KIX

The Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun Casino
Uncasville, Connecticut
April 10, 2017

April means many things to me. First is April Fool’s Day, or as I know it, my wedding anniversary. Then a few days later my birthday and then a few days after that my oldest son’s birthday and that is just the first 10 days. We wont talk about the other birthdays or even Easter, Lord forbid we talk about the big thing at the end of the month – M3.

What we will discuss is the fact over the last few years, KIX has come to the Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun Casino in the month of April and it always seems to fall into that first week or so. My wife knows how much I like seeing these guys live and and under the pretense of celebrating my birthday/our anniversary or maybe just an underlying gambling addiction she is keeping hidden from me, we go and have dinner and see a fantastic show, then lose a lot of money we can’t afford to lose.

Except this year. This year she wasn’t feeling good and told me to go by myself. Like any self respecting husband, I asked out of concern if she was sure, I would stay home with her. Being a person who has no selfish bone her body she said to go without her. Knowing I would pay for it later, I went.

Opening the show with an unmistakable drumbeat the strains of “Can’t Stop The Show”, Mark Schenker, bassist, comes out and takes a spot on the right side of the stage, while Brian “Damage” Forsythe stakes out his usual spot on the left side. Noticeably missing from the line up tonite is Ronnie “10/10” Younkins. Ronnie, unfortunately is dealing with a personal issue that is causing him to miss a few dates, the thoughts and prayers of all of us here at Northeast Rock Review go out to him, his family and the band.

Seeing Mark play on what is normally Ronnie’s side of the stage was strange, but I am sure it is for him also.

Next up was a classic off of their Midnite Dynamite album, “Sex” followed by “The Itch”. One of the things I really enjoy about seeing KIX is their energy and the ability to work the crowd and get them involved. One of their most popular classic tunes is the song “Midnite Dynamite”, to bad they don’t use the sparkler on the mic anymore for that one, those were the days.

Kix’s big break came in 1988 with the album “Blow My Fuse” and next on the setlist was a track off that “Red Lite, Green Lite, TNT” followed by “Cold Shower.” Then it was straight to some new stuff and the reason for the cold shower, “Love Me With The Top Down”

“Hot Wire” and “Your Gone” lead into another one of my favorites, “Girl Money”, then their biggest hit which came off the “Blow My Fuse” album, “Dont Close Your Eyes.” I am surprised, there were no Bic lighters waving in the air as all of us older headbangers sang along.

“Wheels in Motion”, “Get It While Its Hot” and “Cold Blood” rounded out this portion of the set, bringing us so very close to the end with “Blow My Fuse” There is one song, that ends every KIX show, well almost every show. “Yeah Yeah Yeah” – Once that starts you know the high energy and crowd pleasing hi-jinx will soon be over. And just like that it was over.

This was another great set by one of the most underrated bands to come out of the 80s and one of the most entertaining. Alot of banter with the crowd, Steve Whiteman, lead singer, spinning and jumping in between and during songs. These guys are the standard I hold everyone to when it comes to judging stage presence. I cant wait to see them again! And that will be another story for another day.

Watch for my thoughts and reviews of the great 80s Rock Festival M3 in May.