I’m sure VH1 would be shocked to think that they gave the impression that Kiss were top of the bill !! (ask them!!) Their brief was to give everyone equal billing, and equal honours, and I think they behaved absolutely properly.
It was our choice to open the show. Our priority was to get our sound right on stage, and out front, and to give the audience a good moment. We have always believed that the secret of a good TV appearance (and such things are rare in the rock world, because TV can so easily take the guts out of a rock show) is for the live audience to get a good show, and then the vibe will translate. Shows that are purely aimed at the cameras tend to lack depth. So, along with the producers and the great David Mallet, our old friend, who was in charge of visuals, we went for the option of sound-checking last, and cordoning off the stage so no-one could touch anything before the Foo’s made their entrance, and we followed, in a fairly informal way, not something really ‘staged’ for television, because we felt that the priority was to make contact with the live audience in a real way. This, for us, and Monsieur Mallet too, I think, was the antithesis of “Pop Idol”. Not to say that one is better than the other – they are just different. One is a TV presentation, in ethos, and the other is TV capturing a Rock show. Well, the that’s the way we perceive it.
Of course the Kiss guys were able to capitalise on the business of going on last, and I’m sure they were very conscious about the way they organised the bows and encores, but, fair play to them – that’s the business they are in. For us it was just about acquitting ourselves musically at the highest level we could achieve in that short time, and thoroughly enjoying the interaction. All the bands were great …the atmosphere backstage was completely open …everyone helping each other, and for us, the musicians, a great opportunity to hang out and enjoy the meeting. There was a very pleasant absence of any feeling of competition … I enjoyed all the bands immensely.
It’s worth noting that VH1 will not be transmitting ALL the songs any of the artists played. They make their choices, to fit the show into the required format for TV. The rest of the material will be theirs to use at a later date.
I liked it !
Cheers
Bri
PS I actually doubt if 20th Century Boy will be in the TV show …it was planned as an extra