“You wanted the best? You got the best! The hottest band in the world: KISS!” That quote, which opens every KISS concert to this day, has become something of a cliche in recent decades. But in 1975, it was actually true. And even though a lot of post-production tightened up the live album, it captures the excitement of KISS’s live shows back when KISS weren’t yet a merchandising machine and they still had something to prove.
UMGWelcome to another edition of Today in Boston ROCK, where I, Adam 12, spotlight Very Important Days In Rock History. September 10th is one.
1950
September 10, 1950: Anthony Joseph Pereira is born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He would grow up in Hopedale, Massachusetts, pick up a guitar, and become Joe Perry, guitarist for Aerosmith. But you knew that already. Joe turns 71 today, but let's flash back to his 50th birthday, or at least the story he once told Conan O'Brien about the gift he received from Slash that year.
1975
September 10, 1975: KISS releases Alive!: their forth album, their breakthrough album, and one of the greatest live albums of all time. We celebrated the 45th anniversary last year, but let's go back and check out a classic gig from that era below.
“You wanted the best? You got the best! The hottest band in the world: KISS!” That quote, which opens every KISS concert to this day, has become something of a cliche in recent decades. But in 1975, it was actually true. And even though a lot of post-production tightened up the live album, it captures the excitement of KISS’s live shows back when KISS weren’t yet a merchandising machine and they still had something to prove.
1976
Here's KISS live in '76, touring in support of Alive!
2003
Speaking of gigs, a pretty memorable one took place on September 10, 2003. The Red Hot Chili Peppers headlined the Tweeter Center (aka Great Woods, aka the Xfinity Center). They covered Ramones and Jimi Hendrix (obviously), and the setlist was what you'd expect from an early '00s RHCP show.
2003
Sadly, there's no live footage of the Chilis in Mansfield. But someone captured their full set in New Jersey two nights later.
1994
OK, I'm cheating a little here, as this one's from September 9, but I can't not mention the legendary Green Day Hatch Shell show from 9/9/94 where a riot broke out on the Esplanade.
