Ahhhhh, the 80s. The Rock N Roll genre where hair was as big as trademark dual guitars, and power ballads & arena rock anthems ruled the airwaves with their catchy hooks and unique sounds.
Some of the bands from the 80s have disbanded, some have had deaths or vicious feuds never to be seen or heard together again – while still others have been re-created in a new form. However, there are a select group that realizes that while their heyday is behind them, they can still reap the rewards of touring smaller venues and rockin out to the tunes that made them Rock N Roll icons.
Saturday night at the Den brought one of these groups to town for the pleasure of Homework and myself. Baltimore-based Kix put on what can only be described as a true high-energy 80s Rock N Roll show. From a guy who has seen 85+ shows at the Den in the last 5 years, when I say high energy, I mean high energy. These boys missed out on some big money as they could have been as spokesmen for Monster, Red Bull & Mountain Dew. True to the eighties, the crowd was loaded with huge mullets and big guns a-blazin with ample cleave strewn about.
Kix’s high octane show is fronted by lead singer Steve Whiteman. He is both the reason the show was entertaining and the reason the show had some “problem areas”. On the plus side, this blond stickman was a true showman – excellent and unique singing voice, engaging with the crowd and a very active stage presence. He was incredibly good with his range on “Don’t Close Your Eyes” and then getting audience participation on my favorite “Cold Blood”. On the minus side, when he talked, he sounded like a Peter Brady pre-pubescent 13 year old boy which a high squeaky voice. Also, while he tried to be funny and engaging for the entire show, he lacked in the funny part. No matter what the venue, a lead singer should not be telling the crowd, “I have to pee”...then leave the stage to relieve himself.
Now for the band – musically speaking these guys were spot on. Founding members and dual guitar players Ronnie “10/10” Younkins and Brian “Damage” Forsythe were right up my alley. These guys fed off each other flawlessly on stage and jumped up on uniquely placed risers to better showcase their talents. Jimmy “Chocolate” Chalfant was a mad-man banging away on the skins and back-up vocals while Mark “I Don’t Have A Nickname” Schenker was front stage as the bass player and back-up vocals. The show included many good songs including “Blow My Fuse”, “Get It While Its Hot”, “Cold Shower” and “Midnite Dynamite” – while obscure to most, these tunes were very well known and received well by this lively Kix crowd.
While most encores complete a show with the bands’ big score tunes (the Rock N Roll money shot, if you will), Kix went a different route - they ended the show with a lesser known song called “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” and littered the stage with huge colorful balloons. Definitely different but strangely fun.
Randall
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