KISS News Bits

[Terry]

Just looked at what tickets are available for their "final" show here...$25 in the very last rows of the arena. Plenty of unsold tickets, even on the floor. Decent seats for $100 too.

Saw them in...October 2021, in a 20,000 seat amphitheater. Saturday night show. Tickets then, two years ago, were only $50. I'd say just by eyeballing the crowd roughly 15 to 17,000 showed up. So, not bad, but I was surprised in that it was a Saturday night and KISS were charging about half of what comparable name bands were when they played the venue...I'd a thought just the concert being on the day of the week it was a ticket prices so low they'd be able to sell the place out.

Still, better than they had done the last time I had seen them in 1985 on the Asylum tour in Providence. THAT show stood out in part because that venue was about...I dunno, 15,000 capacity or so. It was literally half-full.

[Terry]

I content myself with taking out videos of LARGO '77 and COBO HALL '75. I get more pleasure out of watching these in my home theater than paying a fortune to see a band lip-sync their music while claiming that their original lead guitarist could not cut it today even though he still plays actually live shows.

I dunno...have seen clips of Ace's live smaller-venue shows over the last several years. From what I recall, he usually has two other guitarists onstage to help fatten up the sound and what he's actually playing sounds a bit sloppy and uninspired, although I would agree it does at least appear that Ace and his band are actually playing and singing live.

I kept meaning to see the band during the 1996-2000 period. Just never got around to it. For whatever Paul Stanley had to say about Peter Criss and Ace only being able to play the same 20 or so tunes during those years, it was decent far as rock band reunions went. The entire band was well-rehearsed and basically played about as well as one could have wanted or expected them to...they put the greasepaint back on and did their best to recreate that mid-to-late 1970's bombast. About the only reunion that was a bit better was Deep Purple in 1984, mostly because they were able to reform and record a good rock album - Perfect Strangers - that held up well enough alongside their classic MK2 material, whereas KISS and Psycho Circus...nope.

The difference between KISS circa 1996-2000 and today, beyond the obvious absence of Criss and Frehley, is that in the mid-1990s the band hadn't had the original lineup in 15 years and hadn't done the makeup in nearly as long. So that first reunion tour was special. Now, KISS in makeup playing 70's KISS music isn't anything special after the band have been doing it for nearly 30 years on a never-ending reunion tour. One would imagine any casual/'take 'em or leave 'em' fan has had ample opportunity to see it by now.

[Rikk]

I dunno...have seen clips of Ace's live smaller-venue shows over the last several years. From what I recall, he usually has two other guitarists onstage to help fatten up the sound and what he's actually playing sounds a bit sloppy and uninspired, although I would agree it does at least appear that Ace and his band are actually playing and singing live.

I kept meaning to see the band during the 1996-2000 period. Just never got around to it. For whatever Paul Stanley had to say about Peter Criss and Ace only being able to play the same 20 or so tunes during those years, it was decent far as rock band reunions went. The entire band was well-rehearsed and basically played about as well as one could have wanted or expected them to...they put the greasepaint back on and did their best to recreate that mid-to-late 1970's bombast. About the only reunion that was a bit better was Deep Purple in 1984, mostly because they were able to reform and record a good rock album - Perfect Strangers - that held up well enough alongside their classic MK2 material, whereas KISS and Psycho Circus...nope.

The difference between KISS circa 1996-2000 and today, beyond the obvious absence of Criss and Frehley, is that in the mid-1990s the band hadn't had the original lineup in 15 years and hadn't done the makeup in nearly as long. So that first reunion tour was special. Now, KISS in makeup playing 70's KISS music isn't anything special after the band have been doing it for nearly 30 years on a never-ending reunion tour. One would imagine any casual/'take 'em or leave 'em' fan has had ample opportunity to see it by now.

Yes, the Deep Purple reunion was basically the HOT-TO MANUAL of how to do it. PERFECT STRANGERS wasn't just some tossed-off reunion album. They STILL plays a handful of songs from that album. The song PERFECT STRANGERS is one of the greatest Deep Purple songs ever.

And those 1984-1985 shows were really strong. I love the Australia '85 DVD that got released pretty recently.

KISS were good live from 1996-1999. I saw the reunion tour, the PSYCHO CIRCUS tour and the FAREWELL TOUR. That last tour was...just not as good. The band sounded tired. Gene & Paul are assholes and try to blame Ace & Peter, but that's crap. I heard enough mistakes from Gene & Paul. It's bullshit when they claim they were carrying the band.

I will say: the REUNION KISS was NEVER as good as the original band from 1974-1978. That was their live peak. They've never sounded as good since as they did during the ALIVE! era.

[Terry]

Yes, the Deep Purple reunion was basically the HOT-TO MANUAL of how to do it. PERFECT STRANGERS wasn't just some tossed-off reunion album. They STILL plays a handful of songs from that album. The song PERFECT STRANGERS is one of the greatest Deep Purple songs ever.

And those 1984-1985 shows were really strong. I love the Australia '85 DVD that got released pretty recently.

KISS were good live from 1996-1999. I saw the reunion tour, the PSYCHO CIRCUS tour and the FAREWELL TOUR. That last tour was...just not as good. The band sounded tired. Gene & Paul are assholes and try to blame Ace & Peter, but that's crap. I heard enough mistakes from Gene & Paul. It's bullshit when they claim they were carrying the band.

I will say: the REUNION KISS was NEVER as good as the original band from 1974-1978. That was their live peak. They've never sounded as good since as they did during the ALIVE! era.

I'd have to agree, if only because during the Alive! era it was new, fresh and the band were at their physical peak. The 1996-1999 tours were a professional, concentrated attempt at recreating the 1975-1978 period, and the band did do a good job...I did notice when I watched the KISSStory dvds that the band were a bit more complacent and less energized in 1999 than they were in 1996, but it was still good value.

Yeah, Paul and Gene really kicked their revisionist "We did everything even back in the day/Ace and Peter were along for the ride" interview blather after 2003, when it was clear that both Ace and Peter were out of the band for good. 1980-2003, [Gene and Paul] would make a few pointed barbs here and there, but it wasn't the full-on 'the other two original guys sucked' onslaught they undertook once Tommy and Eric were permanent sidemen. Whatever. One has a pretty good idea of who did what and that it took the original four to make it what it was. *

[Nickdfresh]

[twonabomber]

Stanley keeps mentioning they're done and that they carry 40 pounds of gear on them. I wonder if that means this is the end of the road for the makeup and that another unmasking is coming. They seem to like money too much to quit.

Almost went to the show last night, I got back from seeing Stewart Copeland in Erie in time to make it downtown but decided not to go.

[FORD]

20 of those 40 pounds is probably the wigs on their heads.

[Vinnie Velvet]

Stanley keeps mentioning they're done and that they carry 40 pounds of gear on them. I wonder if that means this is the end of the road for the makeup and that another unmasking is coming. They seem to like money too much to quit.

Almost went to the show last night, I got back from seeing Stewart Copeland in Erie in time to make it downtown but decided not to go.

I think theyre really done.

Gene especially. He looks tired and worn out.

Not to mention Stanley's voice is really shot. He can't do any show without assisted tracks.

[FORD]

[Terry]

Stanley keeps mentioning they're done and that they carry 40 pounds of gear on them. I wonder if that means this is the end of the road for the makeup and that another unmasking is coming. They seem to like money too much to quit.

Almost went to the show last night, I got back from seeing Stewart Copeland in Erie in time to make it downtown but decided not to go.

From everything I've heard and read the Copeland shows are excellent.

[Terry]

I think theyre really done.

Gene especially. He looks tired and worn out.

Not to mention Stanley's voice is really shot. He can't do any show without assisted tracks.

I wouldn't be surprised either way - if they actually retired or just kept going - at this point. They've diddled around with so many farewell tours and 'this may (or may not) be the last tour' tours that - for me at least - it's beyond too late for goodbye.

[twonabomber]

From everything I've heard and read the Copeland shows are excellent.

It was really good. Nice small theater and tickets were only $40 for the Sunday matinee show.

Copeland mentioned that all the songs were Sting's, and screwed up and called Sting "Matthew Sumner" and then laughed and corrected himself to say "Gordon Matthew Sumner." Gave props to Andy Summers too. Mentioned that we may have heard that Copeland and "Stingo" didn't get along. He brought a bass player and three singers, the rest were Erie Philharmonic members.

Summers and Copleland both had "vintage" Police shirts at their merch booths, they must have gotten a group buy lol.

Erie is only about an hour away, even as windy as it was I made it in an hour and ten minutes. My 2 door Wrangler got pushed all over the freeway in the wind. Cheap parking around the corner from the theater. I had a pretty good idea where it was, we usually ride our bikes at Presque Isle state park and venture up into downtown Erie and I recognized the neighborhood as I drove by. Stopped at Guitar Center on the way back but didn't bring anything home.

[silverfish]

Kiss Announces Pay-Per-View Event for Final Show


Kiss will officially reach the end of their End of the Road Tour on Dec. 2 at New York's Madison Square
Garden, and they're offering fans from all over the world a chance to bid them farewell with a livestream
pay-per-view event.

The rockers' final bow will stream worldwide exclusively on PPV.com and also be available on pay-per-view
via cable and satellite operators in the United States and Canada. The concert will cost $39.99 in those
territories and $14.99 outside of North America. No subscription is required. Indemand, the parent company
of PPV.com, will also carry the event through its network of cable, satellite and telco providers, including
Xfinity, Spectrum, Contour, Optimum, Fios, DirecTV and more.


Full story at:

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/kiss-pay-per-view-final-show/

[Nickdfresh]

LMFAO! I'd rather watch these kids play "live" on TV for $40:

[twonabomber]

One instance where piracy is justified