Verlichte Geest, Roeselare
2011-01-29

The very first Sleazenation tribute night has passed as a storm!

Kisstory came with a superb accoustic set, followed by Alice Cooper tribute band Elected Babies. Word on the street had it that both made an insane effort in creating a live show worthy of the actual band's demands, and Kiss and Alice Cooper are not particularly known for playing on a soberly decorated stage...

Kisstory started off with a set decoration to match the accoustic set (and to fit the available space, because to be honest, the bar wouldn't hold much pyrotechnics), and kept it simple with some Kiss Army banners.

What they did to, was match the original's accoustic gigs. All five of the Kisstory guys came up in full make-up... while wearing a nice business suit. Fit for a high-level rock n' roll meet, they took their seats and started off.

Given the professional nature of Kisstory, nobody was expecting a best of set, and thank fuck, they didn't even play "I Was Made For Loving You".

Some of the bigger Kiss songs were left out, given the arena-feel of "Detroit Rock City" among others, this wouldn't work in an accoustic setting anyhow. Another positive mark for Kisstory.

Old as well as new Kiss stuff was swung at us, with some of my very own favourites among them ("Christine Sixteen" to name one), accompanied by the singer's banter between songs. What an entertainer! Half of the stuff he was saying had literally no added value, but did he ever bring it with conviction.

My conclusion for their set, is nothing but positive. If you flick the switch in your head and realize you're looking at a tribute band, you'll see a bloody great one. I do want to see their full stage set some day, but the Sleazenation performance was a great taste of what they have in store.

Curtains were pulled up, all sorts of strange noises and even stranger contraptions emerged from and on the stage, because Elected Babies were next!

After a seemingly endless soundcheck and stage prep, the curtains were drawn and on they came!

The band, all dressed up in matching star-spangled banner outfits, warmed the crowd for the entrance of the man of the evening.

All was taken care of, the set looked like a cheap horror movie, the Alice Cooper impersonator had the outfits, moves and mimics down to perfection, and the band played awesome.

The old school scary movie vibe was omnipresent, which must be what the real Alice Cooper is still after to this day. Fake blood, confetti balloons, soon-to-be-murdered doctors and more of the likes, not a single trick was left unpulled.

There were some slip-ups in the lyrics as well as the music, but the great showmanship of the entire Elected Babies crew got it all back on track. Too late not to notice the mistakes, but soon enough to let it pass by.

Since the place was packed with hardrockers and music lovers alike, the crowd response was great. None of the confetti balloons lasted throughout the song (that might just have been Alice's rapier also, but who cares) and there was a whole lot of belching along to the classics.

Cover or tribute bands have never been my thing, especially with the actual artist still performing, but apart from that, I had an absolute blast. Dare I even say: bring on the next one???