Following pictures copyright Fraser Munro

[From: Dwight Fry]
Thought you'd like to see some of the pics I took of the recent show that Hungarian KISS tribute, the 'KISS Forever Band', put on last week.  Myself and a friend attended the Abertillery 'The Venue' show on Friday 18th, and what a night it was! 
 
Opening up with an intro never before heard in, well, Abertillery, 'KFB' came on stage to "Alright, Abertillery!  You wanted the best, you got the best, the hottest band in the world... KIIISSSSSS!" before launching into the Alive! double-header of Deuce and Strutter.  Taken their image straight from the annals of Destroyer/Rock And Roll Over/Psycho Circus, these boys obviously meant business and had spared no expense on their get-up.  
 
Language was no problem for 'Paul' ("Okay, Abertillery, you know, this is our first visit to Wales. We want all the girls to come a little closer!" etc etc), and there was much hilarity as everytime one of the said girls needed a toilet break, the 'Ladies Room' was positioned stage right where 'Paul' was invariably lurking and shaking his sequened arse...  
 
The Venue's lights cut out every now and then which was an irritant, but the sound was excellent and the band played very very well - particularly the drummer.  Other songs included "Calling Dr Love", "Cold Gin", "Shout It Out Loud", "C'Mon And Love Me", "I Was Made For Lovin' You", "War Machine", "I Love It Loud", "Lick It Up", "Black Diamond", "Beth", "2,000 Man", "Shock Me", "God of Thunder", and "Rock And Roll All Nite".  Pocky the Demon got to do his blood thing and even breathed fire for "War Machine" although no other pyro, sadly, was present.
 
Still, it was a hugely enjoyable show, and well worth checking out if they do indeed come back as suggested in October.  I would have liked a bit more experimentation when it comes to the set-list (that old nugget!), but as this was KFB's first visit to the UK perhaps they thought they'd better play it safe.  With DTK or HTH doing their thing, you never quite know when you'll get to hear some long forgotten tune like "Kissin' Time" or "Thrills In The Night", so compared to those two acts Hungary's finest stuck to the greatest hits.  On this showing though, I'd definitely travel to see them again, as they know their stuff and they obviously enjoy playing live. 
 
After the show the band hung around for some photos with fans, and they even had their own little merchandise corner set up so you could buy t-shirts (2 types), CDs (their 2 albums), stickers (£1), and live videos (2 shows).  T-shirts were £12, the CDs were £10 but for £20 you got a t-shirt, a CD and a sticker - not bad!  The white t-shirt was possibly the better one, but had no backprint, but the black t-shirt had the 'KISS MY ASS UK TOUR 2005' tour dates on it and, well, to see Abertillery on there made the heart sing, so I chose that one.  
 
Incidentally, the CD I bought was "Plug It Out" featuring 12 tracks from an unplugged gig in 2003.  Featuring a track-listing of "Comin' Home", "Christine Sixteen", "Cold Gin", "Rip It Out", "Heaven's On Fire", "We Are One", "Lick It Up", "God of Thunder" (country), "Hard Luck Woman", "Everytime I Look At You", "New York Groove", and "Shout It Out Loud", it made you wonder why they didn't throw a few of those into the mix in Abertillery!  "We Are One"!!  Awesome!
 
Anybody out there fancy lining these guys up for a THIRD Expo this year???  ;-)
 
Dwight Fry.

Following pictures copyright Dwight Fry