On This Day in History

On this date in history, 8/17/2003, my inner teenager was treated to a concert dream come true. Aerosmith and Kiss (with Saliva…who didn’t matter, as we arrived late and missed entirely) appeared together at Deer Creek in a truly epic match up.

When I was growing up and first discovering the joys of rock music, both Kiss and Aerosmith were in the process of conquering the scene, and dominating my formative musical taste. Back in those pre-MTV days, we learned about bands through magazines like Circus, Creem, Hit Parader, and to a lesser degree, Rolling Stone. Word of mouth was key, also, as anyone who saw a great band would have bragging rights and our undivided attention as they regaled us with the sights and sounds of their concert experiences.

Kiss and Aerosmith were direct rivals in those days, and sometimes the bands took shots at each other in the press. I remembered all this and was thrilled to learn that they would be touring with each other and possibly taking the rivalry to the stage in a battle of the ’70’s titans.

Kiss played first and unleashed a monster set of primarily songs from their first 3 albums, so it was like Kiss Alive! was being performed before our eyes. Of course, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss had been replaced by guys who were forced to wear the classic makeup, a point that I take issue with, but it is the way that Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley want it, so we just have to deal with it. That small complaint aside, it was a great Kiss show, and all these many years into their career, that remains a beautiful thing.

Aerosmith closed out the night with a barrage of greatest hits and classic bad boy swagger. The Toxic Twins (Steven Tyler and Joe Perry) brought their “A” games and they held serve. Each fan will have their favorite of these two monumental American bands, providing endless fun debates, but I like the idea that we all win in this type of scenario. These bands have long since ended whatever war they had going on back in the day, but that competitive nature provided all of us with a concert for the ages.

Written By Braddon S. Williams aka The Concert Critic