After a 50-year career, Kiss will play their final show on December 2nd at New York’s Madison Square Garden – at least for now. In a recent interview, Gene Simmons now suggests that there will still be a chance for the hard rock band to reform in the future.
When asked by US American ROLLING STONE whether the concert will really be their last, the Kiss guitarist answered in the affirmative, saying: “My hand on the Bible.” However, he added: “And I have to know, because my people wrote the book. In fact, my people also wrote the successor book, the New Testament. And that’s why I say here and now, with my hand on the Bible, that this will be Kiss’ last appearance with makeup.”
The last statement gives hope to the group’s fans. Because if it’s the end of “Kiss with Make-up”, there may be a beginning with a different look for the band. Kiss didn’t just invest an additional million euros in their finale to create an unforgettable show – in the past, the musicians’ performances were also characterized by the extravagant costumes, the elaborate make-up and the daring stage stunts.
Simmons emphasizes that it is the big-budget production that is forcing them to end. They are simply too physically strenuous for the now 70 to 77 year olds. “It has nothing to do with ticket sales or anything. It has to do with Mother Nature,” said the Kiss member about the end. “At a certain point you have to understand that because of the type of band we are, there is a point of diminishing returns. I wear seven-inch platform dragon boots, each of which weighs as much as a lightweight bowling ball. Armor, rivets, leather, all that stuff, and it weighs about 40 pounds total. And I have to breathe fire and fly through the air and all that for two hours.”
“We’re not sitting down.”
But although the performance in front of 20,000 spectators at Madison Square Garden is supposed to mark the end of the band, the members do not disappear from the scene completely. “Paul has his Soul Station Band. I’m sure he’d love to play a few shows. I have the Gene Simmons Band. At some point I might want to jump on stage and play a few pieces,” explains the hard rock band’s co-lead singer in an interview. “But the fact that I’m in Kiss tells me it’s the right thing, in the right place, at the right time. Because BB King played until his late eighties. He was sitting on the stage. We can’t do that. We’re not sitting down.”
However, not all of the original Kiss members will be on stage at the concert on December 2nd. Both former lead guitarist Ace Frehley and ex-drummer Peter Criss cannot be at the final gig. The absence probably makes Simmons “sad and angry” at the same time. In an interview with Linea Rock, the musician explains: “I asked both Ace and Peter a few times if they wanted to come on stage for the encores or play a few shows with us. And both refused. I don’t know what to say… But I’m still open to it. […] Maybe it’s best to end this thing the way we started it: four guys with guitars. No keyboards, no synthesizers – nothing. Just play.”