KISS Unmasked Again? Please!

When Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons decided in 1996 that they were going to bring Ace Frehley and Peter Criss back into the fold, dust off their platform shoes and reapply the clown white, it was undeniably the best course of action for the band.  It pleased both long time and casual fans and put KISS back in the limelight for the first time, arguably since the spectacle of the removal of the makeup in 1983 on MTV before the release of Lick It Up.

KISS achieved success in the 80's and 90's, but despite 1992's Revenge being the strongest album that KISS had recorded in ages, the following tour didn't sell out and for the first time in their history, the "Hottest Band in the World" had to consider that they were not going to be able to continue down the same path forever.  

MTV Unplugged - Gene, Peter, Paul and Ace

After the obvious excitement over the reunion during the MTV Unplugged taping, and despite their history with Ace and Peter and the many interviews with Paul and Gene over the years pledging their disinterest in playing with them again, it must have been an easy decision in the end; tour packed arenas with Ace and Peter or consider playing small theaters with Bruce and Eric.  

The Hot in the Shade Tour was a hit in 1990 in the NYC Metro Area.  KISS sold out the Nassau Coliseum, and Brendan Byrne Arena in the Meadowlands days apart, with a tour ending sell out at Madison Square Garden a few months later.  In '92 on the Revenge Tour, they played to a 3/4 full Nassau Coliseum and Brendan Byrne Arena, with no chance to justify a 3rd show.  To contrast, in 1996 on the Reunion Tour, KISS sold out 4 nights in a row at Madison Square Garden, returning in a few months to sell out both the Nassau Coliseum and Meadowlands.  It was a smart move, no doubt about it.

In the almost 20 years since the Reunion Tour which included the subpar Psycho Circus, which everyone knew Ace and Peter barely played on, if at all, The Farewell Tour, Ace leaving again, the "We Never Left" Tour, Peter leaving angrily again, a debatable return to recording with Sonic Boom and honestly, this die-hard KISS fan's interest was seriously waning.  I saw the shows each year, but it was almost as if I felt that I was supposed to as much as looking forward to it.  At least until Monster.

When Monster was about to be released, you heard a lot of chirping about how strong it was and that they hadn't sounded this good in so long.  Even after 2 years of listening, it holds up and is indeed a really strong record.  One which leaves me little to no doubt.  It's time for Gene and Paul to once again make a decision for the greater good of the band:  Take the makeup off and make it about the music again.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the spectacle of a KISS show and am thankful that they have stuck it out this long so I can enjoy it with my son this summer who has become quite the KISS aficionado at the ripe age of 4.  Thanks to him, I've listened to more KISS music in the past couple of years than I have in the 10-15 before them, and believe me that's saying something.

Interesting thing though has happened as I have tried to avoid listening to Firehouse for what seems like the 100th time this week (kids love sirens!) - my appreciation for those 80's and 90's tunes that I grew up on, which have pretty much been abandoned by the band the last 15-20 years has been rekindled, and when I think about the upcoming 40th Anniversary Tour, I realized that if the band were to rip into something like Fits Like a Glove, it wouldn't only make my jaw drop, it would make my night!

I can't be the only long time KISS fan who feels this way.  In a really odd way, it feels similar to how we all felt in the early 90's about the makeup era and songs from their 70's catalog that once were staples but became strangers to the setlist.  When they opened the Hot in the Shade tour with I Stole Your Love, the arenas erupted and for the first time in 15 years, fans were treated to a setlist scattered with songs we hadn't heard in ages.  Songs like Hotter than Hell and Watching You were dusted off for the Revenge tour.  It was amazing to hear then, and exciting for them to re-embrace that music.  Let's see it go the other way now.

KISS Unmasked on MTV 1983

There's a lot of controversy the past month or so with KISS finally being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (WAY OVERDUE).  In a nutshell, the HOF wants Ace and Peter on stage with Gene and Paul and Gene and Paul want nothing to do with it.  Whether you're in the camp that wants to believe Paul Stanley when he disparages the HOF and demands that all of the members be inducted, or if you are in the camp that understands that if Ace and Peter put the makeup on for just 1 song on April 10th, it'll be a very tough sell for KISS to tour for the 40th Anniversary this summer without them, the solution is pretty simple.  Make the last act of the career about the music once more.  Take the makeup off and play the smaller venue with a scaled back production.

Play for the die-hard fans who still have interest in the entire 40 years of KISS.  Play songs that haven't been played every night for the last 20 years.  Play songs that haven't been played at all! (I know, I know....there has been a bit of this with the shows on the KISS Kruises, but that's not a realistic answer for the masses)

I know that this doesn't fit the current dream of Gene and Paul (and their beneficiaries) of KISS continuing on when they retire, but does anyone really buy that that would work?  C'mon!

Instead, maybe the KISS fans who have been turned off by the current members wearing Ace and Peter's makeup will come back too.  (There's a lot of them)  

Let's face it, when you're arguing Bruce Kulick's merits and whether he should be on the podium with the band being inducted (ABSOLUTELY SHOULD), it'd be a lot easier if the band actually still regularly featured any of the music that was created when he was in the band!

Revenge Tour - Gene, Bruce and Paul

Obviously, the chances of such happening are slim, and I know, not as marketable as what they're doing today.  But I'll hold out hope, because back in 1982, nobody was guessing we'd see this: