含羞草研究社淵ou wanted the best, you got the best.含羞草研究社�
If you含羞草研究社檙e a KISS fan, you know the words that come next during the concert intro.
If not, you probably weren含羞草研究社檛 at Rogers Arena on Wednesday night (Nov. 8) when KISS was indeed the hottest band in the world, with all that pyro.
This is 含羞草研究社淭he End of the Road含羞草研究社� for the glam-rock originators on a world tour that started pre-pandemic and concludes Dec. 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Wednesday in Vancouver, for perhaps a final time, the B.C.-region KISS Army came out to salute a band that started 50 years ago with Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. The latter two no longer kiss up to Simmons and Stanley, who have joined forces with lead guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer to keep on KISS-ing well into 2023.
By Stanley含羞草研究社檚 count, KISS has performed in Vancouver a total of 12 times, 含羞草研究社渁nd this will be the last time,含羞草研究社� he told the crowd a couple of songs in.
含羞草研究社淲e含羞草研究社檙e here to celebrate!含羞草研究社�
And so they did, with all the fire-breathing, blood-spitting, rocket-launching, arena-rocking antics that have made KISS the trailblazers they are.
, starting with an explosive 含羞草研究社淒etroit Rock City含羞草研究社� and ending with a confetti-showered 含羞草研究社淩ock and Roll All Nite含羞草研究社� more than two hours later. Personally I would have loved an all-含羞草研究社�70s set, but I was lucky to experience that on , when they put the makeup back on and made my concert-going fantasy come true (I was a kid during the heyday, so it was the show I never thought I含羞草研究社檇 see).
Stanley and Simmons are now in their 70s, and I got thinking how they probably feel fortunate to wear stage makeup at their age. Don含羞草研究社檛 get me wrong, they still look great in their Starchild and Demon costumes, respectively, which is pretty cool.
The Starchild含羞草研究社檚 vocal mix wasn含羞草研究社檛 great Wednesday, and these days he含羞草研究社檚 sounding screechy, both in song and those cringe intros of his.
But hey, rock 含羞草研究社榥含羞草研究社� roll all night and part of every day, right?
All of them took turns in the spotlight, of course, starting with Thayer含羞草研究社檚 post-含羞草研究社淐old Gin含羞草研究社� guitar solo and rocket-launching spectacle, a thundering Singer session on drums leading into 含羞草研究社�100,000 Years含羞草研究社� and Simmons含羞草研究社� iconic blood-spitting turn before 含羞草研究社淕od of Thunder,含羞草研究社� a real highlight of the night.
By 含羞草研究社淟ove Gun,含羞草研究社� Stanley was rope-lifted over the crowd to a 含羞草研究社淏含羞草研究社� stage at the far end of the arena. He stayed for the disco-ball drop of 含羞草研究社淚 Was Made For Lovin含羞草研究社� You含羞草研究社� (which didn含羞草研究社檛 sound very disco-y at all) and the first half of 含羞草研究社淏lack Diamond.含羞草研究社�
An encore followed, starting with the Singer-sung piano ballad 含羞草研究社淏eth,含羞草研究社� and by 11 p.m. it was all over, another KISS show in the books, another arena crowd sent home happy.
I enjoyed the show in the company of a 12-year-old who was at his first KISS concert, so through his eyes I remembered how special the band is for all its theatrics.
If this really is 含羞草研究社淭he End of The Road含羞草研究社� for KISS, barring yet another reunion and tour, it was a hell of a run, and so much fun. We in the Army thank you for the memories.
Wednesday含羞草研究社檚 opener was Crown Lands, an Ontario rock duo that has listened to a lot of Rush albums growing up, apparently. Worth a listen if you含羞草研究社檙e into prog-rock. If not, don含羞草研究社檛 bother.
