The Crazy Nights tour saw Kiss scaling down their show a bit. The stage set was impressive
enough (as you can see in picture 1), with the giant, multicolored logo returning from the
Asylum Tour.
Eric's drum riser was surrounded by a
tilted metallic semicircle (seen clearly here in picture 2). The logo would light up in
all sorts of colors, as you can see on the three pictures here. |
Set list:
1. Love Gun
2. Cold Gin
3. Bang Bang You
4. Calling Dr. Love
5. Fits Like A Glove
6. No No No
7. Guitar solo/drum solo
8. Crazy,Crazy Nights
9. Reason To Live
10. Heaven's On Fire
11. Bass solo/I Love It Loud
12. Lick It Up
13. Black Diamond
14. I Was Made For Lovin' You
15. Shout It Out Loud
16. Strutter
17. Rock & Roll All Nite
Encore:
18.
Detroit Rock City
Additional
songs occasionally performed:
When your walls come down (at least once), Tears Are Falling, Deuce, Firehouse, Hell or
high water, Whole lotta love, Honky Tonk Women and War Machine
|
New to the logo, were
the neon crossbars, seen on picture 3, which created a great effect.
Something new was Bruce playing keyboards during "Reason To Live" (seen in
behind him in picture 3)... the first and (so far) only time such a thing was attempted by
KISS. But Bruce was't the only one who played keyboards during the Crazy Nights shows. In
fact KISS were in reality a five piece on this tour, as they had a keyboard player
"enhancing" the sound. The keyboard player was Gary Corbett, who was hidden
behind the curtains, so that the audience couldn't see him. If you get the chance to see
the Monsters Of Rock show, filmed in Schweinfurt, Germany in 1988 by German TV station
RTL, you can see Gary in action at some point at the end of the show.It was the show itself that had been scaled down... it
featured almost no pyrotechnics, and hardly any other special effects.
The show opened with the humming sound introduced on the Asylum tour, coming out through
the speakers as the house lights went down. Search lights would turned on, and search
around the hall, while the band entered the stage. As the band was introduced, the giant
logo would light up, and the band would launch into Love Gun, the first and only time that
song was ever used as an opener.
Next song was usually Cold Gin, which Paul frequently would introduce as being from
"KISS Alive!". Cold Gin did appear on that album, but as we all know it did
first appear on the debut album!
Again on this tour Eric would join Bruce on stage during his guitar solo (usually before
Crazy Crazy Nights), and play some bars with him. Bruce would then leave the stage, and
leave Eric to do his drum solo. Eric would also join Gene on stage for the bass solo,
before I Love It Loud.
Like Paul had introduced Love Gun on the two previous tours, by telling a dirty story
about himself going to the doctor, and have her check his "love gun", Paul
introduced Lick It Up on this tour in similar manner.
The main part of the show would end with Rock And Roll All Nite, in which Paul (of course)
broke his guitar!!
Another strange thing on this tour was that
they usually only played one encore: Detroit Rock City. To make up for that fact, and for
the fact that there were no pyro-effects during the rest of the show, there would be a
large firework display at the end of this song!
After the U.S. tour, KISS traveled to Japan
for the first time since 1978. The staging they brought with them, was significantly
different to the U.S.-version.
As you can see in picture 4 (taken on the
European leg of the tour), the staging was just a bunch of amplifiers, Eric's enormous
drum kit, and some stage lights. Nothing more, nothing less. There was however, a great
deal more pyrotechnics used in Japan, than in the U.S.. Otherwise the show was exactly the
same, except a few minor alterations in the setlist.
After the Japanese tour, KISS ventured to Europe, to do no less than two European tours!
First they played a series of shortened set in full daylight, as part of the touring
"Monsters of Rock"-festival (picture 5). It was very interesting to see KISS in
this situation, not only playing in daylight, but also not being the headliners (Iron
Maiden was top-billed that year!). Oddly enough, the band seemed to take the challenge
serious, and performed with more energy and charisma, than they had done since the late
70's!
As you can see in picture 6, the band played on Iron Maiden's stage set, which depicted
the cover of their latest album: "Seventh Son of the Seventh Son", an ice-
and snow-covered fantasy world (much like the one KISS had in mind for the ill-fated The
Elder tour).
The second European tour was a proper
headliner tour, playing in halls and arenas in all major cities. The show for these events
were even more scaled down than the U.S.- and Japanese tours. Just the Japanese staging,
and light... no pyrotechnics what-so-ever, and no special effects, either! |