Tuesday, July 19th, as the sun beat down unforgiving, thousands of people crammed into Kauffman Stadium to watch what would be an unforgettable night of 80’s Rock-n-Roll, for a number of reasons.
Remembering the horrors of last year’s Garth Brooks concert at Arrowhead Stadium and the long waits to not only get into the Truman Sports complex as well as to find a parking spot, I decided to arrive as early as I could to the venue to help ensure that those situations would not happen again. So one could imagine my surprise when entering at 1:30, the listed time that the gates would open, no one was in line. The ability to drive right up to the parking gates, show my parking pass, and get within a row of Arrowhead Stadium (since I entered in through the southwest gates) was fairly uneventful. Waiting for a few hours, watching people either tailgating, drinking and rocking out to a classic rock station or closed up in their cars with the air conditioner blowing at max capacity, was what I expected to see as the crowd, most of whom were well into their adulting years.
As the time grew closer to 3:30 when the gates were to be opened, the parking lot filled up and people made their way to the front gates of the stadium. What was not known at that time by most, is that an opener, who both Vince and Tommy Lee are huge fans of, was placed before the roster of acts that were advertised on the bill. Classless Act, a band from Los Angeles. They took the stage at around 3:55 and played to a nearly empty stadium, as people were still attempting to get through the gates, look at the merch tables that were set up, and then to find their seats. But did the lack of people stop the band from giving it their all? Not in the least. The band took to the stage and rocked the house for their second time in Kansas City, Missouri this year (previously opening for Dorothy at the recordBar back in May). In fact, the band didn’t seem to mind that a small handful of people were only in the stands, bringing the energy of a young 20 something group of rockers would if they were headlining the show. The fans that were there got an unsuspecting treat of fresh blood into the 80s style rock and roll vault.
After their five song set, and with the stadium slowly starting to fill up, the stage was set for none other than Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. The 63-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Fame vet did not disappoint. While she didn’t venture far from her microphone (unlike the rest of the acts who utilized the entire stage, including the runway), the tunes came one after another with as much vim and vigor as anyone could have hoped for. Her set included standards such as “Cherry Bomb”, “Do you wanna touch me”, and “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” which left the crowd thirsty for what was to come next.
When Poison took the stage around six, no one would have imagined that Eric Stonestreet would come out and introduce the act. Despite a hiccup in microphone operations, Stonestreet quickly got the crowds energy back up from where Jett had let off to welcome the band to the stage. Bret Michaels came running onto the stage, jumped around, and acted like he had never felt as young or energized as he had that day, keeping the energy throughout the entire set list. The rest of the band followed suit produced one of the highest energy sets that I have seen in a long time.
Next on stage was Motley Crue. While there were rumors floating around on the internet about the bands other performances on the tour, mostly relating to Vince Neil’s inability to remember songs, lyrics, and really keep up with the band, the Crue put on a lively show, with Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx leading the group. Despite the stoppage in the show for Tommy (who was able to play the entire show and looked like he felt next to no pain from this recent rib breakage) to scream out to the crowd “THIS ISN’T KANSAS CITY UNLESS YOU SHOW ME YOUR TITS!” and Vince’s wondering around on stage, sometimes looking absolutely lost and not knowing what was going on (he had several teleprompters on stage to let him know not only which song was coming up next, but also the lyrics to each one) and his often time unintelligible singing (sometimes off key and out of tempo), the band gave a performance of classic Crue songs that the stadium belted out at the tops of their lungs, often times at the benefit of Neil, allowing the band to have a sing-a-long rather than a concert. Yet, the highlight of this set was seeing Mick Mars, 71 years old, and obviously feeling not only his age, but the years of a rock life, was able to shred through every song like it was nothing to him. It was also later revealed that Tommy Lee was playing to a backing track for his drumming, calling into question the entire band’s ability to continue to perform live.
Last to the stage was Def Leppard. By this time, the sun had set but the stage was still smoking. As the vale rose to reveal the band, a harmony filled Kauffman. This musical balance and blending would last the entire night as Joe Elliott, Vivian Campbell, Ric Savage, and Phil Collen moved up and down the runway, purpose in every step, every note (while octaves being slightly lowered to accommodate Joe’s aging vocals) was on mark, and Rick Allen mercilessly keeping time and rhythm on his drum kit. To say that the band left the stage, having Kansas City begging and thirsting for more is an understatement.
By the end of the evening, the crowd got what they paid and sweated in the hot summer heat for; a show by the gods of rock and roll that no one will soon forget. If anyone left in disappointment from the overall performance that they witnessed, then they didn’t go to the right concert.
