Date: Thursday, August 28, 2014
City: St. Louis, MO
Venue: Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Opening act(s): The Dead Daises
Co-Headlining acts: Def Leppard, KISS
The Dead Daisies Setlist:
Mexico
Your Karma
Lock ‘n’ Load
Make The Best Of It
Angel In Your Eyes
Face I Love
Helter Skelter
Def Leppard Setlist:
–Won’t Get Fooled Again [Intro]
Let It Go
Animal
Foolin’
Love Bites
Let’s Get Rocked
Two Steps Behind
Bringin’ On The Heartbreak
Switch 625
Hysteria
Rocket
Armageddon It
Pour Some Sugar On Me
———————
Rock Of Ages
Photograph
KISS Setlist:
Psycho Circus
Deuce
Shout It Out Loud
War Machine
Hotter Than Hell
I Love It Loud
Lick It Up
Bass Solo / God Of Thunder
Hide Your Heart
Calling Dr. Love
Love Gun
Black Diamond
Detroit Rock City
Rock And Roll All Nite
Notes:
- Final show of the 2014 tour.
- Same setlist as previous show.
- First time seeing the exact same set twice in one tour since 2011.
- Tied for the shortest show to date with 14 songs.
- Def Leppard took the stage and played the very end of The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” before starting “Let It Go.”
- “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak” was the half acoustic version.
- Show #12 at this venue; first since August 10, 2011.
- First Def Leppard show at this venue since August 10, 2011.
- First Def Leppard show in St. Louis since August 25, 2012.
Videos:
Review:
Hard to believe it was a little over 18 years ago that I walked into Riverport Amphitheater for the very first time to see my very first concert… Def Leppard, in support of the “Slang” album. It was a life changing experience.
Now here I am, seeing Def Leppard for the 36th time. The venue is now known as the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, but it’ll always be Riverport to me.
I’ve seen more concerts at this venue than any other. And I’ve seen a ton of shows with my girlfriend of more than five years… So it was strange that this was our first trip to this venue together. Having been here so many times, I’ve had some rough experiences. No riots, or anything… But I’ve been through extremely strong thunderstorms that flooded the venue, the thickest fog I’ve ever seen, and even tornado warnings.
So it was fitting that our first trip to the venue was bogged down by storms that delayed the opening of the venue and flooded the parking lot.
Gates opened roughly 15 minutes late, so we headed in and found our seats. They were literally the first row outside of the roof, so all of the water running off the roof was pouring down on us. Not only that, but a confetti cannon belonging to KISS was directly next to my seat. I looked inside and the confetti was basically a giant, watery mush. I expected the cannon to essentially function as a giant spitwad shooter.
I wore my Ded Flatbird shirt to the show and got mixed reactions… One person shouted “LAS VEGAS!” at me and gave me a high five, but another was flat out confused when I tried to explain to him exactly who Ded Flatbird is (was?).
Perhaps I should have kept it short & to the point by saying “the best fucking band in the world, that’s who.”
Due to the delay in the venue opening, The Dead Daisies took the stage at 7:20. They were pretty good once again. I had been standing up against the pillar and felt a tap on my back. It was an older woman and she asked me if I could sit down. I asked her to clarify: “You want me to sit down… At a concert???”
Who are we here to see, Tom Jones?
If she was already asking me this during The Dead Daisies, she was in for a rude awakening when EVERYONE would be standing for Def Leppard and KISS.
The Dead Daisies played their full set. The rain had pretty much stopped, but water was still falling from the roof. Apparently this is what happens when I don’t splurge for the good seats, especially in St. Louis.
The entire evening’s schedule was running late, so part of me worried about Def Leppard’s setlist being shortened due to the 11:00 curfew.
Finally “Won’t Get Fooled Again” started and before I knew it, Def Leppard took the stage with an always impressive scream from Mr. Joe Elliott. After closing out The Who classic, they kicked into “Let It Go” and we were off.
The crowd was great from the get-go. The sound problems experienced in Chicago a couple of weeks ago were nowhere to be heard, thankfully. Joe’s scream at the end of “Let It Go” immediately made it clear that he was in fine voice for the night. Sometimes he takes a song or two to get going but he nailed that scream and held it for a long time.
“Animal” followed and kept the crowd going. Then came old stand-bys “Foolin’” and “Love Bites.”
There were no surprises in the set. There haven’t been all year long. But I wasn’t worried about it. I’ve enjoyed this tour for what it is and the band sounded fantastic. I’m sure that what this year’s tour lacks in the setlist department will be rectified next year with new material and a potential return to Las Vegas.
So the hits kept on coming. Joe kicked off “Let’s Get Rocked,” the crowd went crazy, and something happened in my mind. Some music that you don’t hear on a daily basis tends to take you back to a certain time in your life when the song was new or prevalent in your life. That doesn’t happen to me much with Def Leppard because I’ve heard them on a near-daily basis for my entire 27 years of life.
But tonight, it DID happen. There was something about “Let’s Get Rocked” that took me back to being a five year old kid when the song was brand new. A song like that has major appeal to a five year old, and suddenly I had this care free mindset where I was enjoying the song just as much as I did back then.
I never thought I would say this, but “Let’s Get Rocked” was the highlight of the night for me.
The unfortunate thing is that the high didn’t last long as “Two Steps Behind” came next. 36 shows and I’ve only been excited about that one twice: at my very first show in 1996 and at my fourth show, in late 1999. If I’m being quite honest, I don’t know why it has had such a consistent life in the setlist. Sure, it was a hit chart-wise, but is there really a lot of demand for this song? It was the bathroom break song of the night for the crowd and the change of pace was unwelcome for me after enjoying “Let’s Get Rocked” so much.
But the second half of “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak” righted the ship and we were back on course from there on out. “Switch 625” sounded amazing as always, and Rick got quite the ovation at the end.
The crowd ate up the string of hits that followed and was singing loudly.
Before I knew it, the show was over, and as far as I was concerned, so was the tour. No more shows for me this year and I’m not sure when I’ll be seeing them again. It was a great show. They sounded fantastic as always and there was no stressing about the set. Las Vegas 2013 changed things, and now I can enjoy every show so much more because of it.
To borrow from Phil (I think), if Def Leppard is “Star Wars for the ears,” then KISS is “Transformers for the eyes.” A bunch of flashy crap with no real substance. But, we can all shut our brains off from time to time and enjoy things like that, right? I had even purchased one of the 174 KISS best-of compilations since my last show and given into the fact that they have become somewhat of a guilty pleasure band for me. I’ll even give them credit for having some legitimately ‘classic’ rock songs from the 70’s. “Rock And Roll All Nite” might be the most cliché song in rock history, but there’s no denying its place in that history.
But anything and everything that came after “I Was Made For Loving You” is certainly worthy of the guilty pleasure category.
They took the stage with the itsy bitsy spider and “Pyscho Circus,” which… I previously stated was mediocre, but to be honest, it has grown on me. Well, the studio version has at least. KISS had nowhere near the sound quality of Def Leppard, which was immediately apparent. Add to that the fact that the band isn’t on the same level as Leppard talent wise and I once again had to think that I would enjoy KISS more if they weren’t following Def Leppard.
While “Psycho Circus” has grown on me, “Deuce” still hasn’t and never will.
“Shout It Out Loud” followed and I noticed the same thing I noticed in Chicago. The crowd was singing and dancing for Def Leppard, but standing and staring for KISS. Just a different type of show I guess.
I had come into this show wanting to enjoy KISS more now that I knew what I was in for and had even been listening to them, but I had the opposite experience. Paul had sounded pretty good in Chicago, but tonight, he sounded pretty rough. On top of that, he was barely even audible throughout the entire show. I don’t know if that was intended or not, but considering I’m there to hear live music more than anything else, it hurts my enjoyment of the show and no amount of pyro or moving pieces of scenery are going to distract me.
Having listened to more KISS since the last show, I did enjoy some things more, such as “War Machine” (with its 1989 computer graphics on the screens). But it also made it more apparent how poorly some songs translate live, such as “Lick It Up.” It’s an extremely simple song to begin with but it just comes off awkward live, in my opinion.
Not to mention KISS playing a snippet of The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” in the middle of it seems really, really stupid after Def Leppard played nearly the exact same snippet two hours before. Is that the only classic rock song that can be worked in? Perhaps the worst part was hearing Paul Stanley’s extremely poor attempt at the Daltry scream that didn’t even come close to what Joe Elliott did.
I won’t give Paul too much shit about having a bad voice, because the man is in his 60’s and has been screaming for 40 years. No rock singer is going to be perfect, especially at this point in their career, but that doesn’t change the fact that screeching like a pubescent 12 year old boy doesn’t suit the songs very well.
I started losing interest when the demony bass solo started (who doesn’t love a bass solo?), but hoped to get back into it when “Hide Your Heart” was played. I wasn’t familiar with this song going into the Chicago show but it has grown on me quite a bit. Having said that, it was another song that didn’t quite hold up for me live.
Leppard has spoiled me, and when you choose to follow them, you’re going to be criticized for not sounding as good as them. Simple as that.
We stuck it out through a few more songs, but never really got back into the show. It didn’t help that I’d had water dripping on me for several hours by this point. Then Paul made the faux pas of strumming “Stairway To Heaven” prior to “Black Diamond.” Has he never seen Wayne’s World?
So as “Detroit Rock City” started, my girlfriend and I called it a night and left. Which helped spare us hours trapped in the parking lot, as this venue is notorious for the chaos that ensues as thousands of people try to leave. Leaving early also spared me getting shot in the face with that 30 pound spitwad.
On paper, this wasn’t the greatest tour in the world. But Def Leppard clearly has a renewed fire in them that I can’t wait to see carry into next year with a new album and potential return to Vegas. It’s an exciting time as a fan of Def Leppard, and who knew that would be the case after 37 years?
Media Review:
KISS showed Saint Louis how to party Thursday
With the now famous phrase “You wanted the best, you got the best. The hottest band in the world…KISS!” the curtain dropped to a fiery opening as bassist Gene Simmons, and guitarists Paul Stanley and Tommy Thayer dropped down from the rafters riding a giant movable light rig that is in the shape of a spider to perform “Psycho Circus” on Thursday night at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in St. Louis.
With that the band that was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performed in front of a packed house of screaming rabid Kiss fans, also known as members of the Kiss Army. The Dead Daisies and Def Leppard opened the show.
Kiss has always been known for their over the top stage shows that keep fans interest glued to the stage with a spectacle of sight and sound.
Musically they sounded strong and tight, something that a band who is celebrating their 40th anniversary should be doing at this point.
Unlike Def Leppard, who didn’t issue even one photo pass and seemed stiff when they addressed the crowd, Kiss hammed it up for the photographers and knew how to play to the audience. It was pure showmanship at its finest.
Stanley reminisced with the crowd about playing at Forest park during the KSHE 95 Kite Fly in 1974, as well as The Checkerdome and Kiel Auditorium, playing to the crowd’s heart strings.
But the main theme was spectacle. For instance, in the middle of “Lick it Up” the giant spider light rig came down to the stage, enabling Stanley and Thayer to hop on and ride to the rafters while playing The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”.
Traditions at a Kiss show rule the roost. From Simmons’ fire breathing blood spitting bass routine to pyro spraying out of Thayer’s guitar and Eric Singer’s drum kit rising to the rafters, the fans eat it all up. Their motto for a Kiss show? “The bigger the better”. The rabid fandom that is the Kiss Army get vocally upset if the band tries to tone down anything or take away one of their signature shticks. To this end the band listens and reciprocates. Why wouldn’t they? With packed houses for every show why change a good thing?
Thursday’s show was packed with goodies for the fans. There was Simmons’ “flying” up 30 feet to sing “God of Thunder” from atop of the spider rig, and Stanley got a ride 15 feet above the crowd to a revolving satellite stage behind the soundboard in the middle of the house to perform “Love Gun”.
Say what you will about the band but a Kiss show is a spectacle in and of itself, a fun raucous party atmosphere that is like no other.
The Dead Daisies opened the show with a vibrant set from the band that features St. Louis native Richard Fortus who used to play in Guns ‘n Roses. Another GnR alumni Dizzy Reed is also a part of the band, as well as Thin Lizzy bassist Marco Mendoza along with Brian Tichey (drummer for Whitesnake, Billy Idol and Ozzy) and guitarist David Lowry and Jon Stevens on vocals. Touring in support of their self titled debut album. The band has been getting serious play on KSHE 95.
Def Leppard held the support slot with a 75 minute set that read as a greatest hits playlist. The highlight of their set was the infectious instrumental “Switch 625”.
By Sean Derrick @ Examiner.com, 2014
KISS/Def Leppard | 08.28.14
It was a particularly “metal” night, with the skies over Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre exhibiting enough thunder and lightning to give even the God of Thunder pause. This didn’t stop the 18,000 rock fans from packing the venue for the KISS and Def Leppard concert.
The Dead Daisies started off the night with a raucous set, entrenched in the classic rock–radio vibe of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bad Company, and Free. It was a homecoming of sorts for their guitarist, Guns N Roses axe man and Pale Divine legend Richard Fortus. His melodic solos cut through the mix as he ably struck every rock star pose like a boss. As usual, no one could keep their eyes off him, and by the time they played a scorching version of The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter,” the crowd could have cared less if it was the apocalypse going on, much less a thunderstorm.
Def Leppard took the stage with “Let It Go” from their multiplatinum 1981 album High ’n’ Dry, with guitarists Vivian Campbell and Phil Collen effortlessly trading off solos as “The Ricks” (Allen and Savage) kept the rhythm grooving like a well-oiled pop-rock machine. Joe Elliot, decades into the game, has a voice that maintains the classic feel of the old material, but enough kicked-around maturity to keep it fresh after singing these songs forever. The video screens were put to magnificent use, especially on “Rocket,” where they seemed to morph into a solid wall of 3D television screens, each transmitting pieces of rock history. From “Photograph” to “Love Bites,” the set was a veritable Top 40 playlist, with the crowd singing along to nearly every word. It was clear that the evening’s headliners had no issue with being shown up. And just how about those headliners?
Celebrating their 40th anniversary, as well as their recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, KISS made the type of bombastic entrance that only they could. Descending from the top of the stage on a giant metal spider to the tune of the Grammy-nominated “Psycho Circus,” KISS hit the ground running, with more pyro in one show than Verizon Amphitheatre has seen all summer. The spider itself turned out to be a lighting truss unlike anything I’d ever seen, changing shape and surrounding the band members, sometimes resembling a giant claw. The KISS Army was there to have a good time, so it hardly mattered that the set list hadn’t changed much. With classic songs like “Shout It Out Loud,” “Lick It Up,” and “Calling Dr. Love,” who needs deep cuts? The set wasn’t without surprises, however; it was a treat to hear “Hotter than Hell,” and an even bigger surprise hearing the under-appreciated gem “Hide Your Heart” from the band’s non-makeup era album, Hot in the Shade.
From Simmons breathing fire after “War Machine,” and spitting blood and flying to the top of the lighting truss on “God of Thunder,” to guitarist Tommy Thayer shooting rockets from the tip of his guitar, the band packed every trick in the book into the show. Lead vocalist and guitarist Paul Stanley got into the action flying from the main stage to a smaller stage in the middle of the amphitheatre for spirited renditions of “Love Gun” and “Black Diamond.” Stanley reminisced about visiting St. Louis over the past 40 years, even namedropping Kiel Auditorium and the Checkerdome before remarking that KISS has been pummeling St. Louis since “before a lot of you were even born.”
Looking around at the smiles and sing-alongs, it’s worth noting that that no one was missing former members of the band at all. KISS, like it or not, is an institution, and everyone was simply having too damn much fun to be pining for those who just can’t hack it any longer. With Stanley in fine voice, Simmons still stalking the stage like the lizard king of Transylvania, Thayer displaying his typically fiery fretwork, and Singer assaulting the skins with a precision and groove the band had never had previously, why stop? So, happy 40th anniversary, boys; don’t forget to stop by St. Louis on your 50th.
By Jim Ousley @ PlaybackSTL.com, 2014
TurnToDust86 