Destroyer at The Rockpile Jan 2013 – Event Recap

Destroyer at The Rockpile – January 2013

Jan 21 2013 – The Rockpile was ground zero for a double bill of classic rock of the highest magnitude. The venue transported us to 1974 or so and rewarded our attendance with two mind blowing tribute bands. Tonight Ozone Baby reproduced the sounds of the best rock band of all time Led Zeppelin, and Destroyer put on the costumes and masks to give the KISS experience. Of course to see either of those bands in the 70’s you would have to share the room with 15,000 other people but you would have had incredible memories that would last a lifetime. Since we don’t possess a time machine and are not willing to let go of the sweet sounds of that bygone era, tribute bands are the way to go and these two did not disappoint. In a bizzaro world type of situation Led Zeppelin was opening up for KISS tonight and the night which only had a $10 cover was easily the best bang for the buck we have seen in a long time. We will cover the night in two parts. This article will focus on Destroyer and we have another article focusing on Ozone Baby here.

Destroyer at The Rockpile – January 2013

We had an opportunity to speak to Moe Rotondi (the Gene Simmons) of Destroyer a few days ago and you can read that interview here. After speaking to Moe we had very high expectations of Destroyer and we were craving a good KISS fix. The band came on stage with guns blazing (as well as in full outfits and obligatory face masks). First impression is damn these guys are having fun! Not only did they nail KISS’s mannerisms and crowd interaction routines they had the audience dancing and singing all night. The other thing to note is they played a long set and did not slow down. 25 songs were rolled out that included fan favorites such as Detroit Rock City, Love Gun, Shout It Out Loud, and Rock & Roll All Night.

Destroyer at The Rockpile – January 2013

The band consists of Moe Rotondi (Gene Simmons), Steve Stanley (Paul Stanley), Mike Moodrey (Ace Frehley), Jay Fleming (Peter Criss) and these guys are good … really good. They could easily have shown up at the Molson Amphitheater, got on stage and nobody that was 20 rows back would have known the difference and our review would have been similar to the KISS show last summer which we review here. (Of course for that to happen KISS would need to go back to the original lineup).

Destroyer at The Rockpile – January 2013

The band delivered exactly what one would expect from a KISS tribute band – blood dripping from the mouth, an axe bass, four pairs of platform boots, picks being handed out to chicks from the band member tongues, and good loud hard rock – the only thing missing (thankfully) was full on fireworks but I am sure the Toronto fire department would not have liked that.

Destroyer at The Rockpile – January 2013

The 25 song marathon setlist consisted of:

Verdict: Fantastic show that left The Rockpile sweaty and wet. Regardless of what you think KISS musically, the band puts on a show very strong on entertainment value and Destroyer reproduced that good time to a T. Wicked!

You can see Destroyer hammer out Love Gun below.