One of the few unexplored corners of Kiss‘ live career gets its day in the sun with the latest entry in the band’s official bootleg series. Off the Soundboard: Live in San Antonio is a warts-and-all document of a show on the band’s 1985 Asylum tour, which had yet to be captured on their many live albums or home videos.
Unlike 1975’s famously studio-corrected Alive!, there are no overdubs, pitch correction or piped-in crowd noise to be found here. Luckily, there are few bum notes, as the band sounds strong and sharp while tearing through a set largely dominated by material from ’80s albums such as Creatures of the Night and Animalize. The stately “I Still Love You” is a particular highlight, with singer Paul Stanley and lead guitarist Bruce Kulick delivering strong performances.
For almost all other songs, “tearing” is the proper word. By their admission, part of Kiss’ ’80s survival strategy was to generate onstage energy by pushing song tempos to — or even past — their breaking points. That works fine enough on their newer material, but some of the original charm and strut of the few remaining ’70s classics such as “Detroit Rock City” and “Love Gun” gets lost.
The soundboard recording’s lack of audible crowd response remains the most distracting thing about this series. It’s particularly noticeable here since Stanley and Gene Simmons frequently engage the crowd in call-and-response segments throughout the show. Stanley’s in over-the-top — let’s say it, ridiculous — “bad boy” sex talk mode during his frequent stage raps, comparing his manhood to various weapons at one point and asking, “How many people like to put things in their mouth?” at another.
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You also won’t be able to forget you’re visiting the ’80s during the four instrumental solo sections — drums, bass and Stanley and Kulick separately on guitar — that eat up 20 minutes of the 93-minute show. But excess has always been a big part of the Kiss formula, and Off the Soundboard: Live in San Antonio captures a good show from what might be the band’s best ’80s lineup in an enjoyable and unvarnished manner.
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Gallery Credit: Matthew Wilkening
