Last night was the last ever Kiss show - by their own admission. But Kiss is not Rush, when they stated it was over, it was really over.
What did Kiss do right? Well, they ended it where it all began for them: New York City. I often wondered why Rush decided to end it where they did instead of doing it in Toronto.
So is it really over? I don't think so. This is what I am contemplating:
Private gigs - they did them in the past, if a bag of money is dangled in front of them they will bite.
Kiss Kruise - they have been doing this for some 10 years and it will continue. Now who would go on a Kiss Kruise without getting the main attraction?
And lastly, the so-called 'new era', they have been 'immortalized' as avatars, same way that ABBA did. I am sure this will be touring the world, at least once to test the waters. And the first time will probably be succesful as well. It might become a Las Vegas staple, I wouldn't be surprised. Biggest thing for me: they used Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer, understandable but it would have been a great gesture to the fans and original band if they had brought in Ace & Peter for this endeavor.
So, are we done with the band? As a touring entity: yes they are 100% done.
Now, will I go see the avatar thing? I am on the fence. On the one hand I think: Money Machine, on the other hand I am really curious what they came up with.
Anyway, only time will tell, here is the avatar clip thingy:
Kiss must be the only band in existence which lends itself entirely to this process. The guys in Rush were always quite open about not really having an easily identifiable image, and tried the various fashion options of their day without settling anywhere.
I'd be interested to see an avatar performed show but I think a filmed version would suffice. I would think that the sound in such a show would be spot on, without fails, but I don't think that's what a live show should be. I like to hear the odd mistake or glitch just to feel that I'm watching actual humans that I really admire.
I don't think Geddy or Alex truly wished to finish with that gig and Toronto must have been where they would have preferred the curtain to come down. As for their future I think they could write and record songs like Subdivisions until the cows come home, and I would be delighted to buy and enjoy it, but I don't think it would pay the rent. Stupid internet.
While I can see both sides of the argument, if indeed there is one, I think the decision to use Tommy and Eric is probably the right one. For one thing, if this is - in some way - a continuation of the band, then where's the sense in bringing back two ex-members who probably couldn't even do the job now if they were brought back in real life?
For another - would Ace even be able to do all those moves and poses for the 3D motion sampler, or whatever it's called? I suppose his face could have been digitally substituted into the Tommy hologram. I bet Gene's has been slimmed down.
I think Tommy has been in the band longer than Ace ever was by now. I think that's true of Eric as well. So I feel they deserve the respect of being included in the avatar show.
Hopefully they can make Eric Singer's avatar look less bored than Singer has looked for the last decade...
Going back to the Nop's original post...it doesn't look like Rush is over...hopefully they'll be shrewd enough to call it something else, a la Page & Plant.
Told you..no Eric Singer though, weird. Let me take a wild guess: they will use Brian Tichy. If you know, you know.
Aww god
Quote from: Slim on July 09, 2025, 05:10:03 PMAww god
If only he existed he'd surely put a stop to this travesty.
Simmons used to say 'too much of a good thing is a bad thing'...
Quote from: captainkurtz on July 09, 2025, 08:12:14 PMSimmons used to say 'too much of a good thing is a bad thing'...
Don't think the word limit applies in the same way to him as it does to others.
Quote from: captainkurtz on July 09, 2025, 08:12:14 PMSimmons used to say 'too much of a good thing is a bad thing'...
"..........unless that thing is money"
For some reason I dug in a little deeper.
Kiss sold their rights, their trademark and anything that goes with that. Pop House now owns it, and they are the ones staging the event. The simply offer paychecks to participants. I am sure Gene and Paul will get a hefty payday, but Singer (who is now 67 as well and has a lot of other things to do) probably said: 'this is my dayrate, take it or leave it', and Pop House probably said no.
Of course G&P have a say in all of this, without them nothing would happen, but I think decisions such as these are now made over their head. Weird but true.
Quote from: Thenop on December 03, 2023, 06:36:40 AMLast night was the last ever Kiss show - by their own admission. But Kiss is not Rush, when they stated it was over, it was really over.
Sorry, what were you saying? ::)
Quote from: Slim on October 14, 2025, 12:35:40 PMQuote from: Thenop on December 03, 2023, 06:36:40 AMLast night was the last ever Kiss show - by their own admission. But Kiss is not Rush, when they stated it was over, it was really over.
Sorry, what were you saying? ::)
Yes, that didn't age well now did it?
In my defense: I was not the only one thinking that.
Quote from: Thenop on October 14, 2025, 01:57:19 PMQuote from: Slim on October 14, 2025, 12:35:40 PMQuote from: Thenop on December 03, 2023, 06:36:40 AMLast night was the last ever Kiss show - by their own admission. But Kiss is not Rush, when they stated it was over, it was really over.
Sorry, what were you saying? ::)
Yes, that didn't age well now did it?
In my defense: I was not the only one thinking that.
Very true. I nearly typed very, too true in a madness of over emphasis. I really didn't think they would (stoop) push themselves to this extent in their seventies. Perhaps the roar of the crowd is an addiction. I hope so, but I think it's dollars.
Well... let's see what is happening in Kissworld then shall we?
KISS announce:
Dressed To Kill Super Deluxe 8LP + Blu-ray Audio
Dressed To Kill (Remastered)
LP One – Side A:
1. Room Service
2. Two Timer
3. Ladies In Waiting
4. Getaway
5. Rock Bottom
LP One – Side B:
1. C'mon And Love Me
2. Anything For My Baby
3. She
4. Love Her All I Can
5. Rock And Roll All Nite
Demos, Alternate Mixes And Instrumental Outtakes *
LP Two – Side C:
1. Mistake (Studio Demo)
2. Rock And Roll All Nite (Studio Demo)
3. Anything For My Baby (Studio Demo)
4. Burning Up With Fever (Studio Demo)
5. Rock And Roll All Nite (Studio Demo – Party Version)
LP Two – Side D:
1. Rock And Roll All Nite (Studio Demo – Alternate Vocal Take)
2. Room Service (Extended Outtake)
3. Two Timer (Alternate Mix)
4. Ladies In Waiting (Alternate Ending)
5. C'mon And Love Me (Alternate Mix)
6. Anything For My Baby (Alternate Mix)
LP Three – Side E:
1. Love Her All I Can (Alternate Mix)
2. Two Timer (Extended Alternate Mix)
3. Anything For My Baby (Extended Alternate Mix)
4. Rock And Roll All Nite (Super-Fast Outtake)
5. Room Service (Instrumental Outtake)
6. Two Timer (Instrumental Outtake)
LP Three – Side F:
1. Getaway (Instrumental Outtake)
2. Rock Bottom (Instrumental Outtake)
3. Anything For My Baby (Instrumental Extended Outtake)
4. She (Instrumental Extended Outtake)
5. Love Her All I Can (Instrumental Outtake)
6. Rock And Roll All Nite (Instrumental Outtake)
Live In Detroit, Michigan – Cobo Arena – May 16, 1975*
LP Four – Side G:
1. Rock Bottom
2. Strutter
3. Nothin' To Lose
4. Two Timer
LP Four – Side H:
1. Let Me Know
2. Got To Choose
3. She
4. Ace Frehley Guitar Solo
LP Five – Side I:
1. Parasite
2. Cold Gin
LP Five – Side J:
1. 100,000 Years
2. Peter Criss Drum Solo / 100,000 Years
3. Let Me Go, Rock N' Roll
LP Six – Side K:
1. C'mon And Love Me
2. Firehouse
3. Deuce
LP Six – Side L:
1. Rock And Roll All Nite
2. Black Diamond
Live In Davenport, Iowa – RKO Orpheum Theatre – July 20, 1975 – First Show*
LP Seven – Side M:
1. Deuce
2. Strutter
3. Got To Choose
4. Hotter Than Hell
LP Seven – Side N:
1. Firehouse
2. She
3. Ace Frehley Guitar Solo
4. Nothin' To Lose
LP Eight – Side O:
1. C'mon And Love Me
2. 100,000 Years
3. Peter Criss Drum Solo / 100,000 Years
LP Eight – Side P:
1. Black Diamond
2. Cold Gin
3. Rock And Roll All Nite
Blu-ray Audio – Dressed To Kill
[Dolby Atmos* / Dolby True HD 5.1* / 192kHz 24-bit & 96kHz 24-bit PCM Stereo]
1. Room Service
2. Two Timer
3. Ladies In Waiting
4. Getaway
5. Rock Bottom
6. C'mon And Love Me
7. Anything For My Baby
8. She
9. Love Her All I Can
10. Rock And Roll All Nite
Bonus Videos*
[48kHz 24-bit PCM Stereo Only]
1. Rock And Roll All Nite (1975 Promo Video)
2. C'mon And Love Me (1975 Promo Video)
So... the demos and outtakes are a bit meh. But the 2 live concerts have been fully remixed and remastered by Eddie Kramer. These are 2 of he 4 concerts that were used for Alive! And Alive! Boxset will be annoucned later on, expect the other 2 concerts to be in there. So if you want all 4 concerts complete..you have to buy both boxes!
So, Gene and Paul making a lot of money? Nope. They sold the rights to company Popsike. They are getting the cash return on this one.
Ace has left the planet.
Another bit of my childhood gone.
Ahhh sad to hear that.
Rock'n'Roll never forgets.
(https://i.ibb.co/vCB4xxZJ/ace.webp)
RIP Ace.
I'm sure his signature song will drift in and out while I'm walking the streets of NYC next week. Thanks for visiting earth, enjoy your final Rocket Ride.....ack, ack!
Shambolic but fun guy
It is hard to put into words what this band, and Ace in particular, meant to me growing up. I was alone as a child for the better part of 11 years. Kiss kept me company. I ran home from school and get out the record player, put on an LP and was there with my heroes. I have always kept a healthy distance, never meet your heroes especially when they are larger than life.
Ace was the odd one out, he did not want to conform. That was not an act. His struggles with addiction have been widely published, not in the least by himself. But he managed to pick himself up and carry on. He was his own man, and once he found out he could use his voice it didn't take him long to find his own path.
His musical legacy will remain just that. I loved his voice, not the best but it had a charm that was undeniable. He was ever the little boy, trying to prank everyone.
I have seen him play up close with his solo band 10 years ago, not even 20km from where I live in a small venue. It was great! As he would have said himself.
The Ace solo album might be my favourite of all the Kiss releases, it is wacky, like Ace, it stumbles and falls but gets back up and it has Anton Fig on drums.
End of an Era for me, one of the 4 founding members passed.. I always thought Criss would be the first to go but in hindsight, the way he had lived, it could only be Ace.
I am sad, but with such fond memories I cannot stay sad for long.
Goodbye Paul Daniel Ace Frehley, thanks for the music, the support, the Rocket Ride
(https://i.ibb.co/gb1KbNDM/IMG-0114.png)
I didn't ever follow the Kiss career closely, but he seemed to be a well liked guy. Geddy and Alex spoke fondly of him in a documentary. "Where's the bag?" R.I.P
Quote from: The Picnic Wasp on October 17, 2025, 10:25:04 AMI didn't ever follow the Kiss career closely, but he seemed to be a well liked guy. Geddy and Alex spoke fondly of him in a documentary. "Where's the bag?" R.I.P
Out of the original four, Ace was - excuse the pun - the most down to earth one. Gene and Paul ran the show, Criss was always the 'underappreciated' one, looking for attention, and Ace, well he just went about his business. There are tons of stories to tell. Real life happened stories, his book No Regrets, even though a bit over tghe top now & then, is a very good read. Funny as hell.
So the Dressed to Kill boxset is here. I have not bought it. 6 cd's for 300 EUR, or 8 LPs for 400 EUR. All sorts of junk thrown in no one needs.
The good news is: it is up on streaming.. well most of it is anyway.. seems they deliberately left off 1 disc, which is half a show. Bit of a sad move. Boxes are only for sale from Kissonline, so they are trying to draw people into buying that.
Not sure whether Gene and Paul are worse than opsike is now, probably not. First box issued under their flag and it's controversy already.
In other news: an announcement is expected nextmonth on the Alive! boxset already, and considering the DTK announcement was Oct 16 and the release Oct 24, that may be just in time for X mas. I have a feeling that might be more widely available.. Let's wait and see.
Oh yeah: the original album has never sounded this good and the live shows are great, the Davenport shows is a bit timid though. Demos: soundwise extremely well done, some nice surprises here and there, overall a good box. But 400 EUR? Nah..
As expected, the Alive! 50th ann. boxset was just around the corner. It'll be released in 2 weeks, costs and arm and a leg, but can simply be streamed as well.
This completes the Eddie Kramer project of the Alive! years. All professionally recorded shows and used to compile Alive! from have now been released. There are some tracks missing from one show but it is likely the tapes were simply no longer available, or damaged beyond repair.
It has to be said, Kramer did a fantastic job in making these sound fantastic. It is also commendable the shows are being released 'as is'. No doctoring as is clear from (for instance) C'mon and Love Me in which Paul clearly struggles vocally, having dealt with a cold over a few days.
Anyway, full details:
ALIVE! (REMASTERED)
CD ONE:
1. DEUCE
2. STRUTTER
3. GOT TO CHOOSE
4. HOTTER THAN HELL
5. FIREHOUSE
6. NOTHIN' TO LOSE
7. C'MON AND LOVE ME
8. PARASITE
9. SHE
10. WATCHIN' YOU
11. 100,000 YEARS
12. BLACK DIAMOND
13. ROCK BOTTOM
14. COLD GIN
15. ROCK AND ROLL ALL NITE
16. LET ME GO, ROCK 'N ROLL
LIVE IN DAVENPORT, IOWA – RKO ORPHEUM THEATRE – JULY 20, 1975 – SECOND SHOW*
CD TWO:
1. DEUCE
2. STRUTTER
3. GOT TO CHOOSE
4. HOTTER THAN HELL
5. FIREHOUSE
6. SHE
7. ACE FREHLEY GUITAR SOLO
8. NOTHIN' TO LOSE
9. C'MON AND LOVE ME
10. 100,000 YEARS
11. PETER CRISS DRUM SOLO / 100,000 YEARS
12. BLACK DIAMOND
13. COLD GIN
14. LET ME GO, ROCK 'N ROLL
LIVE IN WILDWOOD, NEW JERSEY – WILDWOOD CONVENTION HALL – JULY 23, 1975*
CD THREE:
1. DEUCE
2. STRUTTER
3. GOT TO CHOOSE
4. HOTTER THAN HELL
5. FIREHOUSE
6. SHE
7. ACE FREHLEY GUITAR SOLO
8. NOTHIN' TO LOSE
9. C'MON AND LOVE ME
10. 100,000 YEARS
11. PETER CRISS DRUM SOLO / 100,000 YEARS
12. PARASITE
13. BLACK DIAMOND
14. COLD GIN
15. LET ME GO, ROCK 'N ROLL
BONUS LIVE
CD FOUR:
REHEARSALS – LIVE IN DAVENPORT, IOWA – RKO ORPHEUM THEATRE – JULY 20, 1975*
1. KISS JAM
2. ROOM SERVICE
3. STRANGE WAYS
4. ROCK BOTTOM
5. WATCHIN' YOU
LIVE IN CLEVELAND, OHIO – CLEVELAND MUSIC HALL – JUNE 21, 1975*
6. SHE
7. ACE FREHLEY GUITAR SOLO
8. NOTHIN' TO LOSE
9. C'MON AND LOVE ME
10. 100,000 YEARS
11. PETER CRISS DRUM SOLO / 100,000 YEARS
BLU-RAY AUDIO – ALIVE!:
DISC FIVE:
[DOLBY ATMOS* / DOLBY TRUE HD 5.1* / 192KHZ 24-BIT & 96KHZ 24-BIT PCM STEREO]
1. DEUCE
2. STRUTTER
3. GOT TO CHOOSE
4. HOTTER THAN HELL
5. FIREHOUSE
6. NOTHIN' TO LOSE
7. C'MON AND LOVE ME
8. PARASITE
9. SHE
10. WATCHIN' YOU
11. 100,000 YEARS
12. BLACK DIAMOND
13. ROCK BOTTOM
14. COLD GIN
15. ROCK AND ROLL ALL NITE
16. LET ME GO, ROCK 'N ROLL
BLU-RAY AUDIO SPECS:
APPROX RUN TIME: 312 MINS
AUDIO: 48KHZ 24-BIT DOLBY ATMOS / 96KHZ 24-BIT DOLBY TRUEHD 5.1 /
192KHZ 24-BIT PCM STEREO / 96KHZ 24-BIT PCM STEREO
PICTURE: 1080P / 16:9 WIDESCREEN
* PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
Aaaaand it's out! Streamable, downloadable. I think physical media will be there in a week or 2.
This is a fun set, disc 04 is geat, it has half a show (the master tapes are lost for that one) and rehearsal materials. Clearly some songs were culled from that for Alive! It is also very apparent Deuce and Strutter are taken from the Wildwood show, the similarities are that close. I have heard these songs so much, I know them inside out, every little detail.
Now, I know I won't be able to trace every song (it's probably somwhere done already) but I do know - and this a fun fact - Rock n Roll All Nite was from the shows of which the tapes are partially missing. Also: RaRAN was not the smash hit it would become (that was the version released on Alive!) so they closed shows with Let Me Go, Rock n'n Roll and would often skip RaRAN.
Anyway, I'll geek off a little more by myself.
As you were.
I love how raw this sounds. It reminds me of the first live bands I ever heard playing in pubs. Particularly the Burns Howff in Glasgow city centre. It was an amazing place.
Downstairs was a rough and ready drinking den with a quarry tiled floor, usually awash with spilt beer. Upstairs was the live venue, like someone's large attic. There was a tiny stage at floor level, a bar and a few tables shoehorned in.
I've always been a lager lout but they sold a fantastic heavy called Burns' Special. My first experience of underage Saturday afternoon drinking was so memorable.
I can remember three bands quite clearly. Anaconda, Non Compos Mentis (who played Sabbath covers fantastically well) and Weeper who later became Heavy Pettin'. HP are still on the go I believe. My mate was their guitarist for a short time until he broke his leg shortly before they supported Ozzy.
Happy days!
They should have called themselves
Inevitable but that's not good for sales probably. It's not bad, they know how to play & sing of course, and I hear some happier version of Alice in Chains in there.
Hope they do some real rock and roll as well.
Quote from: Thenop on December 05, 2025, 12:32:14 PMThey should have called themselves Inevitable but that's not good for sales probably.
'Demonstar Seed' has a certain ring to it ;D
Quote from: Thenop on December 05, 2025, 12:32:14 PMThey should have called themselves Inevitable but that's not good for sales probably. It's not bad, they know how to play & sing of course, and I hear some happier version of Alice in Chains in there.
Hope they do some real rock and roll as well.
I know it's their surnames too, but.....................maybe they could've tagged Lite onto the name.
Not sure why I keep resisting these boys, this is a fun song. And the resemblance is remarkable...
Evan Stanley sounds like Paul Stanley with a slight rasp, and Nick Simmons, when he takes the lead and roars it sounds like Gene is there. Not to mention he looks like his dad in his younger years, not just a little..
Here wo go, this is better.
In the 70s there were 2 bootlegs that mattered in Kissworld:
Kiss Takes Tokyo (I have an original copy, it sounds terrible :-)
Kis Destroys Anaheim
For years there were rumours that the Anaheim was professionally recorded as well. Never surfaced, until now. In all it's glory redone by Eddie Kramer, the full show and it'll be released in August. My pre-order is in, and here is why (listen to that Peter Criss wail at the end!):
Ordered Anaheim a few days ago, splatter vinyl. Couldn't resist.