The 7th installment of the KISS Kruise was a little different this time around. This year it disembarked from the Port of Orleans instead of the Port of Miami, which it has done for the 1st 6 years. Another difference is that the band really dug deep to give the die hards a little bit something special. Usually guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer are the catalysts to get founding members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons to open up the catalog some. They did a great job this time around in doing so as 5 deep cuts were played for this show.
The band took the stage late as the meet and greet photo ran over. They usually are prompt but this year took the stage about 9:20 pm (20 minutes late). Soon as KISS took the stage it the band immediately dove into the 5th track off of the 1977 famed “Love Gun” album called “Tomorrow and Tonight.” Right then the fans knew they were into something special. This tune was never played before live (editors note: The Alive 2 version wasn’t recorded live). The band really did the song justice. They followed up with another gem in “Sweet Pain” off of “Destroyer.” The band fed off of the energy from the crowd from the 2 opening rare tracks.
These weren’t the only deep cuts as the band also dug out “Hot and Cold” off of “Sonic Boom,” which was never played before live. One of the highlights was a song that hasn’t been played since 1980 when KISS dove into “Is That You?” Stanley’s vocals were spot on. Of course what isn’t a KISS set without such classics as “I Love it Loud,” “War Machine,” and “Black Diamond (which Singer sang lead on).” It was cool to see the band put “Cold Gin” back into the set.
The highlight for me personally was the band changing up the encore and ending the set with “I” off of “The Elder.” This album is beloved by fans and anytime you can get a a song played off of that disc is a win for them. The song sounded great and I was so thrilled they played it in its entirety (they teased it on KISS Kruise 6).
The band sounded very tight and what has been said about Stanley’s vocals can’t be said on this night. He was strong throughout the majority of the set. If there was any complaint that could be waged, the only one maybe it was that the set was a little short. Other than that, this was just about as good as it gets. Could this been the best setlist the band has ever gave the fans on any KISS Kruise? That is open to debate but what isn’t is that the more the band digs deep, the more the fans really appreciate it and it showed tenfold!
Setlist:
Tomorrow and Tonight
Sweet Pain
Shout it Out Loud
I Love it Loud
Flaming Youth
Hot and Cold
Say Yeah
War Machine
Is That You?
Cold Gin
Lick it Up
Black Diamond
Detroit Rock City
Encore:
Rock and Roll All Nite
I
