Destroyer
- Bleeding Priest
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
February 13, 2026
Local Tap
San Francisco, CA
What else are you gonna do at happy hour on a Friday? See a KISS tribute band at a tiny watering hole near the ballpark of course.
Destroyer are SF’s longest running and currently only KISS tribute band. There’s been three others in The Bay that I can remember, Detroit Rock City who predate Destroyer. Heroes, who if memory serves only played one gig. And Kisser, an all female tribute that I never got the chance to see. And of course Frehley’s Vomit.
I’ve seen these guys many times over the decades and it’s always a fun time. My longtime friend Jonathan Fenno plays Paul Stanley and my sometimes drum tech with Death Angel Aaron Barrett plays Peter Criss.
When I heard they were playing Local Tap (formerly Zeke’s) I had to see it to believe it. I couldn’t imagine a band having the room to play in there let alone a KISS cover band. This is where I usually go before or after a Giants game. Tables and chairs everywhere. But they managed to pull it off.
What impressed me the most was the volume control. I thought for sure they were going to blast everyone’s heads off. But it sounded quite good actually with all the instruments and vocals blended well.
They did a standard run of songs with nothing too deep from their discography (if you don’t count the goofing around between songs with tunes like “Nowhere To Run” and “Partners In Crime”). It was a stripped down performance. No fire breathing today.
No Destroyer show is complete without some technical difficulties and this time it was Gene’s turn. No KISS tribute is truly complete until you see Gene fumbling through a backpack.
Aside from that they played well and provided a great soundtrack to start the weekend. It’s comforting to know these guys are still doing it. Every respectable Rock/Metal scene should have their very own KISS tribute and I’m proud to say we have Destroyer!
–Bleeding Priest
