Aussie Monster #3: Melbourne, 3/5/13

[Anomaly]

So it seems they keep rotating one song every night like they did on the US leg last summer. That's a cool thing. Unfortunately, they do that with the third song from Monster.

Kind of surprised they did that with a 3rd Monster song, considering this pretty much is still basically the start of the Monster Tour. Listening to the reports though it doesn't sound like the new stuff went down that great (same as in South America) so I guess they'd rather just cut the dead weight and play something that draws a stronger reaction.

What I'm mostly surprised about is that they dropped Shandi.

Yeah. But what do they expect? That the new songs are already as well known as Rock And Roll All Nite? I guess nobody expects them to play 10 songs off of Monster (everybody was surprised that they even played five songs in South America) but at least have the decency to keep three songs of the album in there if you're doing an album tour. If Wall of Sound doesn't go over well, at least try something else from Monster. Eat Your Heart Out would probably be more well-received than Wall of Sound.

I agree, if you're going out on a tour to promote the new album you promote the new album. Three new songs should be the bare minimum bands put into the set when they're touring to promote the new material. While we look at two songs and think that that's a low number of new songs to have in the set it could be worse, 2009 after Sonic Boom was released Modern Day Delilah was still the only new song in the set and that was a month or so after the album was released (they dropped Say Yeah, which re-appeared later on that year...then again that wasn't a properly named 'Sonic Boom' tour.)

I don't know if Eat Your Heart Out would have been received better than Wall of Sound, I think Wall was receiving rave reviews from critics and this board when it was first made available. I also agree with you here, if they don't think Wall is getting a strong enough reaction they should try another new one in its place, I think Back To The Stone Age would come across really well live...or even go with Devil Is Me. Even go with AFTLORNR, that's a song that a lot people pegged as a favorite.

I don't get what KISS' deal is with the new material, going off of memory of what Paul said onstage last Fall in South America ("Can we do another off of Monster? ... ...well, we're going to do it anyway")...he might assume that people were in love with the material and dying to hear it live. Getting discouraged over a lack of reaction isn't any reason to drop a brand new song, it's to be expected, they're a nostalgia group now.

[heart_of_chrome]

So it seems they keep rotating one song every night like they did on the US leg last summer. That's a cool thing. Unfortunately, they do that with the third song from Monster.

Kind of surprised they did that with a 3rd Monster song, considering this pretty much is still basically the start of the Monster Tour. Listening to the reports though it doesn't sound like the new stuff went down that great (same as in South America) so I guess they'd rather just cut the dead weight and play something that draws a stronger reaction.

What I'm mostly surprised about is that they dropped Shandi.

Yeah. But what do they expect? That the new songs are already as well known as Rock And Roll All Nite? I guess nobody expects them to play 10 songs off of Monster (everybody was surprised that they even played five songs in South America) but at least have the decency to keep three songs of the album in there if you're doing an album tour. If Wall of Sound doesn't go over well, at least try something else from Monster. Eat Your Heart Out would probably be more well-received than Wall of Sound.

I agree, if you're going out on a tour to promote the new album you promote the new album. Three new songs should be the bare minimum bands put into the set when they're touring to promote the new material. While we look at two songs and think that that's a low number of new songs to have in the set it could be worse, 2009 after Sonic Boom was released Modern Day Delilah was still the only new song in the set and that was a month or so after the album was released (they dropped Say Yeah, which re-appeared later on that year...then again that wasn't a properly named 'Sonic Boom' tour.)

I don't know if Eat Your Heart Out would have been received better than Wall of Sound, I think Wall was receiving rave reviews from critics and this board when it was first made available. I also agree with you here, if they don't think Wall is getting a strong enough reaction they should try another new one in its place, I think Back To The Stone Age would come across really well live...or even go with Devil Is Me. Even go with AFTLORNR, that's a song that a lot people pegged as a favorite.

I don't get what KISS' deal is with the new material, going off of memory of what Paul said onstage last Fall in South America ("Can we do another off of Monster? ... ...well, we're going to do it anyway")...he might assume that people were in love with the material and dying to hear it live. Getting discouraged over a lack of reaction isn't any reason to drop a brand new song, it's to be expected, they're a nostalgia group now.

Yup, I see it the same way. I understand how they only played MDD off of Sonic Boom in the beginning, since, as you said, it was not yet a proper SB Tour. Technically, it was still Alive/35. I'd say the release date didn't fit with the tour and not vice versa.

I understand that they dropped Long Way Down, Paul could hardly sing it and it is not really a live party song anyway (unlike Eat Your Heart Out or Back To The Stone Age - both would have worked imo). Also, they should have kept AFTLORAR, it is a really groovy tune that gives you a positive vibe and the shows would benefit from that.

All their touring and release schedules have been weird over the last four or five years. Some of the setlist choices and changes as well.

[Anomaly]

All their touring and release schedules have been weird over the last four or five years.

I view it as them doubling down on the money they pull in. If you think about it, for Sonic Boom and Monster they have received the green light for TWO North American tours per record. Arenas in 2009 for Sonic Boom under the Alive/35 moniker pre-release, amphitheaters in 2010 under a more proper 'Sonic Boom' moniker (yes I know, the words 'Sonic Boom' weren't in the tour name.) For Monster, amphitheaters in 2012 to promote the new single and get the word out for the upcoming new record, arenas (supposedly) in 2013 to actual promote the released songs

Some of the setlist choices and changes as well.

There's only really a handful of setlist choices/changes that I would call bizarre since 2009.

2009: Dropping Say Yeah after debuting it live was a dumb decision, personally I really wanted to hear that one live...
2010: The decision to keep Crazy Nights in the set for the US tour, I understand why they'd play it in Europe but keeping it on for HSOE I'd consider strange. Oh, throw in bringing back Beth mid-year, I found that weird considering both Paul & Gene don't like the song.
2012: Bringing back War Machine and Psycho Circus out of nowhere, it's cool to have them in the set but it's still a headscratcher on why they came back.
2013: Dropping Wall of Sound, bringing back Crazy Nights, and dropping Shandi (in the one country it's considered a hit) I would consider bizarre.

[heart_of_chrome]

All their touring and release schedules have been weird over the last four or five years.

I view it as them doubling down on the money they pull in. If you think about it, for Sonic Boom and Monster they have received the green light for TWO North American tours per record. Arenas in 2009 for Sonic Boom under the Alive/35 moniker pre-release, amphitheaters in 2010 under a more proper 'Sonic Boom' moniker (yes I know, the words 'Sonic Boom' weren't in the tour name.) For Monster, amphitheaters in 2012 to promote the new single and get the word out for the upcoming new record, arenas (supposedly) in 2013 to actual promote the released songs

Never thought about it that way. You are right, they basically had two tours for every album. For Sonic Boom, you could almost say they had three since there was the Lost Cities Tour in 2011. But we'll see how many Monster songs there will be left when they hit North America again.


Do you think there is a chance that some of the dropped Monster songs might return for the Euro leg? I have the feeling that since Kiss skipped Australia for the (real) Alive/35 tour and the Sonic Boom tour that they just might give them more or less of a best of set right now because they haven't been there for a long time anyway. Europe was really the only leg that got the real Alive/35 setlist with shows covering all of Alive! and shows still having 12 of 15 songs in there. By the time they hit the US, the setlist changed drastically. And then you had the Sonic Boom Over Europe Tour; the only tour name actually including the album with 21 songs; three off of Monster, Crazy Nights, the return of Beth etc. So I hope and guess that by the time they hit Europe in May/June, their set and show for the Monster Tour might be more polished and maybe see a return of AFTLORAR and WoS.

Some of the setlist choices and changes as well.

There's only really a handful of setlist choices/changes that I would call bizarre since 2009.

2009: Dropping Say Yeah after debuting it live was a dumb decision, personally I really wanted to hear that one live...
2010: The decision to keep Crazy Nights in the set for the US tour, I understand why they'd play it in Europe but keeping it on for HSOE I'd consider strange. Oh, throw in bringing back Beth mid-year, I found that weird considering both Paul & Gene don't like the song.
2012: Bringing back War Machine and Psycho Circus out of nowhere, it's cool to have them in the set but it's still a headscratcher on why they came back.
2013: Dropping Wall of Sound, bringing back Crazy Nights, and dropping Shandi (in the one country it's considered a hit) I would consider bizarre.

Valid points. I'm definitely surprised that they brought back War Machine and Psycho Circus but I hope they will survive the Euro tour in May. I haven't heard them play those songs live before. And leave in God of Thunder. It's the "true" blood-spitting song and I haven't heard that one either.

[steveh67]

I hope they do crazy nights in Sydney.

Monster bombed here, so why the complaining about dropping the live tracks from it.

As some said they heard, people attending want 'hits'

They are not playing to majority of die-hard fans. The concert goers are there to see hits and the show only.

[Reverend Colonel]

Nice to see Black Diamond close (unless it actually was IWMFLY)...don't think it has closed since Tiger Stadium.

As I recall, it closed at the next show in Louisville, as well.

[Anomaly]

All their touring and release schedules have been weird over the last four or five years.

I view it as them doubling down on the money they pull in. If you think about it, for Sonic Boom and Monster they have received the green light for TWO North American tours per record. Arenas in 2009 for Sonic Boom under the Alive/35 moniker pre-release, amphitheaters in 2010 under a more proper 'Sonic Boom' moniker (yes I know, the words 'Sonic Boom' weren't in the tour name.) For Monster, amphitheaters in 2012 to promote the new single and get the word out for the upcoming new record, arenas (supposedly) in 2013 to actual promote the released songs

Never thought about it that way. You are right, they basically had two tours for every album. For Sonic Boom, you could almost say they had three since there was the Lost Cities Tour in 2011. But we'll see how many Monster songs there will be left when they hit North America again.

Wouldn't really consider the 2011 leg as a 3rd North American tour, 2009 and 2010 they hit the same primary markets, 2011 they were hitting "lost cities" as in cities they don't visit often.

I see Hell or Hallelujah and Outta This World remaining as the two Monster songs left by the time they return to North America. Hell or Hallelujah is this record's Modern Day Delilah, it will stick around into 2014 even after the Monster Tour has concluded. Outta This World will remain in the set because it doesn't matter what song is in that position since that's the guitar solo/drum solo spot now. The fans on The Tour I noticed didn't react to Shock Me but to what came after Shock Me, like Outta This World, the fans won't react to the actual song but they'll certainly react to the 'jam session' after it.

Do you think there is a chance that some of the dropped Monster songs might return for the Euro leg? I have the feeling that since Kiss skipped Australia for the (real) Alive/35 tour and the Sonic Boom tour that they just might give them more or less of a best of set right now because they haven't been there for a long time anyway. Europe was really the only leg that got the real Alive/35 setlist with shows covering all of Alive! and shows still having 12 of 15 songs in there. By the time they hit the US, the setlist changed drastically. And then you had the Sonic Boom Over Europe Tour; the only tour name actually including the album with 21 songs; three off of Monster, Crazy Nights, the return of Beth etc. So I hope and guess that by the time they hit Europe in May/June, their set and show for the Monster Tour might be more polished and maybe see a return of AFTLORAR and WoS.

I think this is about it for the Monster songs for the rest of the tour, I don't see Wall of Sound returning to its original position but I see a rotating song position taking its place. Could Wall of Sound return in that position? In rotation, I don't see it coming back permanently. What I'd do is I would take out I Love It Loud and put War Machine as the blood-spitting song (that'd be new), put Wall of Sound back in the set, and keep that rotating spot in the main set. Everybody's happy.

Some of the setlist choices and changes as well.

There's only really a handful of setlist choices/changes that I would call bizarre since 2009.

2009: Dropping Say Yeah after debuting it live was a dumb decision, personally I really wanted to hear that one live...
2010: The decision to keep Crazy Nights in the set for the US tour, I understand why they'd play it in Europe but keeping it on for HSOE I'd consider strange. Oh, throw in bringing back Beth mid-year, I found that weird considering both Paul & Gene don't like the song.
2012: Bringing back War Machine and Psycho Circus out of nowhere, it's cool to have them in the set but it's still a headscratcher on why they came back.
2013: Dropping Wall of Sound, bringing back Crazy Nights, and dropping Shandi (in the one country it's considered a hit) I would consider bizarre.

Valid points. I'm definitely surprised that they brought back War Machine and Psycho Circus but I hope they will survive the Euro tour in May. I haven't heard them play those songs live before. And leave in God of Thunder. It's the "true" blood-spitting song and I haven't heard that one either.

War Machine and Psycho Circus I am confident will remain in the set, I didn't think War Machine would make it to South America and it did...now that it's made it to Australia (PC too) I'd be dumbfounded if they dropped those two for Europe. While God of Thunder hasn't been a set mainstay as of late (going unperformed on a full tour from 2004-2010) I'd keep it out.

Personally this would be my set for Europe, feel free to tell me your thoughts on it.

1. Detroit Rock City
2. Shout It Out Loud
3. Calling Dr. Love
4. Hotter Than Hell
5. All For The Love of Rock 'n Roll
6. [Christine Sixteen, Strutter, Deuce, C'Mon And Love Me, Got To Choose, Do You Love Me?]
7. Hell or Hallelujah
8. Wall of Sound
9. Psycho Circus
10. Outta This World (w/Guitar + Drum Solo)
11. Crazy Crazy Nights
12. War Machine (w/Blood)
13. Love Gun
14. Rock And Roll All Nite
------------------------------
15. I Was Made For Loving You
16. God Gave Rock 'n Roll To You
17. Black Diamond

Nice to see Black Diamond close (unless it actually was IWMFLY)...don't think it has closed since Tiger Stadium.

As I recall, it closed at the next show in Louisville, as well.

Ah, that's correct...it closed for the first five Reunion shows.

[croarg74]

Whoever decided they should have this gig at Etihad Stadium should be shot and pissed on. Terrible acoustics for live music. Then again, I was in the upper and tonight I'm on the floor so we'll see if there's a difference. The way they have configured the place completely kills the atmosphere. It holds 55,000 but 2/3 of it is curtained off. Probably around 10-12k last night in attendence.

A few notes :

While Paul is singing better, he's still struggling as a vocalist. As they show went on, he started to croak, crack and sounded weak, even during talking.
A few fuck ups, mostly Eric Singer during Crazy, Crazy Nights and RARAN. Gene was pissed.
Crazy, Crazy Nights does NOT work live. It sounded terrible. I was hoping for Wall Of Sound.
War Machine and I Love It Loud have no balls live. Drop ILIL and bring in GOT.
Worst version of IWMFLY ever. It's garbage as it is but last night it barely had a pulse. Paul struggled during this.
Thayer shows up on time and says yes all the time but that's about it. Zero stage presence, charisma and feel.
Gene sounded pretty good. He he brings it every night and is singing great.
The stage setup for both bands is awesome.
For me the star of the night was Mick Mars. He's at death's door but he kills it.
Motley, who are one of my 3 fave bands (along with Kiss and VH) need to call it a day. Tired, uninspired and going through the motions.
I thought Motley 'sounded' better considering the acoustics of the place.

Why they keep booking rock shows here is puzzling. The vibe is non-existent. I was in the upper section last night and I have free tix tonight on the floor so will be interesting to compare sound.

As much as I don't agree with alot of what goes on in Kissland these days, it's still great to go see a spectacle and Kiss does that really well. The lighting, stage and pyro are fucking great. Some stuff sounded really good like Black Diamond - Eric sounded great and was great to hear Christine Sixteen and some stuff sounded terrible.

It is what is is. Kiss ain't what they used to be but it's a fun night out nevertheless.

[Trance]

Gene can't learn new songs ... he even said "Wall Of Sound" was the KISS 2012 sound.

This is what happens when you write lyrics as you are singing them.

Remove the "Monster" from the posters and just do a damn "40th" tour.

[AstroWarped]

Cool to see they are swapping out tunes in the set-list.
Though it would be nice if they tried their very rare & demo tunes as well, once in a while!

It's like the band has become totally sissy, unlike the band as it was according to Ace's "No Regrets", book I am
reading now.

Back then Kiss was not afraid to constantly play tunes no one has ever heard before, now they act very
timid about it. Sigh.

It feels like Gene is so tight, with the business-like angle now that the Creativity & Daring-do of the songs & theatrical stage show has to
go through this silly business-model filter first. Thus we get the watered down, stale-ness that results now with the shows. Sigh.

[mrkiss]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUUyjfKu51M
my footage from CHRISTEEN SIXTEEN hope im in the right section first time poster here

[sakke72]

This changing the setlists is very interesting. I don`t see God Gave in the setlist in Europe, it is not so important song for European fans, we are more 80`s KISS people here. Also Gene`s "flying" song should be God Of Thunder, they have already used I Love It Loud for so many times here. Both songs are in the setlist, I am sure and also War Machine. Crazy Crazy Nights is a little question mark, it is big song for European fans. I would like to hear Wall Of Sound and they will add that and I guess they will play 3-4 songs from Monster here in Europe.

[novacide]

I don't know why "God Gave Rock and Roll To You" is listed as the final song.
It just plays over the loudspeaker at the end.

[heart_of_chrome]

[quote="Anomaly"]
Personally this would be my set for Europe, feel free to tell me your thoughts on it.

1. Detroit Rock City
2. Shout It Out Loud
3. Calling Dr. Love
4. Hotter Than Hell
5. All For The Love of Rock 'n Roll
6. [Christine Sixteen, Strutter, Deuce, C'Mon And Love Me, Got To Choose, Do You Love Me?]
7. Hell or Hallelujah
8. Wall of Sound
9. Psycho Circus
10. Outta This World (w/Guitar + Drum Solo)
11. Crazy Crazy Nights
12. War Machine (w/Blood)
13. Love Gun
14. Rock And Roll All Nite
------------------------------
15. I Was Made For Loving You
16. God Gave Rock 'n Roll To You
17. Black Diamond
[/quote]
Yes, this looks like a good set and a set they should consider. Things would be shaken up in the middle and also in the obvious end of the set. They had the same encores for about six years now. AFTLORAR I think would be received well over here, just like Crazy Night it is a cheerful song with a nice hookline. I just wouldn't play the four Monster songs (almost) one after another because that would probably kill the good mood. Maybe open with HOH, put Love Gun in its spot and play DRC as 13th song.

[Shane_Penney]

Any 17 song setlist with Ladies Room will suffice.

[Shane_Penney]

1. Detroit Rock City
2. Deuce
3. Calling Dr. Love
4. Hotter Than Hell
5. All For The Love of Rock 'n Roll
6. Ladies Room
7. Hell or Hallelujah
8. Wall of Sound
9. Psycho Circus
10. Outta This World (w/Guitar + Drum Solo)
11. War Machine
12. God of Thunder (w/Blood)
13. Love Gun
14. Rock And Roll All Nite
------------------------------
15. Shout it out Loud
16. Hard Luck Woman
17. Black Diamond

[awawaw]

from the Destroyer zone