe it had something to do with the limited amount of time they had for their set.

Frontman Blaine  Cartwright can always be counted on to say something great during their shows and that night was no exception.  One of the DJs from local station KQRC introduced the band, and about midway through their set Cartwright asked the crowd if the radio station played any of their music.  After the crowd screamed that they didn’t, he asked if they played any Motorhead and got a similar answer.  The look on his face after that was priceless.

Despite the sound problems, Horton Heat put on a great set, mixing old and new songs.  The only other down side was the set length, but it wasn’t really surprising for an opening act.  The new songs held up next to the classic material and the crowd really got into it.

I stayed for most of Motorhead’s set but left before the first encore.  Their sound was the best of the night and the band was tight.  The crowd was completely into them and the area in front of the stage was absolutely crazy.

Regardless of my personal opinion of them, I completely understand why people like them.  Kind of like my feelings toward Dave Matthews Band or Phish - I don’t like them but I understand why people do.  Now Nickleback is a different story….

Hard Rock Haven has a great review of Saturday’s Steel Panther show in Kansas City. The show quickly sold out and I thought about getting some tickets off Craigslist but in the end I wasn’t up for driving an hour each way to go see it.