He was also the lead guitarist for the band Siouxsie and the Banshees from 1982 to 1984, and was part of the short-lived group The Glove in 1983. He is the lead singer, guitarist, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the rock band The Cure, which he co-founded in 1978. In a word, contrived.Robert James Smith (born 21 April 1959) is an English musician. Although the awkwardly titled The Academy Is… was a bit more pop-punk and the Envy from Toronto was a bit more arena-rock (in the vein of U2), both five-piece bands in uniforms of skinny pants had singers who performed like recent graduates of rock star academy. If Kiss placed two bloodless emo bands on the bill to make the crowd clamor for gore, face paint and explosions, they succeeded. Sure enough, Simmons made a vampire turn, spitting up not-quite a gallon of the red stuff before levitating with his executioner-axe bass to stand on rigging overhead while singing the rock anthem, “I Love It Loud.” Entertainment genius. “He spits up blood – like a gallon of it. “You know what’s going to happen next, don’t ya?” said a fan leaning over to talk to me as Simmons convulsed and twitched onstage in a green-strobe-lit seizure. And though some of the new “Sonic Boom” stuff was lackluster, Kiss had plenty of hits (“Shock Me,” “Detroit Rock City,” “Shout It out Loud”) to carry the show through. As was the band’s set list, which hasn’t changed much throughout the tour. Guitarist Tommy Thayer, who has taken over Ace Frehley’s spaceman character, shot fireworks out of his guitar. (Later, the screen was used to plug the band’s most recent album, “Sonic Boom.”) “Saratoga Springs, how you doin’?” he asked before “Firehouse,” when a video screen as wide as the stage alternated between close-ups of band members and shooting flames. Gene can’t-stop-tongue-wagging Simmons stalked the stage, looking part-bat with leather wings and part-sadomasochistic dinosaur (a silver-studded triceratops).įrontman Paul Stanley added a more human element, rocking a shirtless, hairy chest and making standard frontman exhortations in a ripping Queens accent. A Kiss concert is a spectacle – one that’s still way more entertaining than just about any other arena rock show.ĭrummer Eric Singer, who took over Peter Criss’ catman character starting in the ’90s, began the night’s first song, “Modern Day Delilah,” playing on a riser so high he looked almost in miniature. The pyrotechnic-heavy stage show also has a lot to do with the band’s enduring success. In part, it’s the cartooning of Kiss: after more than 35 years of Kiss costumes, comic books and lunch boxes, the band no longer seems shocking or scary to anyone. So yes, Gene Simmons and his band mates have marketing savvy, you could say.īut the true genius of Kiss lies in how four blood-spitting, fire-breathing guys in black leather and Kabuki makeup – one with a menacing seven-inch-long tongue – became a dynasty clearly beloved by parents and kids alike. Pepper.Īnd just traipsing across the lawn meant encountering fans of all ages wearing every kind of Kiss merchandise imaginable, from t-shirts to kids’ costumes. Sitting inside the amphitheater for the show meant staring at another strategically placed bus that featured members of Kiss shilling for Dr. Not quite a genius concept – bands have been selling live CDs of their concerts for a while now.īut entering SPAC near the Hall of Springs meant walking past the Kiss bassist’s tour bus, parked where fans could gawk at the flaming-guitar-emblazoned bus that also advertised A&E’s “Gene Simmons Family Jewels” reality TV show. He was staring at a sign offering audio recordings of the evening’s performance. “ Gene Simmons is a marketing genius,” marveled a fan entering the SPAC grounds to see Kiss’ “Hottest Show on Earth” tour last week.
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