The iconic American rock band Kiss gave audiences a final show they would never forget when they reunited at TD Garden on March 26.
The Boston concert kicked off with bandmates Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer arriving onstage dressed in their stage outfits, sporting the iconic white face paint that gives the band their signature look.
Each member’s costuming was slightly different and meant to represent different characters; Thayer was dressed as the The Spaceman, Singer as The Catman, Stanley as The Starchild and Simmons as The Demon.
The look they sported was striking. The stark white base makeup contrasted with the black over their eyes help differentiate between each member, but all of them wore fairly similar costumes. While they all wear black and silver studded leather, Simmons is known for his six-inch platform boots, which make him stand above the rest of his bandmates and intimidate the crowd.
A Kiss performance is unlike those given by most contemporary musicians. They were there to put on a powerful show, and to say that they were successful would be an understatement. Being in the crowd felt like watching a movie dramatization of what a real rock band should look and sound like.
They opened with one of their biggest hits, “Detroit Rock City.” The energizing guitar riff immediately roped the audience in to get ready for what would be an unforgettable performance.
Immediately after their opening number, they played another crowd favorite, “Shout It Out Loud.” With this performance, the audience was stunned by a burst of fire and flames from the stage. The pyrotechnics were able to blast a wave of heat to reach even the last row of the almost 20,000-seat venue.
Kiss continued to thrill its audience with each tune they performed. At different points during the concert, Thayer and Simmons were hoisted up onto platforms reaching at least 30 feet in the air. To the crowd, it seemed as though they did this unharnessed with no safety net below, just as they would’ve done when they first began performing in the mid-1970s.
During Stanley’s memorable solo tracks “Love Gun” and “I Was Made For Lovin’ You,” the rock star dangerously soared over the electrified crowd and onto a platform. Stanley brought the older generation back to their teenage years by using his iconic high pitched, raspy voice to ask the lively concertgoers, “Are you ready to rock Boston?”
Simmons captivated the crowd during “God of Thunder,” when he spit blood and smeared it all over his face with his legendary snake-like split tongue.
These theatrical acts were entertaining to watch, however, at times it seemed they were more focused on the actual performance than the quality of the music the audience was hearing. Oftentimes throughout the night, the raucous guitar playing would overpower the lyrics of the song, to the point where it was hard to identify some of even their most recognized hits.
Although the tone of this concert was supposed to be demonic, the crowd’s vibe was wholesome. The audience was mostly comprised of parents with their kids trying to give them a taste of their younger years. Once Kiss ended their intense performance and exited the stage after their final song, the children who tagged along with their parents left the venue with a better understanding of an older generation’s wild heyday.
