Kiss/Accept
New Haven Coliseum
August, 1983
Tony Pijar
What a great double bill! Kiss always did get the most popular of underground bands to open for them and this time around Accept got the nod. After the utterly combustible and highly influential “Breaker” and “Restless and Wild” albums, Accept put out the commercially oriented “Balls to the Wall.” While it was a disappointment for the metal-heads, it did achieve what it set out to do – bring Accept to the masses. Thankfully, the band had a 45 minute slot and they balanced it nicely with selections off of the aforementioned releases. The encore was the band’s greatest effort, “Fast as a Shark”, which saw the diminutive dynamo, Udo, leading the band while dressed in his now famous army fatigues and trusty truncheon. As Udo faced the crowd while top the drum riser, Wolf Hoffman, Peter Baltes, and Jorg Fischer headbanged in unison each with one foot firmly placed on the riser. Good stuff, but it would’ve been so much better seeing Accept as a headliner on their “Restless and Wild” tour!
Kiss, too, was going through mass transformations. Gone was the make-up, gone was Ace Frehley, and gone was the Kiss mystique too! And with Peter Criss now out of the fold for some three years, was this really Kiss? Well, with the release of arguably their greatest album ever in “Lick it Up”, Kiss was back and as good as they ever were. Granted, the make up was sorely missed, but the stage show was still impressive. Also, with Vinnie Vincent, Kiss finally got a great guitarist and songwriter who complemented Stanley and Simmons perfectly. The band comfortably interspersed golden oldies with songs off of newer releases, “Creatures of the Night” (their heaviest effort of all!) and “Lick it Up.” What was most impressive was Vincent’s impeccable playing and stage presence – truly an excellent guitarist who messed up and was unceremoniously kicked out of the band! The likes of “Detroit Rock City”, “Strutter”, “Firehouse” with Simmons blowing fire up to the rafters, and the Frehley-penned “Cold Gin” were great with Vincent’s solos bringing the songs into a different stratosphere! Great show, but I missed out by three years – imagine this show with the original Kiss complete with make up and Accept jet-fueled on the Restless and Wild Tour! Oh well!