So KISS Army — you might want to sit down for this one, preferably not on your collectible Gene Simmons coffin.
Because KISS just announced their first live performance since saying “farewell” in December 2023… and guess what?
Two names are mysteriously missing from the reunion party. Yeah. Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer, nowhere to be found in the official KISS promo for their big Vegas blowout. So, what’s going on here? Is this a KISS reunion… or a reboot?
Gene Simmons recently sat down with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and let’s just say… the Demon was feeling chatty. He confirmed KISS is doing a full-blown fan experience in November — called KISS Army Storms Vegas — without the makeup, without the pyro, without the 60-person crew… and possibly without half the band.
Gene said: “We will not do the makeup. We will hold true to the promise. There’s no stage show. There’s no crew. We won’t have 60 people levitating drum sets and all that stuff. This is more personal gathering of the tribes, where we meet them, greet them, maybe have a Q&A.”
Regarding what else fans can expect from “KISS Army Storms Vegas”, Simmons said: “There might be some KISS tribute bands, almost like a convention, if you will. So it’s much more personal. And of course, we can’t get by without playing, so we’ll get up and do some tunes. What they are, how long, I don’t know.”
“KISS Army Storms Vegas” celebrates the KISS fan club’s 50th anniversary and will be the band’s first live performance since Simmons, guitarist-vocalist Paul Stanley, guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer wrapped up their “End Of The Road” farewell tour, at Madison Square Garden in New York in December 2023.
However, the absence of Thayer and Singer raises big questions. Did Gene and Paul push them out to give this Vegas event a different vibe? Or are they trying to create nostalgia buzz by stripping things back to just the original two faces?
Or maybe… maybe this whole thing is just a test run for the post-KISS KISS, where Gene and Paul slap the logo on anything and let “special guests” carry the load.
