KISS Charlottesville VA End of the Road Tour Review - John Paul Jones Arena
By: Tony Christ (Twitter)
You might also enjoy our review of KISS End of the Road Tour in Birmingham, AL
When I saw KISS was coming to Charlottesville, I really wanted to go. Tickets were expensive so I thought I’d try to win them on the radio. I almost won them a couple of weeks ago when I failed to answer a trivia question correctly.
The station played a “creature” sound and you were supposed to guess the sound. I thought the sound was voice actor Frank Welker’s Lion King animal sounds, so I guessed “lion.” I was wrong. The correct answer was “human.” The DJ said it was Frank Welker doing animal sounds for the Lion King. So I over thought myself and got the answer wrong.
On Tuesday, the radio played a celebrity interview and we had to guess the celebrity. I had read an interview that morning of Justin Bieber talking about his addiction and recovery, so I guessed him and won. I’m probably the only person who mentioned Justin Bieber and KISS in the same sentence.
The concert was a big deal at the school I work at. A couple of the other teachers and students were going to the show. We were all excited for it. The show opened with David Lee Roth of all people. I haven’t seen Van Halen in concert but Roth was great. He was smiling the whole time and you can tell it was genuine. Roth is a great showman. What struck me was how much Chris Jericho’s act in the 90s and early 2000s was based on Roth’s.
I knew Jericho was a fan but Roth’s outfit was one I would have sworn I’ve seen Jericho wear. It was a sparkly silver vest and red, leather pants with hearts all over it. Even Roth’s leg kick, which he did about a hundred times, reminded me of Jericho’s. Roth’s set included the following songs:
● A cover of the Kinks “You Really Got Me”
● “Panama”
● “Just Like Paradise”
● “Jamie’s Cryin’”
● “Just A Gigolo / I Ain't Got Nobody’
● And finally “Jump”
Overall, David Lee Roth was a great opener. There was about a 20 minute intermission and then the video wall showed the Demon, Spaceman, Catman, and the Starchild walking backstage while fist bumping security guards backstage. We then hear “All right Charlottesville! You wanted the best! You got the best! The hottest band in the world! KISS!”
● “Detroit Rock City” begins with some pyro and explosions.
● “Shout it Out Loud”
● “Deuce”
● “Say Yeah”
● “I Love It Loud”
● “Haven’s on Fire”
● “Tears are Falling”
● “War Machine” (which I still think of as ECW Taz’s theme)
● “Lick It Up”
● “Dr. Love”
● “Let Me Go Rock N Roll”
● “Do You Feel Alright?”
● “Cold Gin”
● “God of Thunder” - Gene spits blood and rides a hydraulic while playing close to the ceiling of the arena.
● “Psycho Circus”
● “Parasite”
● “Love Gun” - with Paul Stanley flying over the crowd on some trapeze contraption
● “I Was Made for Loving You”
● ”Black Diamond”
The band left but came back for an encore of three songs:
● “Beth” - with Eric Singer doing a solo on the piano
● “Crazy Crazy Nights”
● “Rock and Roll All Night” - with Gene Simmons and Tommy Thayer on separate fighterfighter’s ladders swirling over the audience.
They also dropped a lot of confetti and KISS balloons from the ceiling. Everyone was batting the balloons around. Overall, this was a great show. It’s no secret that KISS has showmanship and spectacle down to the letter. If you have a chance to see KISS for the End of the Road Tour, definitely do it. You will not be disappointed.
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