On September 19, 2018 after a performance on the finale of America’s Got Talent, KISS announced that they are embarking on one final tour called One Last Kiss: End of the World Tour. As vocalist and rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley explained, “Once we play your city, it is done.” Should we care? After all, this isn’t the first time KISS have announced something like this. Flash back to 1995. Stanley and bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons reunited with original guitarist Ace Frehley and original drummer Peter Criss, put the makeup back on, toured in 1996, and became the top-drawing concert act of 1996. A follow-up tour in 1998 saw lower ticket sales. KISS said they would do one more tour with Frehley and Criss during 2000 and 2001, a farewell tour, and that would be the end.
Frehley and Criss had been in KISS back in the 1970s. Although their first few albums contained KISS staples, it would be the live album Alive! that turned KISS into superstars. In fact, KISS were far more impressive live than on record. They created alter egos for themselves complete with individualized face paint and costumes. Part monster, part comic book superhero, part punk and gothic drag queen, they transformed into something larger than themselves. Stanley became The Starchild, Simmons became The Demon, Frehley became The Spaceman, and Criss became The Catman. Simmons figured out a way to create the illusion that he was spitting blood. Other times, he breathed fire. Frehley soloed while his guitar smoked and appeared to be on fire. Criss played on an elevated drum riser that shot sparks. Stanley danced and move around the stage. Lots of stuff blew up. Their live shows were larger than life. Circus. Extravaganza. Magic.
Along the way, Frehley and Criss began to let other things take priority besides the music, and they squabbled with Stanley and Simmons. Amid issues of substances abuse and ego clashes, eventually—and perhaps inevitably—KISS moved on without Criss and Frehley.
KISS decided to move away from their 70s sound and struggled to find a new sound. They survived mostly by following the trends of the time. They found new drummer Eric Carr, and, after working and recording with a couple of guitarists including Vinnie Vincent, ended up with hotshot Bruce Kulick who was quite capable of playing in the flashy 80s style of that the band wanted to adopt. They eventually took off the makeup and settled on a glam look. Though they never had the success of Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, or Guns N’ Roses during the 80s, they stayed afloat, released new music, and continued to perform live. Maybe they coasted some on their 70s reputation (but what a reputation they had made). Gene Simmons later admitted that he let himself get distracted during the 80s with making movies, becoming a manager, and starting a record label.
Nonetheless, it was not an entirely lost decade as KISS experienced something of a resurgence in the late 80s. Like many of their albums, Hot in the Shade (1989) is uneven. “Forever” peaked at number eight on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The only KISS song that had performed better on that chart was 1976’s “Beth.” which reached number seven. Revenge (1992) was their first top ten album since 1979’s Dynasty. Though it flirted with grunge, it was also a throwback to earlier, better days. Probably their heaviest album since 1982’s Creatures of the Night, it also contained elements of their 1970’s sound with the original lineup.
Carnival of Souls, which leans even further into the then still popular grunge sound, was recorded in late 1995 and early 1996, but was not released until 1997. In between KISS performed on MTV Unplugged on August 9, 1995. Drummer Eric Singer and Bruce Kulick formed part of the lineup, but Peter Criss and Ace Frehley also performed. Although Stanley and Simmons won’t admit it, this was probably a way to gauge both the popularity and potential profitability of a reunion and a dress rehearsal to measure just how capable and coherent Criss and Frehley could be in a live situation. By downsizing the stage show, unplugging, and ditching the kinetic element, their appearance also legitimized KISS as musicians. It didn’t take too long for everyone to read the makeup and greasepaint on the stadium wall and realize another transition was happening.
Criss and Frehley replaced Singer and Kulick. KISS put the makeup back on. A new tour with classic songs commenced. Psycho Circus came out in 1998 and made it to number three, proof that the original members could make new music. Sort of. Criss played drums on only one song and Frehley played on just two. Nobody seemed to mind too much. The original members were back together and the set list skewed heavily toward the classic KISS albums. In fact, one quarter of the set list came from the first album.
Since then, KISS have remained, essentially, frozen in time. In 2003 Frehley was replaced by Tommy Thayer, and in 2004 Singer rejoined the band when Criss’ contract was not renewed. Rather than create new characters and looks, Thayer and Singer picked up The Spaceman and The Catman personas, which also means that should personnel issues have arisen another rotation of band members wouldn’t be as noticeable. However, Thayer and Singer seem not to have recreated the issues of drama and dependability that hovered over Criss and Frehely. Plus, Stanley and Simmons probably don’t have to split the money or the power equally.
Sonic Boom (2009) and Monster (2012) both reached back to KISS’ 70s sound. Other than demonstrating that KISS had not given up on recording, neither record made that much of a difference for better or worse. For KISS, new records don’t make any money or bring in new fans. Longtime fans tend to favor the older material. KISS didn’t put too much emphasis on these records in their set lists, which have also stayed relatively static. Thayer and Singer duplicated the look, makeup, characters, and sound of their respective predecessors, so live it’s all been about the same.
So why a retirement tour now? Although at one point they floated the idea that KISS could go on without any original members like a corporation, sports team, or idol group, that possibility seems to have been discarded. Thus, the question become not if, but when and how to end. Simmons and Stanley are closing in on seventy and they have talked about the increased difficulty of performing and touring. Despite the quality of the hotels, having a small army of professionals to attend to every need, and travelling by private jet, touring is rigorous. Over the last few years, videos have surfaced documenting Stanley’s vocal struggles with high notes and pitch control. The spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weakening.
When KISS performed on America’s Got Talent, viewers and longtime KISS fans later questioned how live the performance was. In a September 29, 2018 interview with Rolling Stone, when asked whether the vocals were live or prerecorded for the performance, Stanley explained and admitted that “What you tend to do is record it live and that way you know that everything is as it should be. It’s not like going into the studio or anything like that, it’s . . . with all its imperfections it’s live.” We can probably parse this to mean that the vocal was prerecorded, but nothing was done to the recording. In other words, there was no Auto-Tune, punching in and replacing notes or lines, no manipulating or editing of the track. In short, it was a prerecording of a completely live track. Since then KISS have performed other classic tracks on various television shows and speculation over prerecorded tracks continues and grows. The prevailing theory is that Stanley’s vocals are prerecorded, but he has an open or hot microphone in front of him that allows him to throw in adlibs and talk to the audience. KISS have discussed touring for two or three years (or more), and expanding their set list to as many as twenty-five songs. Additionally, the current dates include multiple bursts of back-to-back dates and five-day stretches with four performance dates. Prerecordings begin to make a lot of sense.
Some fans are fine with this. They want to hear the band in the best form possible, even if not everything is live. It’s well-known that Alive! is not just a live recording but also very much a studio product. Yet KISS fans and others consider it a landmark live album, so there is both a precedent that had been set and tolerance that has been established for KISS live performances that are less than live—and it’s not as if KISS is the only rock band to ever use or be accused of using supplements to boost their live performances. Other refuse to see KISS and claim their last concert was during the farewell tour of the late 90s. The talk and possibility of canned or semi-canned performances just confirms their decision.
Let’s consider how the tour might function. The first American leg begins January 31, 2019 and ends April 13, 2019. KISS are spreading out the locations, which may equalize the distribution of attendance. For example, the last five concerts, April 7 to April 13, are in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and Alabama. There are two dates in Florida: Tampa—where I’m going—and Jacksonville. Most likely people are going to choose whichever location is closest to them as opposed to looking at a cluster of concerts that are equidistant from them and then picking the best date—a Friday night, for example—so, for example, there is no competition between Tampa and Jacksonville. People in the Tampa area will go to Tampa on Thursday instead of Jacksonville on Friday. My guess is a future leg will include Orlando but not Tampa. And, if enough, time passes in between, fans that would have picked one date or the other if those dates had been back-to-back or had only a day or two in between them, might instead go to both dates if they are spaced out on separate legs of the tour.
Stanley has said that “hopefully, there will be appearances by other who’ve been in this band. If they weren’t there, it’s not because we don’t want them there.” So far no announcements have been made, which seems a little strange since if anything were in place, KISS confirming it would only help drive ticket sales. That lack of an announcement, then, suggests no agreements with former members have been reached. On the other hand, the 2018 KISS Kruise featured Stanley, Simmons, Thayer, Singer, AND Frehley, and Kulick all performing together acoustically. It’s 1995 all over again. Anything seems possible.
Perhaps it’s a negotiating tactic. By having a set of healthy ticket sales, KISS can tell any former members the diplomatic version of “We don’t need you to help sell this tour, but we’d like you to appear.” It’s also possible that the plan is to get people to buy tickets again for future legs that include, say this time, Orlando and Miami by announcing one or more former members of KISS as guest stars. So maybe you were fine seeing KISS only once on their farewell tour or you were on the edge and didn’t buy a ticket the first time they came through your area. Now, it’s a year later and Frehley, Criss, Kulick, and/or Vinnie Vincent are promised to appear in some capacity. That wallet, which has had a chance to cool down, might pop out again.
There are other advantages to bringing in former members. It makes it easier to expand the set list and gives other members a break. It’s also possible not all of Stanley’s vocals will be prerecorded. Is his voice completely shot or it is just that his voice deteriorates from overuse and excessive touring? If it’s the latter, he might choose to sing two or three song live. These songs could rotate from show to show, and he might sound pretty good. If all of his vocals are prerecorded for all songs and even if there are multiple prerecordings of the same song, it’s not going to take very long for people to figure it out when they start comparing shows, so throwing in some live vocals every show helps authenticate the performances and gives more material to choose from for the inevitable Alive V and Kissology Volume Four releases that we’ll all buy.
KISS have already managed to negotiate live performances with both past and current members. Plus, KISS have a B stage toward the other end of the venue. Two members can’t play nice together? Let one of them play down at the B stage. Problem solved!
Stanley says that the tour “is a celebration of the history of the band, not any individual lineup.”Let’s say all of the current and former member of KISS get involved to create a concert that represents the totality of KISS from first to last record. What might such a set list look like?
1. “Deuce”
2. “Shout It Out Loud”
3. “Firehouse”
4. “Lick It Up”
5. “Tears are Falling”
“6. I Love It Loud”
7. “I Was Made for Loving You”
8. “Love Gun”
9. “I Stole Your Love”
10. “Do You Love Me?” (this finishes off a four song set focusing on love.)
11. “Let’s Put the X in Sex”
12. “Black Diamond”
13. “Detroit Rock City”
14. “Cold Gin”
15. “Shock Me”
16./17. Something from Sonic Boom and something from Monster to represent the later albums (I don’t have a preference, but Thayer might want to play something he recorded.)
18. “Creatures of the Night”
19. “Unholy”
20. “Forever”
21. “Just a Boy” (the chorus is exceedingly high. However, where there’s a will—and a pitch shifter or pair of backup singers—there’s a way.) Or “Under the Rose” (the second of two choices from Music From “The Elder”.)
22. “Reason to Live”
23. “Beth” (not one of my favorites, but it’s another chance to rest Stanley’s voice and it involves a performance from Criss on vocals who may not be up for playing the drums.)
24. “Rock and Roll All Nite” (this is the only song KISS can finish with. Just bring everybody up on stage and let them do their thing whether it’s vocals, instruments, or they just want to breakdance or sit there and count their money). Which one is The Spaceman? Who get to wears the cat face paint? Just have everybody take off the makeup for the final song and jam out.)
This leaves one open slot you can use to cover whatever you feel this list has missed. “Parasite”? “Hotter Than Hell”? “God of Thunder”? “War Machine”? “Crazy Crazy Nights”? “Psycho Circus”? Something from Carnival of Souls? If I like The Elder, surely someone—not me—wants to hear “I Finally Found My Way.” While it might be fun and exciting to allow ticketed fans to vote and pick what song KISS will play before the encore of each date, it’s doubtful KISS are going to want the challenge of trying to refresh themselves on and incorporate a new song potentially every performance. Additionally, it would have to be completely live unless they are going to either prerecord the entire catalog or limit the songs fans can vote for, which defeats the purpose.
The tour is selling well as people come to them for the first time, the veterans of the KISS Army who have been with them for decades return for another tour of duty, and people who are somewhere in between don’t won’t to pass up what is being marketed as the last chance.
Final tour. Should you care?
Yes. Yes, you should.
KISS is fantasy. KISS is illusion. KISS is magic. And KISS works like the best magic trick. See it. Be amazed. Don’t stare too long or too far into the hat trying to figure out where the rabbit has gone.
KISS is about many things: fun, standing up for yourself, and making your own myth. Sure, KISS are superheroes, but the message of the myth is that you are your own hero. The hero or heroine at the center of the quest is you. You become the myth you make.
By using the same makeup, KISS have allowed themselves to stay in a state of suspended animation. They don’t age and the members are interchangeable. They’re frozen somewhere in the 70s and everyone who sees them is delivered back to their first KISS experience from whatever decade. Every time the lights go down, I’m at my first KISS concert, November 3, 1990 in Albany, Georgia. Eric Carr is still playing drums, everyone I care about is still alive, I still believe in everything, and I am a pure and glorious sixteen all over again filled with more power and wonder than I can understand.
You wanted the best? You’re getting the best. If it takes some prerecorded tracks to help make that magic happen, so it is. I’m seeing KISS one last time. That is all.
Catch Kiss on their final world tour across North America, Europe, UK and Australia in 2019
https://www.kissonline.com/
