Everything KISS except the kitchen sink

Rating: 8/10 (17 December 2006)

I can remember when KISS made an appearance on one New Year's Rockin' Eve program with Dick Clark on TV. Amazingly, they did "Detroit Rock City" and I had respected KISS's craziness in America's rock era ever since.
I had to see the film two times to figure out that "Detroit Rock City" was about 4 teenagers in the 1970s era who want to make a ruse to see a live KISS concert in their area. I realized that one of the teenagers was acted by Edward Furlong, who made a big smash in the movie Terminator 2--Judgement Day.
All 4 teenagers believed that seeing a live KISS concert is like being a Muslim going to Mecca; that is to say, they think of witnessing a live KISS concert as a very important pilgrimage for being very strong KISS fans.
Before there was Burning Man, there was KISS. Every KISS freak who saw their live shows had got what they wanted and more. You see it in the opening credits of the flick as you see a montage of some of KISS's colorful record albums, along with some of the antics KISS is famous for---the sticking out of tongues and letting them tremble---the fire-breathing---and of course, the band's famous face mask outfits that were a big attribution to the Halloween holiday. KISS's garb even dwarfed the leather jacket garb worn by members of Judas Priest, one of the several heavy metal bands that made a big stand in the 1970s.
KISS had been known for songs like "Rock and Roll All Night", "Love Gun", and, finally, the title film of one of their famous songs.
The movie title "Detroit Rock City", I speculate, is probably the place that KISS became famous for...in a city that brought us Motown. I am also a grammar freak, so the title should have said "Detroit: Rock City!" The first KISS concert in Detroit was actually in Cobo Hall, in January 1976, just before America's big Bicentennial.
And you want fireworks? KISS has fireworks (which even included real fire effects)....plenty of them! Every KISS freak has seen a "pretend July 4th atmosphere" the band creates. Especially in 1974, seeing a "Kissology Part I" DVD during the Midnight Hour show, I may have witnessed the first use of KISS'S stage fireworks at the end of "Black Diamond", in addition to the explosions, the drummer seemed to throw parts of the drumset away from the riser that magically rose in the air from the stage. The song "Firehouse" had the KISS lead singer at the end of the song use a fire stick which he would blow one end of it with his mouth to create a fire effect usually seen from a dragon, and then stick the fire stick on the stage and leave it alone; and add to that, the fire engine sirens come in.
Add to that the sacrificial guitar slamming, the famous giant KISS logo behind the band in moving strobe lights, and even the use of real fire---and you have the craziest rock band creating perhaps the loudest rock show around.