Before the unfortunate events of the past few months, Kris had bought tickets for the Kiss/Def Leppard tour this summer. We actually had two sets of tickets because Kris had found "better" seats a few days after she got the first ones. I thought, no problem, I can just sell the extra set before the show. So about two weeks before the show I went to sell them to a scalper and was informed that he wouldn't buy them from me because there was a glut of tickets on the market.
So next we tried to find someone to sell them to, but everyone we knew either didn't want to go, or couldn't go. So rather that eating the cost of the tickets, we got the girls to come along with us. Kris had been saying that they should go for a while, but when we couldn't get rid of the tickets we tried to push the issue. I tried to convince the girls that seeing Kiss in full make-up is sort of a once in a lifetime experience, since the band is in their mid-60's and who knows how much longer they'll be performing. So in twenty years they can tell their kids they saw Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons in full make-up. Ali didn't want to go, and Sarah was waffling up until the day of the concert. But then Alison decided she wanted to go, but only if Sarah went with her. After a lot of prodding, she convinced Sarah to go. I didn't get any pictures of them, but I think Kris took a few with her phone, so if I get them from her I'll post them.
Alpine Valley was almost exactly as I remembered it, except that the hill seemed much steeper than I remembered. It had been 22 years since I had been there, and even longer for Kris. It looked sort of old and run down, though the days of stadium rock concerts is long past, so with only a few concerts per year it doesn't surprise me. And the crowd was quite an eclectic mix of freaks. Lots of old, overweight people all tatted up who looked like they were still living in 1987. And the number of them that were completely blasted to the point of barely being able to walk was quite high. Something I wouldn't expect from people who are as old as my parents.
Now, the review... the concert itself was pretty good. Even though it was the same mix of songs I have seen Def Leppard perform several times they were very tight and kept things moving along. And Kiss was very good as well. The pyrotechnics and theatrics were exactly what I would expect from Kiss. Even the girls said they liked the fire, and Gene spitting blood, and Paul flying out over the crowd on a trapeze. They also sang along with a lot of the Def Leppard songs. So even if they don't admit it, I think they had fun and now they have a story to tell. My only complaint was that the gear on the stage was obstructing our view somewhat. It would have been better if some of the video screens weren't there and the gear was pushed farther to the sides. But then again, I suppose I shouldn't expect that much from a venue that is virtually unchanged for the last 25 years.
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