Live report GENE SIMMONS BAND, 013, Tilburg – 19.07.2018

It doesn’t happen very often that Kiss mainman Gene Simmons comes to Europe with the Gene Simmons Band. The iconic bass player is a regular guest with Kiss, but having him unmasked on stage with his solo band is a rare thing.

On June 19th ‘The Demon’ came to Holland for playing a show at 013. Before the venue was filled by some Kiss anthems it was Paris-based youngsters of The Blackmordia being the opening act. I have never heard of the band before and I don’t think that it will change that much after having seen the guys. Blackmordia got 30 minutes in front of a crowd that came for Gene Simmons and classics of Kiss. The alternative rock of the French quintet tried hard to get some energy in the crowd with limited success. Too different was their alternative rock from what Kiss fans were looking for. Also from a musical perspective things weren’t convincing. Self-convidence is bigger than the musical repertoire.

After having prepared the stage it was time for Gene Simmons. The rock veteran started with the all-time classic ‘Deuce’ into a 90 minutes set with an 18 songs including setlist that was build on ‘Simmons-Kiss’ songs. One exception though was ‘I was Made for Loving You’. It was a fan that wanted to sing the song for her boyfriend. Simmons response was that this is Paul Stanley stuff, joking about the high-pitch vocals. He’s ‘The Demon’ he said, doing the harsh vocals. However, the girls started, supported by some drums. The band joined right before the chorus and the whole thing became a fun moment with a pure rock’n’roll vibe.

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What more? Simmons invited some fans on stage, being a big choir for tracks like ‘Do You Love Me’ and ‘Rock and Roll All Nite’ and it was a 14 years old kid that joined for ‘Parasite’. Simmons gave him ‘the job’ to blow away the band and the guy tried hard. All of a sudden four guitars provided a lot of rock power and the 14 years old had the moment of his life.

I wasn’t sure what to expect of this night when I went to Tilburg, but all doubts were wiped away after the first songs played. What fans got that night were Kiss classics without all the fancy gimmicks. Of course, a Kiss concert needs all the show elements, but the night in Tilburg put the songs in focus. Kiss has great songs in their musical backpack and listening to them without distraction enabled a focus on the musical quality of hits like ‘I Love it Loud’ and many more. This concert was a professional and still authentic one and fans left the 013 with a feeling of ‘rock and roll all night’.

Setlist The Gene Simmons Band: