Vie’s Verses – What KISS Should Play For Their 40th Anniversary Tour
As you have surely heard by now, KISS is going on tour this summer with Def Leppard. And while this is bound to be a nostalgic concert full of bombs, rock screams, and plenty of guitar solos, I find myself wondering once again what setlist will KISS trot out? Recently, the band has gone out of their way to belabor the fact that Ace and Peter were not the only guitarist and drummer the band had and that their legacy expands beyond the four original members. If Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley want to be true to that statement, this 40th anniversary tour is the perfect time for them to drive that point home.
Every time KISS goes on tour, they bring out a very similar, if not identical, setlist to the previous tour. Even when they release a new album, only one song from the album gets performed while the band is in America. Once they head overseas, they take a few more risks and play additional songs from the new record, but it never seems to happen in the states. Now they are celebrating 40 years as a band, without a record to promote. This is their prime opportunity to really tap into their catalog and dust off some hits that haven’t been played in years.
I suspect that the band will have between 80 and 90 minutes of stage time and I realize that there are some hits they have to play. A couple of years ago, KISS did bring back “Crazy, Crazy Nights,” and I thought that was a high point to their show. But why stop there? Why not really mix it up and play some tracks that people almost forgot existed. I get that deep cuts like “Almost Human” and “Sweet Pain” probably aren’t going to be played, but how about pulling out “Shandi” in the USA? What if they were to skip “I Was Made For Loving You” and decided that “Hard Luck Woman” was a better fit? I can’t speak for all fans, but I know that this KISS fan would be in all his glory. I know that “Rock And Roll All Nite” is getting performed. I am sure that “Love Gun,” “Lick It Up,” and “Firehouse” will be performed. And all of those songs are great. All I ask is that the band takes a chance and mixes in some other great songs from their catalog.
I would love to hear “I” off of Music From The Elder, or “Mr. Speed” from Rock And Roll Over. “Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em,” or “Uh! All Night” would be a dream come true. Hell even “Outta This World,” or “Never Enough” would be welcomed treats at this point. I’ve been seeing this band live since the 90s and I know what they are capable of. During the period of time when the makeup was off, Kiss performed songs from their entire catalog. But once the makeup went back on, they stuck to the safe hits. Now, it’s time to celebrate 40 years of Kiss. They even have a (yet another) greatest hits album coming out that includes one song from each record they’ve ever recorded. Why not structure the setlist in a similar fashion? For longtime/diehard fans, it would be a spectacular experience. And there could still be plenty of hits to keep the casual fan satisfied.
I will be seeing the band this summer, and I truly hope that they will go out of their way to mix it up, but I won’t hold my breath waiting to see anything out of the ordinary. Perhaps KISS will surprise me this year, and that would be lovely, but I expect to get the same 15 or 16 hits they’ve played for the last decade. And for a band that has a history as deep and long as theirs, that’s a real shame. If I had a say (and boy, I wish I did) this would be my setlist for the 40th anniversary tour:
Love Gun
Never Enough
Cold Gin
Firehouse
I Just Wanna
I Love It Loud
Shandi
Outta This World
Uh! All Night
I Still Love You
Flaming Youth
Nothing To Lose
Black Diamond
Encore:
Detroit Rock City
Heaven’s On Fire
Rock And Roll All Nite
What about you? Are you tired of the same setlist? Do you wish that KISS would mix it up, or are you just happy that they are still touring? Drop a line in the comments and let us know your thoughts!
Leave A Comment ↓
Hard Rock Hideout 
I think Kiss should play more non makeup songs like tears are falling, unholy, young and wasted, thrills in the night, etc. The non makeup era had better musicians and the songs were better written. Its almost like they forget all about the fans that grew up listening to them then.
The problem is, they just have waaaay too many songs to choose from. I’d have an easier time picking songs I don’t want to hear.
I too am tired of the same old setlist. Don’t tell anyone, but I’m a little tired of the same show, too. Did I just say that? Gene says the same “Oh Yeah?” call response to the audience just before God of Thunder. So very rehearsed. Yeah, I know it works, but still. I really wonder why bands like Kiss do this…play the same songs even though they have new albums out. I really liked Alice Cooper’s Welcome 2 My Nightmare and we heard 1 song off it, when he did that tour. I don’t know why. I assume it’s to cater to audience members who don’t really go to concerts much and wanna hear the hits. But Kiss has to realize that a very good portion of the audience are the diehards. I’d love to hear more deeper cuts. Hmm, now I realize something. I saw them about 5 years ago and they played 4 of my favourite songs in a row. I was flabbergasted: She, Parasite, 100,000 Years and Watchin’ You. It was a dream come true for me. Of course my buddy who is only 8 years younger than me didn’t know the songs and I think these 4 in a row may have fallen on deaf ears for most of those in attendance, so to speak. That being said, bands should do tours playing the deeper cuts, maybe at smaller venues if they have to. I’d love to hear Love ’em Leave ’em, Almost Human, maybe Love in Chains, Tomorrow and Tonight, Take Me….that sorta thing. But I doubt it. I think they’ll stick to the hits…the same way Leppard will.