OCTOBER 6 & 7

Most nostalgia inspired by the return of the original, made-up Kiss has focused on the memories of getting stoned to “Detroit Rock City” in, like, 1977. I remember the Hottest Band in the World somewhat differently. To late-’80s cool kids, the cheesy and (at that point) entirely passe ’70s titans were the ultimate pop-culture kitsch fodder for a preternaturally hip aesthetic. So while the high-school squares blasted Classic Rock, I had a crush on the girl who covered a hole in the seat of her pants with a Gene Simmons patch. My best friend bought a bootleg tape of a 1979 Kiss concert at the Capitol Centre, and we said we’d go to any length—say, flying all the way back from Sri Lanka—to see them play live. But in the post-Nirvana era, everything Reagan-era alternators held dear has been wrenched away. So it’s no surprise that Kiss is once again playing the Capitol Centre (in this case, “USAir Arena” will hardly do). And it’s also no surprise that media outlets too cool for them just a decade ago are madly hyping the ’96-’97 tour. Don’t get mad: Kiss was never on our side, anyway. Besides, it’s hard to mourn long-gone hipdom when you’re busy trying to rock ‘n’ roll all night and party every day. With the Bogmen on Oct. 6 and the Deftones on Oct. 7, at 7 p.m. at USAir Arena, Landover. $35-50. (301) 350-3400. (Michael Schaffer)