MY VERY FIRST KISS CONCERT

KISS- August 10th, Indianapolis, IN. 1979

I can’t actually remember where/when I first heard them, but I do remember the two brothers we hung out with who gave my first KISS record. The NUGENT!!! Brad and Brian. We always wondered and asked about the TED connection... They said it was true.

Anyway, one day, they said I could have this album called Rock and Roll Over. I was immediately drawn to the cover. We lived in the same apartment complex and I ran home and never took that album off. In fact, it was like a drug. I had to have more. Luckily, KISS was everywhere. Magazines, Records, Toys etc. Baseball cards were the big thing at the time and I would steal packs of these. Easy to steal and satisfied my craving for these new monsters that filled my imagination. Also fueled my desire to collect anything and everything KISS. My walls were covered in posters and pages from Circus, Sixteen and Hit Parader. The inside of my closets were top to bottom covered with stuff as well.

The Kabuki make up of my new idols was transfixing. I would notice if a lazy photo editor had published picture of my heroes with their guitar backwards or even lettering on the cases. I would pour over each detail of these pictures until I had exhausted all possibilities as to what was going in the photos. Like where WERE they?!?! Had they beaten up Shawn Cassidy for real? Was IT. goats blood? Did Peter stab someone with a drumstick?

This was pre internet and it was awesome!!But the MUSIC?!?!

 It was the real hook. It had me. I had to have it all. We lived near a Woolworth’s and man did we turn that place inside out. We would spend hours there just running all over. I remember people lined up out the door to play Atari -Space Invaders- the day it came out. I took my turn and then got back in line to play it again.Anyway, somehow my brother and I came up with a brilliant scam to get records. In them days, when you would buy a record, they would fold the receipt and staple it to the outside of the bag. SO... We went and bought just one album, and then we just used a “dummy” bag to procure our new drug, a couple of albums at a time. My mom got to asking about my new phono collection and I just told her that a friend “gave them to me”. Well this led to endless hours playing these records.

They never would play KISS on the radio back then, and I would just have an ALL KISS - ALL DAY sorta thing and play these albums back to back. I still own these very same KISS records and there is nary a scratch on them. I covet them!

I would even call radio stations and request KISS. They would straight up laugh and tell me that they would NEVER play that crap on the air. I must’ve been just one of many Flaming Youth trying to set the world on fire.

But when KISS came to town?!?! Man, was Q95 happy to have them down to promote the show. It must have been weird for KISS. Their music wouldn’t /couldn’t be played on radio, yet they still needed radio jocks to promote the show?!?!

Which leads to August 10, 1979.

Market Square Arena (Built in 1974, brought down in 2001) Capacity 16,000KISSOpening act: Michael Stanley Group.

It was the last Peter Criss tour with them. I don’t remember the build up to the show much. I’m sure we had to go to J.C. Pennys or something to get the tickets. It used to be at Customer Service where you would put payments on layaway stuff. The day of the show however we were off the wall in anticipation.

I wondered where they would be sleeping? When they got here to Indy (Apparently Paul was stopped by a frisky female officer while on i-465. He had a love gun on him).The whole day we were on my Mom, “We gotta go!!! Now!!!” See, this was “Festival Seating” and that was first come- first served. Hell, I would have waited all week if I knew it meant Iwould be sitting up on the front.This was just a glimpse of my dedication and love for Rock and Roll.

But my Mom, she just kept saying “The show don’t start til’ 8:00!” Man, it was the longest day of my life. The show?!?!? I can remember the smoking guitar. Beth... N.Y. Groove and I was made for loving you baby. And sitting so far away, you couldn’t even see the make up they had on.I recall the blood, the smashing of Paul’s guitar.... I still have the program.

But the show, the crowd, the smells. Fuck yes!!!My Mom RULES.Setting a 9 year and 6 year old kid in the middle of this, was baptism by fire.

Back to MOM.....

She knew I was stealing those records. She saw my devotion to this band a saw how it made me feel.... GREAT!!!So, it was slightly weird when I was asked to take down all the posters etc. She said the apartments we lived in wanted to paint each unit and we had to prep. This meant removing everything from the walls.

So, I neatly rolled all the posters and put them in grocery bags. And waited.... And waited...It NEVER crossed my mind why my Mom wasn’t “prepping” and taking stuff off the walls of the apt.

No paint crew EVER arrived. It was front and center on my mind, but slowly slipped from it and so did my posters from my life. I turned around one day to put them back up and couldn’t find them. Our apartment was small and I knew every inch of it. I couldn’t find them anywhere.When I asked my Mom about them, she would just shrug and say “If it was on the floor, I probably threw it away!”

I’ll never forget those words. My temple to the Gods of Thunder was gone. Just like that!!!

This was a life lesson I was being taught by a very caring and loving mom. I know she had no intentions of creating a collecting monster that she did. Years later as I look back on all the boxes of fliers and posters, it all makes sense. Actually, I learned this in therapy years later.

If not for KISS I would never have picked up a broom (works best for Gene/Bass) or a tennis racquet(best for Ace/guitar).But more important, it made me wanna be cool like the cat man. The best voice KISS had. The one with the big hit that made em’ mainstream. The DRUMMER!!! I would play along to the records, air drumming, all the time, The one to set the bar to was Alive. I would grind that one out on Friday nights with my pillows and headphones.

Eventually, my musical taste changed and I kinda moved on from KISS. I would see them a few more times and then with no make up. The WTF moment for all fans. It was uncomfortable to watch them roll with the changes and get more frilly.... UGHH!!!

The next band I got into hardcore, was The Ramones.

 Seems to be about right. 4 NY guys, straight up rock, a uniform image, intensity, passion!!!

HEY HO LET’S GO!!!!