Photo Gallery: Kiss at RiverEdge Park

ilentertainer | August 17, 2017

Kiss brought all their pageantry and glory to RiverEdge Park in Aurora, Sunday. Despite the threat of thunderstorms hovering overhead, Kiss took the stage on time and ended just minutes before buckets of rain hit the western suburbs.

Three generations of fans were treated to a classic catalog and all the pyro Kiss fans have grown to love and expect. Neither Paul Stanley nor Gene Simmons did any flying time during this show, likely due to the RiverEdge’s intimate confines. Fans still got large doses of breathing fire, spurting blood, guitar sparks, and a a Super Bowl’s worth of confetti.

Across the river, the Kiss fan pirates caught the show on their boats, and a few even came to the park side and rocked out on the water. Yaarr. This must have gone under Gene Simmons’ radar because the Coast Guard never showed up to break up the party. Next time he’ll monetize it.

– Photo and recap by Ed Spinelli

Setlist from KISS live at RiverEdge Park, Aurora, IL August 20, 2017

Deuce
Shout It Out Loud
Lick It Up
I Love It Loud
Love Gun
Firehouse
Shock Me (Guitar Solo)
Flaming Youth (Bass Solo)
God of Thunder
Say Yeah
War Machine
Psycho Circus
Black Diamond
Rock and Roll All Nite
Break – Military salute / Mayor keys
Cold Gin
Detroit Rock City

Kiss 2017 (photo by Ed Spinelli)

Kiss
RiverEdge Park Aurora
Sunday, August 20th

After 40+ years featuring one of rock’s most bombastic stage shows, Kiss’ Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley know how to work a crowd and a business plan, which brings them to Chicagoland for the second big tour of 2017 (they appeared at Open Air Festival last month). Whether it’s warranted remains to be seen, but since Poplar Creek closed almost three decades years ago, it’s relatively rare to see a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band – outdoors – in a western suburb. This time they’re appearing at RiverEdge in Aurora.

The band’s 2017 tour set list is heavy on the hits (“Detroit Rock City,” Crazy Crazy Nights,” “Rock N’ Roll All Nite”) as you’d expect. So, if you’re ready to bring the kid to a show that resembled the “World Series of Rock” show you saw in your youth at Comiskey Park, but in a friendlier family environment, this is the show for you.

Few bands can afford the big ticket production that Kiss bring to town along with a heralded musical catalog. Expect tons of pyrotechnics, lots of hits and a few old ladies in the neighborhood calling the police about that racket down the street. Ain’t that what Rock N’ Roll is all about?

https://riveredgeaurora.com/events/kiss/

Tags: Ace Frehley, Eric Singer, featured, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, RiverEdge, Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, Tommy Thayer