sa国际传媒淵ou wanted the best, you got the best.sa国际传媒�
If yousa国际传媒檙e a KISS fan, you know the words that come next during the concert intro.
If not, you probably werensa国际传媒檛 at Rogers Arena on Wednesday night (Nov. 8) when KISS was indeed the hottest band in the world, with all that pyro.
This is sa国际传媒淭he End of the Roadsa国际传媒� 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 Stanleysa国际传媒檚 count, KISS has performed in Vancouver a total of 12 times, sa国际传媒渁nd this will be the last time,sa国际传媒� he told the crowd a couple of songs in.
sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e here to celebrate!sa国际传媒�
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 sa国际传媒淒etroit Rock Citysa国际传媒� and ending with a confetti-showered sa国际传媒淩ock and Roll All Nitesa国际传媒� more than two hours later. Personally I would have loved an all-sa国际传媒�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 Isa国际传媒檇 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. Donsa国际传媒檛 get me wrong, they still look great in their Starchild and Demon costumes, respectively, which is pretty cool.
The Starchildsa国际传媒檚 vocal mix wasnsa国际传媒檛 great Wednesday, and these days hesa国际传媒檚 sounding screechy, both in song and those cringe intros of his.
But hey, rock sa国际传媒榥sa国际传媒� roll all night and part of every day, right?
All of them took turns in the spotlight, of course, starting with Thayersa国际传媒檚 post-sa国际传媒淐old Ginsa国际传媒� guitar solo and rocket-launching spectacle, a thundering Singer session on drums leading into sa国际传媒�100,000 Yearssa国际传媒� and Simmonssa国际传媒� iconic blood-spitting turn before sa国际传媒淕od of Thunder,sa国际传媒� a real highlight of the night.
By sa国际传媒淟ove Gun,sa国际传媒� Stanley was rope-lifted over the crowd to a sa国际传媒淏sa国际传媒� stage at the far end of the arena. He stayed for the disco-ball drop of sa国际传媒淚 Was Made For Lovinsa国际传媒� Yousa国际传媒� (which didnsa国际传媒檛 sound very disco-y at all) and the first half of sa国际传媒淏lack Diamond.sa国际传媒�
An encore followed, starting with the Singer-sung piano ballad sa国际传媒淏eth,sa国际传媒� 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 sa国际传媒淭he End of The Roadsa国际传媒� 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.
Wednesdaysa国际传媒檚 opener was Crown Lands, an Ontario rock duo that has listened to a lot of Rush albums growing up, apparently. Worth a listen if yousa国际传媒檙e into prog-rock. If not, donsa国际传媒檛 bother.
