Review by Shawn Perry
Photos by Joe Schaeffer
We’ve heard it all before about the fabled “farewell tour.” The fact is very few are able to part the world’s stage with total finality. The Scorpions were supposed to hang it up 10 years ago. How many times have the Who said, “good bye”? KISS fans remember when the band said “farewell” to touring in 2001? The shakeout there is that they meant to say it was the final tour of the “original” lineup. Supposedly, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons never had any intention of retiring the version of KISS without Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. And so KISS, more of a brand than a band at this point in time, continued.
Now, in 2019, Stanley and Simmons have decided it’s the “end of the road” for KISS, with dates scheduled until the end of the year. This begs the first obvious question: Is this really the end of KISS? Followed by: Will Frehley and Criss make cameos and take their final bows? Could the “end of the road” extend through 2020 and beyond? If this is truly it, what will the KISS franchise do for an encore?
None of those questions were asked or answered when KISS rolled into Anaheim. As Paul Stanley told the audience, the band’s first visit to the city was back in 1976 at the Anaheim Stadium, just across the freeway from the Honda Center. I remember it because I was there for my second KISS show of the year. Like every teenager back then, I was enamored with the makeup, the costumes, pyrotechnics, smoke, blood, the whole package. After the first Alive album, the ambitious, more refined Destroyer dropped and soon struck platinum, paving the way for world domination with shows like the spectacle they unleashed at Anaheim Stadium. Tonight, 43 years later, I expected no less.
At previous KISS shows I’ve attended, there’s been an opening band — Montrose in 1976 (both times), Motley Crue in 2012. The opener for tonight was an artist named David Garibaldi. What he did with the little time he had was to create rough and ready caricatures of various rock icons like Freddie Mercury, Jimi Hendrix, and, of course, KISS, on a floating canvas board as thousands of spectators continued filing in. Not exactly high-brow stuff for sure; actually, more of a small and harmless novelty act that couldn’t possibly upstage the headliner. Easy on, easy off, with enough final prep time for the 8:45 curtain drop.
Once Led Zeppelin’s “Rock And Roll” came roaring out of the PA, the countdown was on. “You wanted the best, you got the best…the hottest band in the world…KISS!” The curtain fell, the rumbling undertow of “Detroit Rock City” began to swell, explosions erupted, flames sprouted, lights flashed, the KISS logo lit up, and the Starchild, the Demon, the Spaceman, and the Catman dug in their heels and projected their bigger-than-life images to the faithful. It was a grand KISS entrance for the very last time in Anaheim!
You can’t help getting pulled in. The songs — simple, slightly saccharine (think “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”), frequently fearsome — are the soundtrack to the whole production. They’re not meant to be mulled over or provoke thought. They never were. KISS music is all about letting loose, unhinging your inhibitions, indulging in your deepest, most hedonistic fantasy without considering the consequences. Ain’t nothin’ but a party. “Shout It Out Loud,” the second of five from Destroyer played tonight, had Stanley greasing up the front rows while Simmons wiggled his tongue and took giant, over-emphasized steps to underscore his profound presence. He’s a living, breathing cartoon character.
The epic nature of KISS had all four members living up their legendary antics. During “Heaven’s On Fire,” Simmons spit fire, right before Stanley reminded the audience that Tuesday, February 12th would be a night they would never forget and adding “We’re just getting started.” They always say that about three or four songs in. Simmons would later spit up blood i.e., a spectacular facsimile thereof, as he plucked the opening notes to “God Of Thunder.” Rumors that spitting up blood helps diminish the taste of fire have been neither denied nor confirmed.
At various points, Simmons and guitarist Tommy Thayer were elevated up a few feet on octagon-shaped platforms. They were later carried over the audience by two cranes during “Rock And Roll All Nite.” Stanley was transported over the crowd to the B-stage for “Love Gun,” Thayer shot flares out of his guitar during his “Cold Gin” solo, and drummer Eric Singer sat behind a piano and sang “Beth.” Never a dull moment at a KISS show.
Musically, the band sounded fuller and tighter than when I had seen them in previous years. Though he’s been accused of losing his voice, Stanley managed to screech through his share of the lead vocals of the night without too much of a strain. Simmons’ unique bark rang through to the core of “War Machine” and “Rock And Roll All Nite.” The harmonies were convincing enough on “Black Diamond” as Singer capably took the lead vocal.
Both Thayer and Stanley angled their guitar breaks and solos around each other, while Singer’s steady, stick-twirling hand and Simmons’ sticky bass notes provided a hefty bite of traction and bottom end. Even though KISS catch flak for their lack of musical sophistication and ability, their performance in Anaheim, fireworks and all, scurried along with little distraction or sour notes. As they pounded out the last refrain of “Rock And Roll All Nite,” cannons fired confetti, streamers fell from the ceiling, a mass of smoke, flames and lights danced wildly for attention. When it was over, there were no formal good-byes.
Frehley and Criss were no-shows, though their mark in the band was honored in old KISS footage that popped up on the side and back screens from time to time. Every band over 30 has a history, though there was nothing said or shown to remind fans that the history of KISS has included a number of other key players. Maybe they’re saving it for a big Netflix rock bio.
The fading embers of “God Gave Rock ‘n’ Roll To You II” played over the house speakers and the Honda Center emptied out to a throng of bootleg T-shirt sellers and hot dog vendors. The “real” fans, the ones who wore makeup of their favorite KISS characters and buy the merch, already have tickets for the Forum. The rest of us will wait for the next “farewell” tour.
