Opening for a big band is rarely a walk in the park. For many musicians, it’s their chance to break into the touring scene, but it comes with the tough job of winning over a crowd that’s there for the headliner.
For Sammy Hagar, being an opener for Kiss in his early career was a nightmare, even though his style seemed like a decent fit.
Hagar, ever the fighter, admitted that this experience was far from enjoyable.
Hagar’s hard rock sound wasn’t worlds apart from what Kiss was doing at the time, especially since he hadn’t yet solidified his ‘Red Rocker’ persona.
Coming fresh off his time with Montrose, his brand of music held its own with early Kiss material. However, the real issue wasn’t the music.
The problem was that no band was ever going to have an easy time opening for Kiss, especially when facing their rabid fanbase, known as “The Kiss Army.”
Opening for Kiss meant facing a crowd that only wanted one thing: Kiss. Fans would either scream for the band to hit the stage or simply ignore the opening act.
And while Hagar struggled with the crowd, there was one band that managed to challenge Kiss onstage: Van Halen.
Long before Hagar joined them, Van Halen’s frontman, David Lee Roth, and Eddie Van Halen’s iconic guitar solos gave Kiss serious competition, making even Gene Simmons’ “Demon” persona look like child’s play by comparison.
But Hagar’s struggle wasn’t just with the fans; it was with his own song choices.
During his set, he decided to play a ballad just three songs in—a risky move when the crowd was itching for heavy hitters like “Detroit Rock City.”
By the time he brought out an acoustic guitar, the audience had already checked out.
Frustrated, Hagar didn’t even bother finishing his set.
In an interview with Louder, he recalled the moment he snapped: “I just stopped the song and said, ‘I’m so glad they flew in a special audience from Los Angeles for me.’
Then I pulled my pants down, shook it at them, smashed my guitar, and walked off stage saying, ‘Fuck you.’”
Despite the disastrous experience, Hagar didn’t give up on music.
In fact, when he later joined Van Halen, he took some cues from Kiss’s high-energy performances.
Footage from Live Without a Net shows Hagar performing his hit “There’s Only One Way to Rock” with an intensity that matched Eddie Van Halen’s guitar mastery. Hagar even dared to trade solos with Eddie and held his own.
Though Hagar would go on to achieve success with solo hits and his time with Van Halen, going toe-to-toe with Kiss’s live show was a losing battle from the start.
Kiss had perfected the art of giving their fans exactly what they wanted, and anyone standing in their way was bound to get steamrolled by the unstoppable force that was Kiss onstage.
