Any KISS fans? ...I realize the music scenes fragmented into ever smaller subgroups, but some of us hearken back to a time when various groups were a phenomena. And KISS was that! Amazing part - I loved their music - before the makeup. Though you wouldn't want to explain her attraction to your parents, the nastiest girl in the park always had on the hottest station, and it was a classic summer day in my youth hearing "Come on and love me" on her radio. Though you dared not ask her a question, I had to know - "Who's that!" "KISS," she replied~

And it only got better... If anyone wanted to know the anthem of our HS graduation - it lie between the double album, "KISS ALIVE!" Yup, I'm dated! But I've now got band insight others would likely have killed for back then: Konfidential & X-Treme Close Up is a KISS Double Feature Special Edition DVD.


It's a 2004 production that includes their Rock the Nation tour and one choice snippet after another of their past glory. Leading off with the boys out of makeup and cranking it up with "Creatures Of The Night," Gene Simmons seamlessly blends into his classic, "Duce" -- so closely resembling "Alive" (one) you're easily taken back 30 years - if you're lucky enough to have lived that long. Beyond the park, KISS takes me to Rocky Butte ... a one-time cruising hotspot of the Portland Metro area, this isolated volcanic mound collected the nicest cars and coolest occupants. Ever so often we'd walk the loop; black lights, murals, beer & buds; look too close and you'd likely to see everything... and from every-other cruiser - KISS Alive!

Back at the concert, "Unholy - I was created by man" nearly sums it up; during a time of religious rebellion, the boys were there; just as their "Christian rock" imitaters of today. But I've never heard any 'C-R' that could hold its own against KISS's Heaven's On Fire! Choice! Granted, I'd moved into adulthood through most of their new stuff, but to find it as righteous and musically solid as anything before is why I'm writing this. And, because there's so much to this DVD!

As impressive as it is to watch the boys tearing up the stage out of 'costume,' it's an equal treat to see some 'old stuff' like, "100,000 Years," filmed in Detroit (Rock City) '76; "Nothin' To Lose" (San Francisco '75) and "Let Me Go Rock-N-Roll live in Japan, '77. Sure, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley were there, and Paul Stanley was dying to tear out of those 'seven inch leather heals' and really put on a show... but the best was yet to come.

In the meantime, we've got continuous interviews with the current band. Again... as nasty a reputation as these guys get, or cultivate, they're no dummies. They're the best of the best musically, if also compared to the rest of us. But the nasty reputations continue to be cultivated... and unfortunately, this DVD isn't for family viewing ~ darn. I could go without the can crushing woman... or the ass flaunting strippers, but viewed through the adolescent arena rock era - it fits.

I doubt anyone's going to become a hard-core KISS fan from this DVD, but those who are gotta love it. And other than "Cheap Trick" (I'm working on em), KISS is the most obnoxiously marketed band I know. They're excellent at finding "vintage" pieces and continuously compiling 'new' "Greatest Hits." But to be honest - they've earned it. While few bands have taken such a ride, their current and candid insight's a treat. Like their original ad for a lead guitar player that found Ace, or the fact Paul's Mom was a New York "Show Girl." And though I trekked to the (now demolished) Seattle King Dome to see them (a Portland city commissioner banned them from our coliseum for their pyrotechnics), my binoculars quickly made me the most popular guy in the row. But on their recordings I never knew who was singing what..? Mistaken, I thought Paul's 'voice' was Gene... Pretty lame I guess, but goes to show I wasn't buying any Teenybopper magazines that would have set me straight ~ though my sister should have~

And who Remembers their (stupid) made-for-TV movie? Though we made sure 'we' were home to watch it, that was likely the original member's apex musically - also described in the DVD. Ace Frehley, "Lead Guitar," was my favorite; I like the serious types. And in the tradition of George Harrison, he didn't get to do as much jiving around on stage, concentrating on all that fingerwork ... whereas Paul (both) was head-whippin to get lose! Gene, a onetime school teacher who admitted liking a 'captive audience' was more than happy to gross us out. To me, a little Gene went a long way... But out of makeup and up to date - he's sound! And the new guys..? They behave as though they're "not (yet) worthy." Not as unworthy as 'Garth,' they're kicking it out - but compared to the originals - they're still fans. And apparently there was a drummer and a couple lead guitar's I totally missed, sorry boys…

Before the strip show, "Take It Off" (not quite R), we had "Domino" & "Lick It Up"... lyrics you'd cringe watching your parents read ... but they didn't screw us up! They get back to business with "I Love It Loud" and, "God Gave Rock 'N' Roll To You (too)" - 'take that' you 'JC Rockers!' ...And I've got to admit... that new stuff's likely better (ouch) than the old... which is why I'm recommending this DVD to every KISS fan. And though some of this must be on 'U-Tube,' with access to a nice TV and sound system, there's no need to watch a 4X4 inch version W/ computer speakers. And the Finally - the "Star Spangled Banner" ... and as much as some try to convince me I'm no longer patriotic - Take That! ...And Jimmy... they're damn close~

There's a s... load of 'vintage' stuff too! Actually, too much to go over ... at least for me, but "Sure Know Something" still resonates... Having done my homework, this is the only KISS DVD I have, and perhaps the only one I'll need. Sure, it may just be a 'home-alone' flick, but then nobody's there to freak when you crank it! The guys look healthy, but I often wonder when they'll start appearing on those PBS fund drives ... balding and podgy... Until then - it's back to yesteryear and beyond!

KISS: (left) Paul Stanley, (center) Gene Simmons, (back) drummer, Eric Singer, and (right) Bruce Kulick -- lead guitar.

I dunno?

How about the two Stevie Ray Vaugh and 'Double Trouble'....

....Austin City Limits DVD's?

Ever hear a song, that connects you to someone that you love, Viron?

And that person that you love, feels the same way everytime, she hears it?

'the little woman' an I, consider 'Lenny' to be that song.

How about 'The Band' and 'The Last Waltz' ?

Personally?

I used to go watch and listen to all of the greats, at either the 'Fillmore West' or at 'Winterland' back in the 60's and the early 70's.


Talk about 'cool'...I was there the night that Janis Joplin recorded 'Cheap Thrills'

Small world, ain't it?

As it turns out, so was 'the little woman'...it just took thirty something years before we'd actually met each other.

I asked her..."How in the hell did you miss spotting me in that crowd?

I was the only guy there that night, that was wearing a Boy Scout uniform"

In the winter of 1966, we hired Big Brother and the Holding Company, with Janis Joplin singing lead, for a freshman dorm party at Stanford.

Paid $400. That was a princely sum at the time for a local band with no album to its credit, but was worth every penny.

Santana, which didn't yet have an album out either, was doing a lot of free gigs. So was the Grateful Dead, even though it was already something of a fixture at the Fillmore.

I hit the Fillmore many times during the period from 1966 to 1970. Also made it to Winterland and the Longshoreman's Hall, and once caught the James Cotton Blues Band at Keystone Corner, an S.F. night club.

Quicksilver Messenger Service was a regular at the Fillmore as well, along with Johnny Winter, Steve Miller, Santana and others. I have fond memories of the '60s music scene in San Francisco.

If my recollection is correct, Steve,

The price for admission was only three bucks for Friday & Saturday night shows...and there was always three bands.

But the more frugal crowd went on Thursday nights, and only had to pay two dollars and fifty cents to get in.

I was at Led Zeppelin's first concert in the U.S....and they were actually bottom billing on that Thursday night.

1st was Brian Auger and 'The Trinity'

2nd billing was 'Toe Fat'

Foothill Community College located in Los Altos, had its own radio broadcast back then, and their disc-jockey had played 'Dazed and Confused' about a week before.

I don't recall how long it was before they'd recorded their first album.

But I did buy it when it finally got released, actually, it was the first 33 speed album record that I'd purchased....

...before that, the only recorded music that I'd ever bought had been scratched onto 45's.

....heY!...Steve!...any truth to that rumor about a Stanford student 'ripping' his hips off while riding a Clorox bottle down the Stevens Creek spillway?

....well...is there any truth to that rumor or not?

I can tell you first hand, Steve, that it's a real rocket ride down that spillway on a Clorox bottle, just don't forget to stand up and assume the Superman position before you hit the end of it!

I very much doubt it. Never heard anything of the sort. Sounds like typical urban legend stuff.

wow. so cool! How about the two Stevie Ray Vaugh and 'Double Trouble'....