Gene Simmons at the Lynn Memorial Auditiorium 2/16/2018

Last Friday I had the opportunity to see Gene Simmons solo at the Lynn Memorial Auditorium. Gene Simmons debuted his solo band early last year, and the shows have been getting pretty good marks on account of some deep cuts in the setlists. As a card-carrying member of the KISS army I couldn't pass up the chance to hear some of my favorite rarities played live, despite that I was recovering from a pretty brutal cold.

I was able to score floor seats off StubHub for $27 each after fees ($79 face value!), so I didn't feel bad about leaving late and skipping the opener (and traffic hour). By the time we got inside and made it to our seats it was around 8 PM and the band was on stage within 15 minutes.

I've been to a handful of KISS concerts and can tell you that Gene Simmons solo is an entirely different animal. KISS is a well-oiled machine with choreographed spots and top-notch production; this was very intimate and off-the-cuff by comparison. Throughout the show Gene invited members of the audience on stage to sing along and, despite saying that he wasn't going to talk much, proceeded to banter between every single song. Gene sang lead on most of the songs, but two special guests were invited on stage to sing; early in the set a local blind kid came up to sing Calling Dr. Love and absolutely brought the house down ("let me see your hands!"). Later on Gary Cherone from Extreme sang Strutter.

Gene and the the band sounded pretty damn good, although that's not to say that the show went on without a hitch--there was a false start during the cover of Help! and Charisma had to be stopped and restarted from the solo when Gene came in too early. Considering that this was the first time some of these songs were ever played live, a few hiccups are understandable

The setlist was a pretty even mix of rarities and hits, with a couple covers thrown in for good measure. As awesome and surreal as it was to hear songs like Sweet Pain and Charisma live, they didn't seem to get the audience reaction that Deuce and I Love it Loud got. The show was unabashedly geared toward the hardcore KISS fans that have been following the band for years and have an encyclopedic knowledge of their music. From that perspective it was a real treat, although I can see how casual fans might find themselves a little lost; I saw a couple people walk out during It's My Life, a song that was demoed but never officially released by KISS.

After Rock And Roll All Nite the house lights came on--there was no encore, which was by design rather than lack of enthusiasm. Planned encores are kind of an oxymoron, and a bit overblown as far as concert cliches go.

No self-respecting KISS fan should pass up the chance to attend one of these shows. I've seen Ace Frehley live twice and this show was every bit as good.  You wanted the best, you got the best!

Setlist
1. Deuce
2. Shout It Out Loud
3. Are You Ready
4. Parasite
5. Calling Dr Love
6. Do You Love Me
7. Almost Human
8. Long Tall Sally
9. I
10. Help!
11. I Love It Loud
12. War Machine
13. Strutter
14. Sweet Pain
15. She's So European
16. Charisma
17. It's My Life
18. Rock And Roll All Nite