News Archive June 2009

From: Le Soleil
by Kathleen Lavoie Le Soleil (photo by Laetitia Deconinck/translated by Jill Cataldo)
Posted: July 17, 2009

UPDATE: We were just informed that the attendance for last night's show was 90,000!!!!!

After waiting for nine years, Quebec was clearly overdue for a visit from the infernal quartet, KISS. Tens of thousands of KISS Army soldiers descended to see their idols on Thursday. Large and small, men and women painted their faces and have donned their homemade costumes of the devil, the starchild, the spaceman and the cat-man, these comic characters were embodied by Gene Simmons (bass, vocals), Paul Stanley (vocals, guitar), Tommy Thayer (guitar) and Eric Singer (drums, vocals).

With KISS, as is always true, the show was never limited to the stage. At the beginning of the show, a platform descended from the ceiling on which the three guitarists arrived . The stage featured the classic KISS logo in white bulbs. And then there were the explosions, flames, smoke, fireworks, confetti ...

And oh yes! How can we forget the music! "From old-school rock to KISS," says Paul Stanley, who offered a few words in French before apologizing that he could not do more and to continue in English.

The guitarist did a great job in the role of master of ceremonies as well as rock star, shimmying in his black spandex, moving constantly, singing at full volume and jumping unrestrained in his platform boots!

For his part, Gene Simmons was difficult to ignore in a costume more like an armored winged bat than lycra...

Beyond the effects of some futuristic super heroes - a wriggling tongue, a guitar-bazooka, overpowering fire and blood - the band spent the first hour playing a majority of songs dating their first three albums and classics such as Rock and Roll All Nite, Shout It Out Loud, I Was Made For Lovin' You and Detroit Rock City.

The show was strewn with solos from each musician and delirious fun on stage and elsewhere. "Quebec, your city is our second home," agreed Paul Stanley.