Virus? What virus? KISS draws full house in Oakland
OAKLAND >> KISS Army braved the coronavirus scare and made its way to the Oakland Arena on Friday.
These fans weren’t going to let something like safety warnings stop them from seeing KISS on its last-ever, final, never-again, no more, farewell End of the Road World Tour.
OK, so I can just hear some of you snickering, doubting that this was likely the last chance to see the legendary band — consisting of lead vocalist/guitarist Paul Stanley, bassist Gene Simmons, guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer — perform in the Bay Area.
But who knows? Maybe KISS actually means it and plans to hang up its platform boots after this go around, unlike what happened when the band embarked on its first farewell tour 20 years ago.
Either way, the mere possibility that this might indeed be the band’s last hurrah made the show a hot enough ticket to draw 11,000-plus fans out to the legendary arena, which has a long track record of hosting KISS concerts.
“We have been coming to Oakland for a long time,” Stanley said to the crowd. “I remember coming to the Oakland Coliseum Arena in 1976.”
Despite the escalating fear surrounding the coronavirus around the Bay Area and beyond, it seemed remarkably business-asusual inside the arena, with no signs that people were treating this like anything other than a normal concert. Fans stood in long lines at the merch tables to buy $75 long-sleeve KISS Tshirts, kept the bars busy and seemed to enjoy themselves throughout the fun concert.
And the only masks seen were those that had been painted on their faces.
Stanley did make some reference to the topic du jour, offering up a possible solution that maybe federal health officials hadn’t considered.
“We’ve got a lot of sickness, a lot of illness going around,” he said. “So I think that we ought to call out the doctor.”
And, of course, that served as an introduction to the song “Calling Dr. Love.”
Of course, KISS should have been at least as worried about catching COVID-19 as anybody in the building, given that the virus reportedly hits older people the hardest — people 60 and older have been advised to avoid big events.
Stanley and Simmons, the band’s two remaining original members, are 68 and 70, respectively. But age range isn’t the only thing they share in common with some of rock’s most storied performers.
“So things have changed,” Stanley said. “Tonight you are looking at a band in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”
Stanley and company then proceeded to showcase several reasons it took such a relatively long time for KISS to get into the Rock Hall in 2014 — about 15 years after the band first became eligible for induction — as it strung together such throwaways and mediocrities as “Say Yeah,” “Tears Are Falling,” “War Machine” and “Lick it Up.”
Yes, making music was never this band’s strong suit. Indeed, it’s hard to name another act that has sold as many albums with as few good songs. Kenny G? Nah, the G-man has a better songbook than KISS. You could fit all of the band’s great songs on one single disc and still have room left for a “Free Bird” or two.
But a KISS show is (thankfully) about so much more than songs. It’s about wild theatrics, cool costumes, big pyrotechnic displays and over-the-top special effects. And fans would get all of that, and so much more, as KISS brought its final, last-ever, farewell tour to Oakland.
It wasn’t high art. But it was good escapist fun, which may have been just what the doctor ordered for fans going through this coronavirus scare.
And if you missed the show, I’m thinking you’ll have the chance to see the next KISS farewell tour in about 20 years. So, keep February 2040 open on your calendar.
And my bet is it will be at this very same venue.
David Lee Roth was better than the headliners. The former Van Halen frontman opened the show with a brisk 11-song set that lasted
just under 40 minutes.
Roth, 65, sounded strong as he led his five-piece backing band through such VH classics as “Unchained” and “Panama” as well as a few solo cuts.