What's love got to do with it?
Tina Turner w/ special guest Lionel
hie, Thursday, Palace of Auburn Hills.
P ears old and her legs are still ht.
michigandaily.com /Arts
3mmm..:
CR
Tu
MAY 30,
I
Kiss packs it in, just in time
By Curtis Zimmermann
Wnitr they did when they opened for Bon Jovi Motown classic, "Cat Scratch Fever." It
in '89 (yes, I was there). Without their was definitely a spirited performance
The Kiss Army has changed a lot legendary pretty-boy front man from Detroit's, well maybe not, favorite
since Kiss first established themselves as Sebastian Bach, it was like hearing a son.
rock gods in the decent cover band. Shortly after Nugent's madness ended,
early '70s. Back By the time Ted Nugent came on stage Kiss descended onto the stage playing
then, Kiss fans the arena had begun to fill up. The Motor their ode to the Rust Belt capitol "Detroit
were a ragtag City's right wing, Republican, gun rights Rock City." For a brief moment it was
Kiss group of kids who lobbyist, anti drugs and alcohol, hunting 1977 all over again. The stage was
Palace of worshipped the video star, guitar guru entered the arena exploding and the crowd was going
Auburn Hills band (maybe you on a massive buffalo (no, he did not insane, raising their fists to the sky
saw the movie shoot it). While some were fooled into screaming the words "gotta lose your
May 24, 2000 "Detroit Rock thinking this was a rock con- mind in Detroit, Rock City."
City"), but cert, Nugent's show became After this intense introduction it
were scorned more of a political rally became painstakingly clear that guitarist
by outsiders. v During "Kiss My Ass" Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss
Just like any the Nug' preached his were a step behind Paul Stanley and
rock clichi, the philosophy Gene Simmons. Through their makeup
fans have aged. which con- the two appeared rather stoic and
Wednesday night sisted of uplift- brought down the performance. Even
when the group ing sentiments like "Fuck when Ace sang his trademark "Shock
performed the first of two farewell con- that whore, Janet Reno," Me" there was barely any sign of life in
erts at the Palace of Auburn Hills, peo- "Fuck Bill Clinton," and him.
p howed up with their kids and the "If you can't speak Beyond this, Kiss didn't trying any-
n Kiss Army war chariot, the SUV English, get the fuck thing new for their final send off The
Before Kiss hit the stage Skid out of the country." show consisted of the same old theatrics
Row performed to a half empty " An aged Ace Politics aside he that they've been performing for years.
ouse. They played their classics Frehley helped also performed Stunts like Gene Simmons' bloody
'18 and Life," "I Remember . Kiss say good- rousing renditions tongued version of "God of Thunder,"
You, and "Youth Gone Wild" bye - maybe. of "Dog Eat Ace's fire shooting guitar, Peter's lame
'n practically the same order NORMAN NG/Daily Dog," and the drum solo, and Paul Stanley smashing
MMW goes live, creates a gem
#he creation of an MMW composi- of three measly instruments, even when journey down the yellow brick road. The
tion must be similar to the creation of the captained by these three madmen is sur- songs are wooly mammoths, large and
universe. Both begin in chaos and grad- prising, almost alarming. While some lumbering, exemplified by the album's
ually, carefully, unflinchingly find an melodies are as lush as a Matisse canvas, core, the stimulating "Rise Up."
order in their senselessness. others are as minimal as a stale Rothko, Beginning with a simple piano loop,
MMW stands for Medeski, Martin and perhaps more so. evolving into an intense Art Blakgy-ish
Wood, the last names of three virtuosos "Invocation," the album's first song, is romp, then de-evolving back into a bass
(piano, drums and an enigmatic invitation, a satin envelope solo, evolving back into song, de-evolv-
bass, respectively) closed with the seal of an unrecognizable ing into a drum solo, the intensity ends
Grade: A- who learned to hieroglyphic found on your pillow upon with the sinister roll of a lonely snare
# Marin ride their instru- waking from a dreamless sleep. It is a fil- drum. The song progresses like the yawn
I r n ments like horses ter, bravely experimental, enticing only of a three-toed sloth, a torpid exercise of
& Wood rather than simply those who are ready for what lies beyond, audile titillation.
Tonic play them. expatriating those who will complain of a The album concludes with a cover of
Blue Note Following a string lack of coherence, a lack of words, and a Hendrix's "Hey Joe." The song is so sub-
Reviewed by of fairly funky lack of brevity (most songs run between dued that it could be used to coax a kitten
Dady Arts Wrter albums that have 7-12 minutes). This song is best when lis- down a redwood. All the song's original
Josh Gross dabbled in musical tened to paradoxically (as are many of intensity has been bound and gagged,
eeires from hin- MMW's sones). with each instrument preserved but not lost. Medeski uses each
top to experimental, their new release, being heard both separately, as if soloing, piano note as a separate chain and lock,
'Tonic," is all live, all acoustic, and much and together, confused in a mad jam- ensuring the safety of the song's soul like
more indicative of their improvisational boree. a stern yet fair prison warden. "Hey Joe,
rt experience. The following seven songs groove, like each of "Tonic's" songs, is a triumph
hough the album is named for the bump, and wind along like a pogo stick in the face of musical impossibility.
lub at which the music was recorded, the
oniker could also be postulated to be an
llegory for the music itself, the collec-
ive hangover resulting from a wild cele- Do i 't M a I C
ration of drunken alchemists. A base of f ou think ou re pregnant...
ool, clean jazz, mixed with a vial full of
coustic flexibility, a pinch of blues, com- X Z us-we I* tel.w (a
ining into a contradictory medication o°
la ul seriousness, delightfully intoxi- PROBLEM PREGNANCY HELP
and appealing to the sad clown in 97 5- 4357
11 of us. A terrific antidote to the drain of
op, earplugs to blot out the distant death Any time, any day, 24 hours.
3rums of commercialism.
The range ofrnoise that can come out : , Fl
[- Serving Stc it IsI W71Y
Peter Criss (on the Jumbotron) and Paul Stanley rocked and roiled the Palace all night
his guitar which snapped rather easily on
cue, were all executed in such a scripted
manner the whole event felt like a circus
side show.
There were however a few positive
elements in the performance, that like
the intro, resembled a classic Kiss con-
cert. At one point Paul Stanley was lifted
over the crowd to a small stage in the
center of the arena from which he sang
"Love Gun" while women showered him
with lingerie. In addition to this, their
finale "Rock N' Roll All Night" was
played with a constant stream of confetti
and explosions that helped send them out
with a rather nice bang. But these spec-
tacles, like all the rest, have been done.
Perhaps it is fitting that Kiss is calling
it quits.
In their 27 year career they went from
a band that was accused of collaboraing
with the devil to brain wash America's
youth (Knights in the Service of Satan
a.k.a. Kiss), to wholesome family enter-
tainment.
When you consider that the Rolling
Stones did their first farewell tour in '69
and The Who did theirs in '81, it makes
it rather difficult to believe that this will
the last Kiss tour. Maybe next time
they'll bring back Bruce Kulick and Eric
Singer. Now that would be "Unholy."
Courtesy BueNote
Medeski Martin and Wood (left to right) continue their sonic exploration in "Tonic"
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