Introduction

In terms of setlists, one of the bands best. A show worth tracking down.

Background

The first of the three “ Monsters of Rock ’’ performances with Slayer and Black Sabbath.

Video Specifics

This show is pro-shot but is a notch below the Santiago ’94 pro-shot in terms of audio and video quality. The vocals sound a bit low but that can be fixed by cranking up the volume on your television. The mix isn’t too great, the bass and drums are both dominant while the guitars are rather thin sounding. In case you care, the band uses the HITS stage albeit sparingly. Rock and Roll All Nite is cut from the end of the show on most, if not all, copies of this show.

The Show

Creatures of the Night- a solid opener.

Deuce- a nice little version with Paul playing to the camera several times during the song.

Parasite- the dominance of Gene’s bass kind of detracts from this version but even so, this song kicks ass.

Unholy- an ugly vocal outing by Gene but not as dreadful as the Santiago ’94 version. Hardly a ringing endorsement by any means.

I Stole Your Love- a straightforward playing. For some reason, the sound level varies during the song.

Cold Gin- Paul introduces this song by saying “ this is for the people who saw us in

1982 ’’. For the record, they were last in Brazil in June of 1983 and only played three shows in 1982 and none were in Brazil. Gene is in good voice, also nice bass work. File this version under a “ notch below steamroller ’’.

Watchin’ You- some nice vocal “ styling’s ’’ by Gene early in the song make this worth a listen. For some reason, Paul tongues the neck of his guitar, which I found rather creepy.

Firehouse- sparklers by Leon’s head are used mid-song. Before Singer gets the last part of the song going, Paul leads the crowd in a left/right crowd noise segment. Gene blows 1 fireball, the camera is right in front of him, which makes for good viewing.

Got to Choose- in a somewhat of a surprising move, Paul actually introduces this song from the correct studio album. A solid playing although Paul’s voice strains at times.

Callin’ Dr. Love- Paul throws a guitar pick to the camera then picks off the lens a few seconds later. This tune has sounded ponderous since the late 1970’s but this version was better then I expected.

Makin’ Love- a faithful playing. From the camera on the Gene side of the stage, it looks like Gene has glitter in his hair or it could be simply sweat.

War Machine- I just noticed that Bruce is wearing a long sleeve “ Saturn ’’ shirt. I think he wore this shirt during the Santiago ’94 show as well. Gene is in fine vocal form on this Creatures of the Night tune.

I Was Made For Lovin’ You- very enjoyable. Even if you don’t like the studio version, chances are you’ll like this version.

Take It Off- “ titas grande ’’ Paul says. This was the only 1994 performance of this song. Paul’s vocals are ok but nothing special. Three brunettes come on stage and dance/prance during the last part of the song. At the end of the song, Paul says “ I think I’ve got a boner ’’.

Domino- Gene’s vocals are hard to hear in spots but this version isn’t bad.

Love Gun- “ this is a song about good guns ’’. A standard playing of this tune.

Lick It Up- this version sounds better then some. The crowd seems to get into this song more then the previous few songs.

God of Thunder- early in the song, the camera is right in front of Paul who is mouthing the words to the song. Not the greatest version, I’ve ever heard but still decent.

I Love It Loud- a big response by the crowd once the drum intro and Gene’s chanting begins. Paul and Eric seem tired, especially one shot of Eric. On the other hand, Gene seems far from tired. Well played although the backing vocals aren’t too hot.

Detroit Rock City- while introducing this song, Paul is scratching his chest. Early in the song, Paul motions “ down ’’ to a crew member. During Bruce’s solo, Gene makes a conductor motion with his finger. The crowd begins to chant something but I can’t make it out. Paul forgets the words before “ I’m gonna die, why ? ’’ A solid effort by all concerned.

Black Diamond- Paul gets the crowd to sing the “ whoo, whoo, whoo ’’ intro part. Eric’s vocals are a tad low but this is still version is still very good. The Animalize outro ends the song with minor pyro at the end.

Heaven’s on Fire- more energetic then expected with pyro mid-song. Paul lights his guitar on fire and smashes it to end the song.

On my copy, after the show is finished, there is a pre-show press conference with the Brazilian media. I’ll mention a few interesting things about the press conference in point form:

Gene explains about Ace’s makeup on the Kiss My Ass cover. Gene didn’t want to talk to the lawyers and couldn’t get a hold of Ace so they went with a slightly altered version of his makeup instead.

Paul mentions they are planning a box set.

Paul signs a guitar for a fan while Gene is talking about his movie career.

When asked about Vinnie leaving the band, Paul puts his boot up to indicate they Vinnie was kicked out.

Gene mentions a new studio album will be coming out in January of next year (1995).

Overall

While I hate to put this show in the “ must have ’’ category, I found this show to be more enjoyable then the Santiago show from the same tour despite the fact the Santiago show is of better quality (audio and video wise that is). Consider this show a solid addition to any Kiss fans video library. Overall, a 8.5 out of 10.