kiss
18:55 Monday, 15 August 2022
Kiss is currently out on the road for their End Of The Road farewell tour, which is scheduled to wrap up sometime in 2023. In an interview with the Let There Be Talk podcast, bassist and vocalist Gene Simmons said the tour might not end in New York and that Kiss "will continue in other ways." So y'know, the usual farewell tour stuff – it's the end but not really, the door is always open, etc.
"We don't know if it's [going to be in] New York," he said. "I have good reasons why it should be, but the important thing is when it's the last show, it'll be the last show. Kiss the touring band will stop. But the touring band. Kiss will continue in other ways. I have no problems with four deserving 20-year-olds sticking the makeup back on and hiding their identity.
Simmons then elaborated on how Kiss might continue on in the future, saying there could be future tours where it's different lineups around the world.
"Kiss will continue in ways that even I haven't thought of. But I can conceive of… You know, the Blue Man Group and Phantom Of The Opera tours around the world with different personnel. There could and should be a Kiss show, kind of live on stage with effects and everything else, but also semiautobiographical thing about four knuckleheads off the streets of New York that ends with the last third as a full-blown celebration, a full-on performance. Not with us. Although not a problem stepping in every once in a while."
So is Kiss really going away? I guess in this specific iteration, yes… but ultimately, Kiss as a franchise seems to be moving on well into the future. And is anyone really surprised by that?