Paul Jam - Paul Andrews' Blog - Dunsborough, Western Australia

As expected, KISS went hard at Madison Square Garden, but for me did not capture the excitement or emotion of the previous three concerts I'd witnessed this week. KISS is not a band in the sense of Pearl Jam or The E Street Band, where a band of brothers bounce off one another and the audience and where anything could happen. KISS is Paul Stanley telling everyone how good they are and three other guys doing their thing on cue to the plan. To give them their credit, it was a good 'show' – but more along the lines of a Broadway Show - not a spontaneous rock concert. It was scripted, it was clichéd and it was all songs about about their dicks.

No doubt, KISS put on a spectacular show and have influenced many glam bands since - there are pyrotechnics, fireballs, a massive light show and theatrics, but you can’t help thinking that apart from the obligatory: ’We love you New York, you’re the best’, this show really was paint by numbers. None the less, the New York crowd of KISS Army devotees lapped it up and truly believed they’d witnessed the best show of all time. I, however, walked away knowing I’d never again bother to see KISS - even if they do make it out to Perth. Their best days were in the 70s, but now they are a parody of themselves and they, and their fans are the ones who don’t yet get the joke - but as long as the cash registers are ringing, they'll be playing.

This biggest concert of my life has come and gone and I’m pretty impressed. Hanging with 80,000 New Yorkers and New Jersey natives to see their favourite son was an experience that was every bit as big, bold and brash as I thought it would be. Called “The Wrecking Ball”, I can assure you, I had a ball, especially as they played the entire “Born In The USA” album in order, highlighting the emotion and political undertones that Springsteen felt during the Regan era.

The show saw The E-Street Band, who again, must be one of the best rock outfits on the planet put on a three hour plus show with hits, special requests and surprises that was a fitting end to the life of this massive stadium. The show was the final one to take place before they tear it down to turn it into a car park for the new stadium that has been built next door. 

Yesterday I had a fairly low key day. I caught up on some work and rested myself for what I knew was going to be a big night at the second Pearl Jam concert. I went and had a go at iFly, which is like an indoor version of skydiving where a wind tunnel basically blows you in the air. This was great and I have some great pics and a dvd of the experience.

Today I went out on the metro subway to Hollywood and did the tourist thing. I just went down to Hollywood Boulevard and strolled around for a couple of hours meeting the locals and checking out movie history. I even got a little tattoo at a Hollywood Boulevard tattoo shop by a cool guy called Diablo which is one I’m going to find pretty hard to hide. I’m sure Toni will like it.