There’s a lot to say about so-called “legacy acts” that have been doing their “final tours” for a while now. Among bands and artists who are touring past the age of 70, we have Kiss who are currently doing their “End of the Road” world tour. The opinions on whether they should keep going or not are divisive. But let’s leave this discussion for another time.
What’s important at the moment is that fans are suspicious of how genuine their concerts actually are. If they’re not, well, it’s only a matter of time until a mishap will be caught on a portable recording device that we all carry in our pockets. But according to a recent report by Blabbermouth, that’s exactly what happened with a recent Kiss show in Antwerp, Belgium on June 6.
In fact, recent fan-filmed videos suggest that Kiss may have been playing and singing to pre-recorded tracks all along. One YouTube user commented that they’re “As genuine as Milli and Vanilli,” pointing out at 5 minutes and 9 seconds in the video below:
As Blabbermouth reports, commenters on videos have pointed out that drummer Eric Singer is to blame for this incident. Well, if they’re really playing and singing to pre-recorded tracks, then the entire band is responsible, but it’s Eric’s fault for revealing it.
One YouTube comment suggests that, while playing Kiss classic “Detroit Rock City,” Eric Singer did the following mistakes (you can find the comment in this video):
“For those who miss it: 1. Eric forgets to rest for a measure at 0:12, instead continuing to play the standard beat for two additional measures. The song is so simple for a seasoned pro like Eric that he’s zoning out during the show lol 2. Eric realizes he messes up, and begins the drumroll/breakdown a measure late.“
Then this led to the following mistakes:
“3. This means Paul’s vocal track is out of sync with what the band is actually playing. 4. Paul’s track plays ‘Everybody’s gonna leave their SEAT,‘ completely out of sync with the song and when nobody is at a mic.“
You can check out this shorter version of the video in the embedded player below:
If this is all true, and the video evidence seems pretty legit at this point, then we should remember this old Gene Simmons interview from 2015 where he criticized The Rolling Stones for using some pre-recorded backing tracks live:
“I have a problem when you charge $100 to see a live show and the artist uses backing tracks. It’s like the ingredients in food, if the first ingredient on the label is sugar that’s at least honest. It should be on every ticket – you’re paying $100, 30 to 50 percent of the show is [on] backing tracks and they’ll sing sometimes, sometimes they’ll lip synch. At least be honest. It’s not about backing tracks, it’s about dishonesty.”
Photo: YouTube screenshot, Flickr user Wok (KISS in concert Boston 2004)
