Back on the Rock the Nation Tour in 2004, Kiss offered the Instant Live CDs. Basically, after the show was over, they burned the show to 2 CDs and sold them so you could instantly walk home with the show in your pocket. The band worked with Live Nation who handled all the recording and distribution of the CDs. Now, not every show on this tour was recorded and that was due to two reasons. 1) The arena was not owned / promoted by Clear Channel Entertainment and 2) there were technical difficulties at the show. Which that would suck if you were expecting a copy.

There are about 32 different shows recorded and this is the first one I’ve ever seen out in the wild, so I bought it. And lucky for me, it was the Charlotte show from Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Charlotte, NC which is the town where I live (or just outside of it anyway). The show was from July 28, 2004. Now, only 31 left to get…joking. I don’t think I will go for all of them although that would be fun. However, if I run across any in the wild, I’ll buy them.

The packaging is simple and the same for every city. No setlist is included as each city might be slightly different. If you want the setlist, they give you website to go and download. However, that site doesn’t seem to exist anymore. The way to tell them apart was by a clear sticker with the city, venue and date of the show as seen on the cover at the top of the post. The band was Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons as you’d expect and then Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer who had taken over for Peter Criss on this tour and is still with the band as is Tommy.

The setlist isn’t printed in it so I found it and have listed it below…

1. Love Gun
2. Deuce
3. Makin’ Love
4. Lick It Up
5. War Machine
6. Got to Choose
7. Christine Sixteen
8. I Want You
9. Psycho Circus
10. I Love It Loud
11. 100,000 Years
12. Bass Solo
13. Unholy
14. Shout It Out Loud
15. I Was Made For Lovin’ you
16. Detroit Rock City
17. God Gave Rock And Roll To You (Encore)
18. Rock And Roll All Nite (Encore)

The band did release a DVD of this tour and the setlist is pretty close. The DVD had a few more tracks slipped in to it that weren’t at this show and the order was moved around ever so slightly. I have to say the sound quality on this is exceptional as you can hear every little thing. Even Gene and Paul sound great and I believe this was before backing tracks, but I could be wrong. Definitely better sound quality than any of the Off the Soundboard releases they’ve been doing. You can hear Gene’s bass great, Eric’s drumming sound powerful and crisp and Tommy’s guitar, well, it sounds like a guitar at least. That is mean, I know. But the guitar sound on here wasn’t that great if I’m being honest. No heart or soul.

I’ve reviewed so many Kiss live albums including close to 20 bootlegs so I’ve reviewed each and ever song on this setlist before in one way or another. I’m not sure where to really begin or what to focus on with this one. I think we will start with a little on Paul’s banter. As this is 2004, the #MeToo Movement hasn’t started yet and his interaction with the crowd is total proof. With “Lick it Up’, he goes on about how many people like to “lick” and then he goes back and forth between the guys and the “girls”. Later, when he mentions that they’ve been coming to Charlotte since the beginning and they’ve always welcomed Kiss with Open Arms and Open Legs it is a little cringeworthy now, but still hilarious in my book as I haven’t lost my sense of humor like the rest of the country has. I think I laugh at it now because it is childish and stupid that it’s funny.

But let us not forget the songs, the songs all sounded incredible. The two opening tracks are played to a “T”. On “Makin’ Love”, Eric’s drum roll is perfect and I know I’ve said it before, but his drums sound so good here. They really mic’d them up well. On “Lick It Up”, the backing vocals are a little not perfect, but it is live so who cares. They play “War Machine” pretty early in the set and Gene nails it, and his bass is front & center. Then they played a song that hadn’t been in the set for years. It is “Got to Choose” from Rock & Roll Over and it was so cool to hear that one and of course they did a bang up job. With “Christine Sixteen”, we get a guitar solo at the end and it isn’t bad plus it did spice up that dated song. The first half of the show ends with a favorite song of mine, “I Want You”.

The second disc kicks off with “Psycho Circus” and then Gene doing “I Love it Loud” which is the same every time getting the crowd to singalong. Paul then goes on and talks about Alive! being the best live album of all time before they go in to another favorite of mine, “100,000 Years”. What a classic track. Gene’s bass is real heavy and Eric’s drums are turned up on this one. Really killer. Then we get a Gene bass solo, which is really a bunch of noise that is eerie, dark and foreboding so he can then spit his blood (which of course we can’t see that as this is a CD not a video). Then the band goes in to “Unholy” which is exactly the perfect song for the Demon.

The band plays the standards and they can play those in their sleep with “Shout it Out Loud”, “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” and “Detroit Rock City”. Of course, during this, Paul flies out to a different stage. The show is over, but it isn’t really…duh! Kiss has to do their encores. They come back out and before the first song Paul gets all Patriotic and goes on about supporting our soldiers (which is the good part), then he goes further and talks about how we defend for this country and die for this country and kill anyone who stands against us…which we will, but it came across as too MAGA before there was MAGA if you know what I mean. He took it a little too far, but it was 2004 and I am sure the Gulf War was in full swing so I get it. The band finished with “God Gave Rock & Roll To You II” and the classic “Rock And Roll All Nite” which we’ve heard a million times.

And that was the show. And I have to say again, the sound quality is exceptional. The band sounds fantastic and is really killing it in 2004. They hadn’t lost a step at this point. I am happy I found this one at the local Record Show and here’s hoping I can find more of these (without really looking of course because I said I’m not collecting these). My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars. It is one of the best shows I have, but still not Alive I-IV quality!!. If you find one of these, grab it.

The Kiss Review Series:

1. Wicked Lester and the Progeny Demo Sessions (Bootleg)
2. Kiss – Kiss (1974)
3. Kiss – Hotter Than Hell (1974)
4. Kiss – Dressed to Kill (1975)
5. Kiss – Alive! (1975)
6. Kiss – Destroyer (1976)
7. Kiss – “Flaming Youth” 45 Promo Single – Bonus Edition (1976)
8. Kiss – “Beth” – 7″ Single – Bonus Edition (1976)
9. Kiss – Special Kiss Album For Their Summer Tour (1976)
10. Kiss – The Originals (1976)
11. Kiss – Rock & Roll Over (1976)
12. Kiss – “Calling Dr. Love” – 7″ Single – Bonus Edition (1977)
13. Kiss – Love Gun (1977)
14. Kiss – “Christine Sixteen” – 7″ Single – Bonus Edition (1977)
15. Kiss – Alive II (1977)
16. Kiss – Double Platinum (1978)
17. Kiss – Paul Stanley (1978)
18. Kiss – Gene Simmons (1978)
19. Kiss – Peter Criss (1978)
20. Kiss – Ace Frehley (1978)
21. Kiss – Best of Solo Albums (1978)
22. Kiss – Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park Movie (1978)
23. Kiss – Dynasty (1979)
24. Kiss – “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” (1979) – 12″ & 7″ Singles (Bonus Edition)
25. Kiss – Unmasked (1980)
26. Peter Criss – Out of Control (1980)
27. Kiss – Music From The Elder (1981)
28. Kiss – Killers (1982)
29. Kiss – Creatures of the Night (1982)
30. Kiss – Lick It Up (1983)
31. Kiss – Animalize (1984)
32. Wendy O. Williams – WOW (1984) (Bonus Edition)
33. Kiss – Animalize Live Uncensored (1985)
34. Kiss – Asylum (1985)
35. Kiss – “Tears Are Falling” 7″ Single (Bonus Edition) (1985)
36. Kiss – Creatures of the Night (1985 Re-Issue)
37. Vinnie Vincent Invasion – Vinnie Vincent Invasion (1986)
38. Black N’ Blue – Nasty Nasty (1986)
39. Ace Frehley – Frehley’s Comet (1987)
40. Kiss – Exposed VHS (1987)
41. Kiss – Crazy Nights (1987)
42. Kiss – “Crazy Crazy Nights” – 12″ Single (Bonus Edition)
43. Kiss – “Reason To Live” – 12″ Picture Disc (Bonus Edition)
44. Kiss – Chikara (1988)
45. Kiss – Smashes, Thrashes & Hits (1988)
46. Kiss – Hot In The Shade (1989)
47. Kiss – “God Gave Rock And Roll To You II” (1991) – 12″ Picture Disc
48. Kiss – Revenge (1992)
49. Kiss – Alive III (1993)
50. Kiss – “I Was Made For Lovin’ You (Live)” (1993) – CD Maxi Single (Bonus Edition)
51. Kiss – Konfidential VHS (1993)
52. Kiss – Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved (1994)
53. Kiss – MTV Unplugged (1996)
54. Kiss – You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!! (1996)
55. Kiss – Greatest Kiss (1997)
56. Kiss – Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions (1997)
57. Kiss – Psycho Circus (1998)
58. Kiss – The Second Coming Documentary (1998)
59. Eric Carr – Rockology (1999)
60. Mark St. John – Mark St. John Project (1999)
61. Eric Singer Project – ESP (1999)
62. Bruce Kulick – Audiodog (2001)
63. Kiss – Kiss Symphony: Alive IV (2003)
64. Gene Simmons – Asshole (2004)
65. Kisss – Rock the Nation 2004 World Tour: Instant Live (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Charlotte, NC 7/28/04) (2004)
66. Kiss – Rock the Nation Live! DVD (2005)
67. Kiss – Alive! The Millennium Concert (2006)
68. Paul Stanley – Live to Win (2006)
69. Kiss – Kissology: Volumes 1 to 3 (2006-2007)
70. Kiss – Jigoku-Retsuden (2008)
71. Kiss – Sonic Boom (2009)
72. Kiss – Monster (2012)
73. Kiss – The Casablanca Singles 1973-1982 (2012)
74. Kiss – Kiss 40 (2014)
75. Kiss – Kiss Rocks Vegas (2016)
76. Kiss – Kissworld: The Best of Kiss (2017)
77. Kiss – Off the Soundboard: Tokyo 2001 (2021)
78. Kiss – Off the Soundboard: Live in Virginia Beach July 24, 2004 (2022)
79. Kiss – The Albums Ranked From Worst to First (2021)

The Bootleg Series:

1. Kiss – ‘Accept No Imitations’ (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (ASYLUM TOUR)
2. Kiss – Look Wot You Dun to Me (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (CRAZY NIGHTS TOUR)
3. Kiss – The Summer of Satan: The Devils Ride Out! (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (DESTROYER TOUR)
4. Kiss – Return to Capital Center (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (DYNASTY TOUR)
5. Kiss – With Fire & Thunder (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (HOTTER THAN HELL TOUR)
6. Kiss – Northhampton PA March 19th, 1975 (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (DRESSED TO KILL TOUR)
7. Kiss – The Hottest Show On Earth (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (THE HOTTEST SHOW ON EARTH TOUR 2010)
8. Kiss – All the Way to the Ball Room (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (Australian Tour 1995)
9. Kiss – Kiss of Thunder (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (The Rising Sun Tour 2006)
10. Kiss – Agora Ballroom 1974: The Cleveland Broadcast plus Bonus Cuts (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (THE KISS TOUR)
11. Kiss – Hotter Than Hell: Radio Broadcast 1976 (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (ROCK & ROLL OVER TOUR)
12. Kiss – The Tickler (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (LICK IT UP TOUR 1983)
13. Kiss – Barbarize (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (ANIMALIZE WORLD TOUR 1984 – North American Tour)
14. Kiss – They Only Come Out At Night (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (ANIMALIZE WORLD TOUR 1984 – EUROPEAN TOUR)
15. Wicked Lester and the Progeny Demo Sessions (Bootleg)
16. Kiss – Black Diamond: Lafayette Music Room, Memphis, TN April 18th, 1974 – FM Broadcast
17. Kiss – End of the Road: In Allentown 2020 (PPL Center, Allentown, PA, 4th February 2020) (End of the Road Tour) – Blu-Ray
18. Kiss – ‘Monster Tour: Simpsonville 2013’ (Charter Amphitheatre at Heritage Park, Simpsonville, C – 13th August 2013) – Blu-Ray
19. Wicked Lester – The Original Wicked Lester Sessions (Bootleg)
20. Kiss – The Ritz on Fire (August 12, 1988, The Ritz, New York City. A radio broadcast – Crazy Nights Tour)
21. Kiss – Kiss My Axe 1978: Live from the Los Angeles Forum in California, August 25, 1977 (Love Gun Tour)

Kiss – The Box Set:

1. The Box Set (Part 1 of 6)
2. The Box Set – Disc One 1966-1975 (Part 2 of 6)
3. The Box Set – Disc Two 1975-1977 (Part 3 of 6)
4. The Box Set – Disc Three 1976-1982 (Part 4 of 6)
5. The Box Set – Disc Four 1983-1989 (Part 5 of 6)
6. The Box Set – Disc Five 1992-1999 (Part 6 of 6)

Gene Simmons – The Vault:

1. Part 1 – The Grand Opening
2. Part 2 – Disk 1
3. Part 3 – Disk 2
4. Part 4 – Disk 3
5. Part 5 – Disk 4
6. Part 6 – Disk 5
7. Part 7 – Disk 6
8. Part 8 – Disk 7
9. Part 9 – Disk 8
10. Part 10 – Disk 9
11. Part 11 – Disk 10
12. Part 12 – The Bonus Disk
13. Part 13 – The Best Songs of the Vault
14. Part 14 – The Worst Songs of the Vault
15. Part 15 – The Final Verdict