GENE SIMMONS Promises ‘Biggest, Baddest Party’ For KISS’s New Year’s Eve Virtual Concert

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Gene Simmons made an appearance last Friday (November 20) to announce KISS's upcoming "Kiss 2020 Goodbye" concert. The band will send off 2020 in its larger-than-life style on New Year's Eve by bringing the biggest and baddest concert event and pyrotechnics show of the year directly into your living room live from Atlantis Dubai on December 31. "KISS is here to make life a little bit better," Gene said (see video below). "We wanna bring cheer, shake the heavens and you can see it live New Year's Eve around the world. We're gonna stream it wherever you are. Stay at home. Be safe. Join the biggest, baddest party. KISS is gonna be live from Dubai in your living room." Filmed with more than 50 cameras and 360-degree views, this show produced by Landmarks can be seen globally with ticketing technology and livestream powered by TIXR and experienced like no other virtual concert before. Tickets to the event can be purchased at Kiss2020Goodbye.com, with prices starting at $49.99 and gong all the way up to $999 for a bundle that includes 14 "exclusive and limited edition items," including a Blu-ray of the concert. "Frankly, I wasn't interested in doing a stream on the level of Live at the Troubadour in L.A.," frontman Paul Stanley told Rolling Stone. "Not that those aren't good, but they aren't KISS. Either we do this right, or we don't do it. For us, size matters. We don't have to reinvent the wheel; we invented it and it runs real well. We're just making sure it's on a scale and a size that does justice not only to the situation we're in, but that it makes the people watching at home feel like they're a part of it." Simmons stated: "We play big. There's not a lot of subtlety in what we do. It's like the Fourth of July. You don't want chaos. You can have the biggest, but it won't be the baddest because just random explosions everywhere and 300-foot fireballs going off, you can't tap your foot to that or sing along. You want to have something that has coordination. So everything that we're naturally doing onstage is going to be amplified — 10-to-100-fold bigger, oh my God. "The best way to shut everybody up and get everybody to enjoy life right now is to make a big resounding noise and shake the heavens with some pyro," he added. In January 2019, KISS launched its "End Of The Road" farewell tour, which was previously scheduled to conclude on July 17, 2021 in New York City. KISS's current lineup consists of original members Stanley (guitar, vocals) and Simmons (bass, vocals), alongside later band additions, guitarist Tommy Thayer (since 2002) and drummer Eric Singer (on and off since 1991). Formed in 1973 by Stanley, Simmons, Peter Criss (drums) and Ace Frehley (guitar), KISS staged its first "farewell" tour in 2000, the last to feature the group's original lineup. In its 46-year career, KISS has accumulated 23 gold and platinum albums — more than any other U.S. band.