I straight up love Kix. The band is from Hagerstown, MD, which is not all that far from where I grew up in Alexandria, VA. Their first record, released on the Atlantic label, came out in 1981. I was likely amongst the first people to buy it. Yikes, that was 42 years ago. They had their very brief fifteen minutes of fame, but for the most part they have been simply busting their asses to do what they love for all these years (over 45 years in all). They are well known to their fans as a band that puts on a show every single time they play. I have never waivered in my admiration for the band, even when I was primarily a devotee to all things punk, in my late teens and early twenties. I saw Kix a bunch of times in the early days when they looked like The Ramones, always wearing Chuck Taylor Converse high tops and black leather motorcycle jackets. I saw them at The Bayou and The Wax Museum, and I saw them at the legendary Hammerjacks in Baltimore near the peak of their success in the “hair metal” 80’s. (God, I hate that term.) And I’ve seen them a bunch of times in the last seven years or so that they have again been more active. Kix rocks, period.
On Sunday, May 7th at the M3 Rock Festival which took place at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland, Kix front man Steve Whiteman announced that the band would play their final show on September 17, 2023 at that same venue. When I heard about the announcement (I was not there), I was heartbroken. I can certainly understand the reasons they gave for calling it a day. Hell, I was at the gig in Leesburg, VA last year when drummer Jimmy Chalfant collapsed and very nearly died on stage at the tail end of another great show. It was horrifying. In the announcement Whiteman made, he said that they would finish a summer run of shows that were previously scheduled and then would hold one final very big party in their home state. That meant there would be just twelve shows left.
I cannot attend the show on September 17th due to pre-existing travel plans, but thankfully, I was able to attend a show in Manassas, VA on May 13th. Here’s how it went…
VENUE:
My wife and I had never been to the venue, which a converted movie theater in the heart of suburbia. On a positive note, that does make for very easy parking in huge lot right out front. We arrived at the appointed door opening time of 6:00 after a quick dinner down the street. Once in the lobby, we were greeted with a huge bar and a bunch of very provocatively dressed waitresses and bar-keeps. And I do mean very provocatively. They were leaving nothing to the imagination…at all. I don’t think my wife loved it. Anyway, they had formed a line to get into the main part of the venue but they weren’t letting anyone in, so we got a drink, and they finally cut us loose at about 6:30. While in line, we talked with a couple in front of us. The woman had a promo copy of the 1983 record Cool Kids. I don’t know if she was hoping to get it signed or what, but I have read enough interviews with Kix to know that they absolutely hate that record, so I thought about telling her she should have brought a different one, but I kept quiet. (in her defense, I love that record.) More on that in a minute. Once inside the main stage area, it was instantly a better experience. Essentially just a large old theater with all the seats removed. There was a second bar in that area as well, some VIP seating up front and the rest was standing room, but we did snag a table tucked at the very back, which was helpful since Kix wasn’t scheduled to play until 9:30.
OPENING BANDS:
The first band that came on was relying on the name of their vocalist, Gavin Evick. The band members all looked very young to me, and I had read that Gavin is just twenty years old. Apparently, he grew up around metal shows, as his father played guitar for many bands including Poison’s front man, Brett Michaels. The band was more than proficient, they were actually extremely talented, but they only had one original song, called “Favorite Songs.” It’s a good tune for sure. The rest of their very short set was covers of Poison, Quiet Riot, Metallica, Bon Jovi and maybe a couple of others. You get the idea. The second band was called 5 Daze. They were from Blacksburg, VA. I could go on a rant here, but my Mom taught me that if you can’t say something nice, you shouldn’t say anything at all. Enough said.
KIX:
Kix hit the stage a few minutes early and got right down to business. They played a good show, but if I’m being honest, the set-list wasn’t great. I appreciate that they strayed from the usual formula a little bit, because I have seen them so many times, that it would normally come as a pleasant surprise. But in this case, I didn’t love the selection. I suspect they are going to use these last several shows to warm up for what will surely be an epically long set for the final gig in September. Don’t get me wrong, I was not disappointed. There were some omissions that I really wanted one last time though, primarily “Love Me with Your Top Down” from their latest (and now final) album. “Same Jane” would have been nice to hear, too. They did include the standards though, such as “The Itch,” “Cold Blood,” Blow My Fuse,” and “Girl Money,” the latter three of which are my usual favorites. About three quarters of the way into the set, the aforementioned Cool Kids record was held high, and sure enough, Whiteman took his opportunity to say, “We hate that record, Atlantic tried to ruin our career. Throw that thing away.” And so she proceeded to chuck the thing across the room like a frisbee. It made me feel bad for her. All in all, as usual, Whiteman & company put on a show and made people laugh along the way. Drummer Jimmy Chalfant was looking and sounding great, but having witnessed his massive heart attack just six months ago, I feel like hanging it up this fall is a good decision, at least for him. At the end of the set, per usual, Whiteman announced that they would play one more song, and that was it. “Encores are stupid” is what he always says. So, they closed it out with “Blow My Fuse“ and that, for me, marked the end of a very long and one hell of a fun era.
Thank you, Kix, for four decades of great rock n roll. I count myself lucky to have had so many opportunities to see the band, including this one final time.
THANKS FOR ROCKING OUR FACES OFF FOR 45 YEARS
JCE, or John to his friends, was born in the Nation’s Capital and grew up in the VA suburbs of D.C. He just turned 60 years old, he has a wife of 32 years, and a grown daughter. He leads a bit of a double life, working by day as the chief administrative officer of a VA county, and spending as many nights as possible listening to live rock n roll with his wife at any club that has a decent band within 100 miles or so of their house (and sometimes further).
And he has always loved the band Kix.