Kiss pause Brazil concert after sick Gene Simmons is forced to play sitting down

Friday 14 April 2023

 

Gene Simmons had to take a break and play sitting down during Wednesday night’s Kiss performance in Manaus, Brazil. The band’s Paul Stanley told the crowd that Simmons was sick. A review by ACritica claimed that Simmons’ illness forced the band to stop for around five minutes, but that he was eventually able to finish the show.

“We’re gonna have to stop,” Stanley said, gesturing at Simmons, who was seated with crew members looking after him. “You know how much we love Gene, and he’s obviously sick. And we’re gonna have to stop to take care of him, ’cause we love him, right?” He then asked the crowd to chant “Gene.” Simmons played some of the bass parts to “Say Yeah” sitting down.

Kiss launched their End of the Road World Tour in 2019, saying it would be their last (though some fans were likely incredulous). Last month, the band announced that it would play “the absolute final shows of their final tour” at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Dec. 1 and 2. “Kiss was born in New York City,” the group said in a statement, “on 23rd Street. Half a century ago. It will be a privilege and honor to finish touring at Madison Square Garden, 10 blocks and 50 years from where we first started.”

Although the group may be done touring, Kiss’ legacy will live on. Shout It Out Loud, a biopic about the band’s first four years helmed by filmmaker Joachim Rønning, is rumored to arrive on Netflix next year.