Thoughts from KISS / Motley Crue – Dallas, TX

This past weekend I had the opportunity to see one of my favorite rock bands of all-time, KISS, in concert one more time w/ my good friend Charlie. You can read all about the show here and here, plus I’ll have some videos online later today that I shot from the floor.

Photo: Rex Curry

I’ve lost track how many times I’ve seen their show over the years but a couple of principles / rules stood out to me this time around that I think are applicable to business and I wanted to point them out while they were fresh on my mind. It’s no great secret that I’m a huge fan of Gene Simmons and all that he’s been able to do in business over the years so I watch everything these guys do pretty closely…

1. Rule #1 – Never be afraid to repackage yourself. KISS has toured w/ numerous bands over the years, this year was no exception. They were joined this year by Motley Crue, another all-time great metal band. In the past I have purchased tickets to see KISS play w/ less-known acts simply because I’m a KISS fan, the concerts were almost always attended by people just like me; people that had seen KISS play thousands of times before. By joining forces w/ Motley Crue, and chosing venues w/ larger seating for this tour, the guys were able to market themselves to a larger fan base and therefore sold more tickets. This was a good thing because I promise you I would have possibly let this one go by had there not been the chance to see Motley Crue this year, after all it was 115 degrees in the shade and the concert went for like 5 hours…

1. Rule #2 – Make What You Already Have Better! There are tons of musical acts that change their sets each time they go out on tour to promote album sales and to be in cohesiveness w/ their merchandising, etc. KISS has never done this in my opinion. Yes, they do change their sets each time they head out, but it’s not completely a departure from the year before, instead it’s always that something new was added on. For instance, the guys still drop from the ceiling on a circular platform at the opening of the show. They still use the same black curtain to drop before the show. Paul Stanley, God love him, still hangs onto the same hook and flies across the crowd every time. However, this time around there were three new platforms that rose up from the floor that were completely new, also there was an enormous high-definition screen that popped up from behind the guys that was lacking in past shows. The guys simply didn’t invest in an all-new set, they added onto what they already had, and for us, it was like it was all-new again!! Heck, the fun part for my friend Charlie and I was spotting what all was new this time around…

1. Rule #3 – People Like What They Like, Don’t Force Something New!  There was a young, up-and-coming band from Britain that opened the show. They were pretty good, Charlie and I both agreed that their music was good and they honestly performed their hearts out. The crowd just wasn’t into their show, the reason wasn’t because it was 115 degrees, and it wasn’t because they sucked. No, the reason was because we had all bought tickets to a classic rock / metal show and were wanting to hear music we had already heard before and could sing along – or bang our heads to. The next band to take the stage was Motley Crue, these guys have been rockers for years and never fail to put on an incredible show. They were on their A-Game in Dallas. We knew all of their songs w/ the exception of one that Vince and Nikki Sixx had just written. Guess which one of their songs lacked the most audience participation? You guessed it, the new one. So, what did they do to compensate for this? They had these huge water canons at the end of each corner of the stage and during the chorus of the song their stage hands (scantily clad women who danced just about the entire show) sprayed the already sweltering crowd w/ the water canons. KISS also played a new song that is on their yet to be released upcoming album, in order to get that song over they went on a campaign prior to the tour and pre-released the tune on iTunes so we at least had a chance to hear it before the show. They did the same thing last year w/ ‘Modern Day Delilah’. It worked out.

1. Rule #4 – Dance w/ The One That Brought You! Just like every KISS concert I have ever attended, there were certain events that transpired during the show. For example, Gene Simmons spit fire, blood, and also ascended on top of the light bars to perform a song. Paul Stanley, as I mentioned earlier, flew across the crowd attached to a metal hook. During the final song, ‘Rock-n-Roll All Nite’, which they always close with, there was yet again another rainstorm of white confetti that combined w/ the strobe lighting has an awesome effect. All of these things I’ve seen a thousand times, but each time they are awesome. Yes, Charlie and I even knew what was fixing to happen before it happened, but it was awesome nonetheless. Had one of these things been left out of the show, and I’m sure they never will, we would have almost felt cheated.

So anyway, these things stood out and I wanted to glean from them and post this blog while it was still fresh on my mind. Oh, the concert was amazing. As I mentioned earlier I will be posting some photos and videos from the show on my photo gallery soon. In the meantime, enjoy…