By Eric Lewis

Foursome rocks through early anthems, sets Halifax sky a-light on Saturday!

Thousands of the KISS Army faithful stormed the Halifax Common to see their heroes, the Demon, Star Child, Cat Man and Spaceman, rock the East Coast for the first time since 1977. For over two hours on Saturday night, KISS played classic rock anthems and blew up everything in sight, leaving fans' ears ringing and their faces smiling.

Flames shot from the stage, fireworks soared high above the crowd, Paul Stanley sailed over the audience to a small platform on the sound booth and Gene Simmons breathed fire and spit up blood. To steal from the band's 1998 album title, this was indeed a "psycho circus."

And while KISS is arguably known more for its bombastic, over-the-top carnival of a stage show than it is for much of its music, the music can't be discounted.

Here's KISS with the Halifax KISS Army at Saturday's Show on the Common!

Here are a few more fan-filmed KISS concert clips from Canada!

Detroit Rock City from Halifax - July 18



Black Diamond from Ottawa Bluesfest - July 15

KISS rocks, awes tens of thousands of faithful on Commons!

The sea of thousands of fans dressed up in rain ponchos, slickers and heavy weather gear looked more like the Kiss navy than the Kiss army on Halifax's North Common on Saturday.

Yet the fear of smeared face paint didn't deter the faithful from transforming themselves into the Starchild, the Demon, Space Ace and the Cat Man for the occasion. For all anybody knows, the real Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer could have been roaming the crowd and no one would have been the wiser.

I didn't feel compelled to put on the greasepaint, but if I had a time machine and could go back to the mid-70s to ask my 11-year-old self what bands he'd most like to see, the top two choices would be the Beatles and Kiss. The Beatles had been broken up for years at that point, and there was no way in Hades that my parents would let me go near those so-called "Knights in Satan's Service" and their legendary shows at the Halifax Forum.

Cut to three decades later and within the space of a week we've had ex-moptop Paul McCartney and those rock and roll action figures -whose acronym could more properly be Keep It Spectacular, Stupid - making for one giddily ecstatic inner 11-year-old by the time the legendary foursome took the stage on Saturday night to the primal pounding of Deuce.

Pancake makeup? Check. Four-inch heels? Check.

By CHRIS LAMBIE

WEARING thigh-high platform boots, Starchild face make-up, a kilt and a Gene Simmons T-shirt over massive arms covered in flame tattoos, Brett Kummer was a one-man Kiss army last night. The Halifax mechanic fashioned his concert footwear by gluing some wood to the bottom of old motorcycle boots.

"They're four-inch heels and I'm normally six-foot-two," said the gentle giant who sported a skull and crossbones necklace to the Kiss concert. "It's so I can see the band. A lot of people want to have their picture taken with me, but I just want to see Kiss, man."

Kummer, 39, wore the MacThomas clan tartan kilt because he's a proud Scot who plays bagpipes. "It's Kiss in Halifax, right? I would have brought the pipes but it's raining," he said. "It probably would have wrecked them."

HI KISS ARMY!

Here are a few pictures from our KISS Montreal After Show Party at the Hard Rock Cafe, immediately following the amazing KISS concert last Monday. The Hard Rock was filled to near capacity and guests were treated to KISS door prizes, Kostume Kontests and KISS Trivia. This occasion was an excellent opportunity for the Montreal KISS Army to come together as one to share there love and passion for the greatest band in the land.

Best,
Pasquale Vari (Montreal, Quebec)

Here's KISS with 90,000 members of the KISS ARMY in Quebec on Thursday!

Beth may be calling, but these boys won't answer. What is it? The coolest collection of Rock God Spuds this side of Cleveland. What the heck am I talking about? How about Mr. Potato Head ... KISS EDITION.

That's right. The Demon, Spaceman, Catman and Starchild spudded out with full make-up, hairstyles, and musical instruments of all four members of KISS including Gene Simmons infamous Axe Guitar. A total of 30 accessories to mix and match.

And while kids love to play with Mr. Potato Head (I got to play with the real McCoy ... a REAL potato!) I can see the KISS Army lining up to pick these badboys of rock up, no matter their age!

Look for it to make it's debut at the San Diego ComiCon. Available at retail in August.

By Marc Andre Joanisse
Translated for KISSonline by Jill Cataldo

The Catman, Spaceman, Demon and Starchild arrived last night at Bluesfest and they quickly turned it into an event. An event on stage. An event in the crowd. A very active, participatory crowd. A massive crowd!! (UPDATE - today, we learned the crowd was over 90,000!)

The show lasted over two hours. KISS was, as always, KISS. KISS basically, will always be KISS. It is a winning and profitable group and will be until the day when Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons decide that it is finished. And the question is this: why would anyone abandon this group yet, because it appeared to be at its best in the heart of this 35th anniversary tour? I cannot skimp on words; KISS gave more than the customer asked.

The public wants to hear the KISS of yesterday and they want it as at as loud of potential decibels as possible. In short, the crowd wants a night to rock to the sound of a band that is hard to resist. KISS is rock hard and served up at the highest level. The show is still effective and delivered by musicians who have an innate sense of showmanship.

"You want to hear our old songs? Then you will not be disappointed," said Paul Stanley.

The singer-guitarist, his longtime colleague Gene Simmons and guitarist Tommy Thayer were brought on stage via a hydraulic platform. Major KISS! Then, the first of several "gun shots" was heard booming. Again, KISS quite impressively convinced the crowd that they would spend a great evening here. The crowd was heard singing the lyrics of their songs, and they clapped hands at Stanley's request. Even the rain did not decrease the energy that emanated from the stage and the crowd.

At one point, Stanley asked them if he could raise the volume a notch or two ... or three. And the audience was delighted. This is the only way to experience the group's hits such Cold Gin, Black Diamond, Deuce, Rock & Roll All Nite and 100,000 Years, all songs written during the 1970s. The show was strong with no complaints.

KISS did not invent rock, but they reinvented the way to present it on stage. They are rare musicians interested in putting on a great stage show with Kabuki make-up, spandex clothes and stilt-like boots. Add to this guitar-shaped bazooka, pyrotechnic effects, Simmons seven-inch tongue, confetti, pyrotechnics and a little fire, and that's it.

Critics have often been bitter against the group. Many have said and written that they disguise their musical talents with its massive stage show. This was not the case, a few hours ago!

KISS' show is a fun spectacle and one I pray we'll see again.

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

By Kathleen Lavoie Le Soleil
Photo by Laetitia Deconinck
Translated for KISSonline by Jill Cataldo

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.

KISS is featured on the cover of this week's Le Soleil Newspaper Special in Quebec.

CLICK HERE to view a gallery of additional photos of KISS in Ottawa.

KISS rocked some of their most classic tunes all night long for a record-setting crowd Wednesday night at the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest.

KISS gave rockers an extended show, adding 45 minutes to the beginning of their concert where they rocked out to Rock and Roll All Night, I Was Made for Lovin' You and Shout it Out Loud.

"My parents used to listen to KISS, and the music just goes from generation to generation," said concert goer Andrew Bunda.

"It's a great environment to be in one of these concerts. My parents absolutely love it, so I hope to experience the same stuff my parents experienced," added another concert goer.

KISS look-a-likes also made an appearance with painted faces and long tongues spotted at every corner of the Lebreton Flats grounds.

For others, the concert was part of a family experience with children joining their parents to take in the festivities.

"John just wanted to come out and see them," said one parent.

Although the music was heard from as far away as the city's south end, the rockers -- who are known for their loud tunes -- avoided a single noise complaint.

With a report from CTV Ottawa's Stefan Keyes

Check out the KISS Army at the Bluesfest show!

CLICK HERE to view a gallery of additional photos of the KISS ARMY in Ottawa.

KISS rocked over 40,000 fans last night in setting the attendance record for the most fans to ever attend the Ottawa Bluesfest!! KISS' show was also the only show of this year's Festival to sell out!

Great fan-filmed clip of "Detroit Rock City" from last night's record setting KISS show at Bluesfest in Ottawa!