Kiss — a band never afraid to revel in all things big, dumb and loud — played their final Twin Cities concert Monday night at Minneapolis’ Target Center. Possibly.
The ’70s costumed rockers embarked on their first farewell tour in 2000, the final time the four founding members — guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley, bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons, guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss — shared the stage. But citing demand from fans, Stanley and Simmons soldiered on with replacements Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer wearing Frehley’s and Criss’ costumes.
In the years since, Kiss has returned to the metro numerous times, including a pair of memorable stops at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand. (The band’s campy, flashy and garish show turned out to be the ideal match for the humid stickiness of the Great Minnesota Get-Together.)
But now, Stanley (age 67) and Simmons (69) say this is it, they’re putting the greasepaint, fake blood and platform boots away for good. Alas, it’s going to be a long goodbye because, like fellow ’70s survivor Elton John, the tour is set to last three years, meaning it’s pretty likely we’ll have the chance to see them at least once more.
Whatever the case, they went out with both a bang and a whimper Monday night in front of a somewhat subdued crowd of more than 12,000. (This is not a knock on the audience, but for many of them, it’s getting tougher and tougher to rock and roll all night and party every day, especially on a Monday night. During the encore, Stanley claimed “Man, it feels like a Saturday.” It did not.)
The band certainly didn’t skimp on the visual spectacle with ample amounts of shooting flames, deafening explosions and moving platforms, starting with the ones descending from the top of the stage and holding Stanley, Simmons and Thayer at the top of the show.
They opened strong with “Detroit Rock City,” “Shout It Out Loud” and “Deuce.” Unfortunately, it quickly became clear Stanley’s voice has deteriorated significantly in recent years. He was clearly singing live at times, other times, perhaps not. That freed up more microphone time for Simmons and his demonic bark, while Thayer tried his best to fill in some sonic holes.
Stanley gave shout-outs to Kiss’ first Twin Cities concerts, at the St. Paul Civic Center in 1976 and the Met Center in 1977. He also said: “Tonight, you’re looking at a band that’s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And in case you don’t know, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame hates Kiss. But they had to listen to you. Thanks, Minneapolis, for making it happen.”
Things slowed down quite a bit during the middle of the show when three of the four band members got their time in the spotlight. A scissors lift hoisted Singer’s platform into the air for a lengthy, and dull, drum solo. After “Cold Gin,” sparks shot out of Thayer’s guitar. And to open “God of Thunder,” Simmons spat fake blood, a still disturbing effect made all the creepier by Simmons’ use of his legendarily lengthy tongue to further the splatter.
Later, Stanley flew over the crowd on a zip line to a small second stage at the sound board. Once there, he belted out “Love Gun” and “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” the band’s then-controversial disco single that Stanley noted was “our biggest international hit.”
For the encore, Singer turned in a serviceable “Beth” at the piano while confetti showered the stage and crowd for “Rock and Roll All Nite.” Even bad Kiss concerts are still fun, but this one really could have been trimmed by a half hour.
