Osaka 1 & 2: Go Loudly Into the Night

KISS and their humble chronicler had a full three days off before the first Osaka show, more than enough time to do whatever it is rock stars and journalists do with their down time. Me? I stayed in Nagoya till the 21st, the day before the opener, visiting some friends, landmarks and record shops (one of which already had videos of the Yokohama shows). I also swung by the newspaper where I used to work to notify KISSONLINE that no pictures or reports were going to come in from the road.

Backtracking west to Osaka by -- you guessed it -- nozomi shinkansen was no big affair, for the Nagoya-Osaka stretch takes only an hour and change. By the time you�re settled and used to watching the landscape blur outside the window, both Japanese and English recordings come on announcing that Shin-Osaka Station is moments away. Why can�t America get its act together and build a high-speed rail system as efficient and cool as this? Probably has something to do with keeping the trains on the tracks.

Oops, editorializing -- an ethical no-no. A thousand pardons.

I attempted to get a room at the Westin, a beautiful, albeit a bit out-of-the-way hotel where KISS was staying, but again had no luck. A full house, you know, only this time no orchids to blame. Could have been the many out-of-town fans I saw emerging from the elevators and munching grub in the hotel restaurant. I ended up in a place right at the main Japan Railways station, only four stops from Osaka Castle Hall, the scenic venue KISS rocked on the Reunion Tour, not to mention in 1977, '78 and '88.

Osaka is the antithesis of Nagoya, an uninhibited, all-you-can-eat smorgasbord of humor, opinion and posturing. Osakans are proud of their city, their reputation for attitude in usually staid Japan, their instantly identifiable dialect and their okonomiyaki, a pancake-like treat that can be ordered chock-full of everything from octopus and squid to garlic and cheese. And they love their rock �n� roll. Not surprising, then, that these shows were the only ones of the tour that were publicly announced as being sold out.

Festivities for the shows began outside Castle Hall, which is skirted by a modest river on one side and Osaka Castle Park on the other. (Yes, there is a real castle on the grounds.) To get from the train station to the hall requires a pleasant walk down a long mall, an area that on weekends is a cacophony of live bands, comedians and performance artists, as well as youngsters sporting the latest in street, goth, metal and punk fashion. On the 21st and 22nd, the avenue was dotted with vendors selling all kinds of food -- crepes, noodles, octopus, hotdogs, fried chicken, okonomiyaki -- and booths offering the latest bootleg KISS merchandise, including calendars, key chains, towels, stickers and photos. There was even a face-painting table. With hundreds of fans about, it was like a scene from �KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park� (though much better-acted and a lot more engaging).

Castle Hall is perhaps a bit bigger than Nagoya�s Rainbow Hall, ideal for a KISS concert. Once again, I was able to high-step right up to the stage for my photo sessions at both shows, which yielded my best pictures of the tour. Especially nice was that Gene and Paul really knew who I was by this point and would mug for my Kodak whenever they saw me at the edge of the stage. Very cool �

Both shows were about the same: riotous crowd, high-energy performance, lots of pyro (probably the most of the tour), extra songs toward the end of the set. First night, the medley included "Hotter Than Hell," "Parasite," "Got To Choose" and "She." This -- and the ditties at Nagoya -- was a medley in the strictest sense of the word, because the songs were not performed from beginning to end, though the band worked pretty far into the scores. Second night, however, included a full-blown set extension, with complete renditions of "She," "Parasite," "Got To Choose" and "Makin� Love." It was marvelous; the crowd went berserk.