You wanted the best?! Well Metallica was unavailable, Guns N’ Roses seems to be hiding out in an undisclosed bunker, and FloRida is being treated for “shawdy”-related diseases. But hey, Kiss is here… so let’s party!

The self-proclaimed “greatest rock band on the planet” (at least I can safely assume they’ve made that proclamation) rocked Sactown as a part of an annual concert fundraiser for local children-related charities (last year featured Sammy Hagar and Heart). Now I’ve seen many rock concerts in my day and consider myself to be something of an expert… However I have never had the chance to check out Kiss. This is partially becasue I’ve never considered myself a Kiss fan… They’ve got a small handfull of classics, but nothing that ever really caught my fancy. And to be honest… didn’t they have a “farewell tour” a few years back?

Guess it didn’t take, because they’re back! And I always kinda wanted to check them out, just because I hear they put on quite the spectacle of a show. So, on short notice, I grabbed my lil’ automatic camera and headed down to Raley Field to shoot up a photo gallery for the web site.

So not really knowing much about the recent history of the band, I asked around for some info. I guess the drummer and lead guitarest have been replaced from the original line up, and have held the positions for years now. Guess that’s the benefit of wearing costumes on stage… you can switch out members without anyone really noticing.

But as we waited backstage before the show, I couldn’t help but notice that the newer guys were much more interested in meeting the fans and chatting with folks than the original members. Drummer Eric Singer was out back at least 30 minutes before anyone else, shaking hands and asking assistants to find some sort of fun stuff for the kids that were hanging around. Gotta give props for that.

Eventually the whole band came out for a brief one-on-one with the local media crews, and I gotta say… Gene Simmons is kind of a dick. I don’t know why this came as a shock to me, but I just kinda figured a guy that’s been dressing in a wacky costume for almost 40 years would be cool. Not so much. He came in, the publicist introduced me, and I offered to shake his hand… to which he responded with a weak handshake as he passed by, without even looking at me. The other guys came in and were a little more friendly, but it was clear that Gene didn’t want to be there. Several times during the interview, he began wandering away, as if he was done and ready for us to leave.

But aside from that, the other guys were really cool, especially co-founder Paul Stanley. It was clear that this guy was the driving force behind the band, armed with an abundance of sound-bites about the event, Sacramento, and crazy fans. The other boys chimed in as well, giving us enough to cobble together a well-recieved nat-pack. Really the whole experience can be summed up in a single picture…

Notice someone missing from the line-up? Gene didn’t even pause as I began to request a quick photo with local celebrity Alfonzo Beta… he just walked away making clear that he was so much better than anyone else in the room. What… he’s such a big deal because he has a reality TV show? It’s nothing but an Ozzy knock-off anyway, and that guy is no Ozzy. But I will repeat, the other guys were very cool to meet, especially Paul Stanley. I could understand why the newer guys would be a little more appreciative of the fans, but Paul was still willing to go the extra mile after all those years, and that was very much appreciated.

So, like most concerts, they only allow you to shoot the first three songs before kicking ua out of the front row. But, unlike others, these fine folks offered us a pair of tickets to hang out and enjoy the rest of the show. Since I wasn’t facing any deadlines, I grabbed myself a seat and checked out what these guys had to offer.

I didn’t recognize many songs, but they put on a finely tuned preformance. Flashy lights, explosions, and crowd interactions that really got the “Kiss Army” going. Of all the bands out there, I don’t know why these guys spawn such a strong following, but the fans were out in force.

I hung around for maybe 45 minutes, and it was a pretty entertaining show. If I wasn’t tired and at the show alone, I would have stuck around for the full set(becuase I’m sure they were saving that “Rock n’ Roll All Night” song for the finale), but gosh… it was getting late and I was just so tired… but still, they proved to me why they’ve been able to survive all these years. They’re quite the spectacle, and while I’m not about to buy any of their CDs, I will give them a thumbs up for effort.