Kiss
Copenhell - 2022
Text: Tobias Nilsson Photo: Lunah Lauridsen
It’s no secret the headline line-up of Copenhell 2022 was to die for. One classic super beast of a band after the other. And so it came to be that none other than Kiss set the heavens on fire, on the second day of the festival.
Having grown up with this band in my ears and having them as part of my musical DNA for about as long as I can remember, I had to see what they were up to.
“Copenhagen, this is the eighth time we’re here! (yeah!) This is the last time we’ll be here! (buh!)”
- Gene Simmons (vocals/bass)
This had been announced as Kiss’ farewell tour (let’s wait and see how that goes….), and so there was more than usual at stake. Not that this is usually a problem for this band, but there we are.
It was clear from the get go that Kiss was doing Kiss, meaning they were going all in on the show and every little aspect of it. On the side of the stage, we had huge inflatable statues of the four members - and I mean huge! They were like the argonath, standing tall and proud on either side of the stage.
The stage itself was filled with lights, and here I’d like to stress a point that I feel Kiss is doing right, and so many other bands have misunderstood; it may be that you’re a dark and gloomy band, playing dark and gloomy music, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be able to see you when we go to your show - turn on them lights, people!
Not only were there lights, but there was a huge screen as a backdrop, being expertly used throughout the show. One of my favourite moments was when the band was playing Deuce, and the screen showed a stream of band photos from all across their impressively long career. Nostalgic and beautiful.
Kiss had many other tricks up their sleeve as well, what with fireworks show, giant Kiss balloons, confetti, and so much more! As always, Kiss knows how to build a party, and we were all having a blast! A freakin’ hit parade as a setlist - thank you for playing Tears Are Falling, which I haven’t heard live before! - and still time for all the solo rounds as well, even though it was a festival gig. I’m apparently not getting tired of seeing fireworks shoot out of the Spaceman’s guitar during Tommy Thayer’s solo, and I was also duly impressed and entertained by The Catman Eric Singer’s laid back attitude, as he wiped himself down with a towel, while playing his drum solo just with his feet! Well, that part of it anyway.
Singer once again proved himself a formidable singer, when a piano was wheeled in for Beth later in the show, and of course Black Diamond before it.
Both The Demon Gene Simmons and The Starchild Paul Stanley reached for the stars; Simmons on his elevating platform for God Of Thunder, and Stanley as he put his foot in a hoop, and was zip-lined across the audience while playing Love Gun, finishing the song up out on the sound tower, and zip-lining back again in the next song, I Was Made For Lovin’ You. I loved it, it was so much fun and playtimey, and the band members were so full of energy and in such a good mood!
“Good people! I know you wanna go crazy! Who wants to go crazy?!”
- Paul Stanley (vocals/guitar)
People did indeed want to go crazy, and so they did. People were crazy for Kiss. Cheering, applauding, throwing hands in the air, all was game, and the biggest name of the game was, not surprisingly, singing along. It pretty much started when the show started, and grew from there. When we reached Heaven’s On Fire, the band even began making special room for the audience, and in the break between Black Diamond and Beth, the audience impromptu took up singing Rock And Roll All Nite, a song which was thankfully repeated in its full form at the end of the show, As the audience was already warmed up to it at this point, it saw the possibly loudest sing-along of any song of the night!
I have to say, 2022 was an extremely good year for Copenhell, and Kiss was one of the best shows there for me. Top three easily. If this truly was the band’s last goodbye, I’m sad, because I’m definitely not done with them, and honestly, they didn’t seem ready to hang up their plateau boots either.
Setlist:
Rock And Roll (Led Zeppelin song)
Detroit Rock City
Shout It Out Loud
Deuce
War Machine
Heaven’s On Fire
I Love It Loud
Say Yeah
Cold Gin
Solo (Thayer)
Lick It Up
Calling Dr. Love
Tears Are Falling
Psycho Circus
Solo (Singer)
100,000 Years (snippet)
Solo (Simmons)
God Of Thunder
Love Gun
I Was Made For Lovin’ You
Solo (Stanley)
Black Diamond
Beth
Do You Love Me
Rock And Roll All Night
God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II
Having grown up with this band in my ears and having them as part of my musical DNA for about as long as I can remember, I had to see what they were up to.
“Copenhagen, this is the eighth time we’re here! (yeah!) This is the last time we’ll be here! (buh!)”
- Gene Simmons (vocals/bass)
This had been announced as Kiss’ farewell tour (let’s wait and see how that goes….), and so there was more than usual at stake. Not that this is usually a problem for this band, but there we are.
It was clear from the get go that Kiss was doing Kiss, meaning they were going all in on the show and every little aspect of it. On the side of the stage, we had huge inflatable statues of the four members - and I mean huge! They were like the argonath, standing tall and proud on either side of the stage.
The stage itself was filled with lights, and here I’d like to stress a point that I feel Kiss is doing right, and so many other bands have misunderstood; it may be that you’re a dark and gloomy band, playing dark and gloomy music, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be able to see you when we go to your show - turn on them lights, people!
Not only were there lights, but there was a huge screen as a backdrop, being expertly used throughout the show. One of my favourite moments was when the band was playing Deuce, and the screen showed a stream of band photos from all across their impressively long career. Nostalgic and beautiful.
Kiss had many other tricks up their sleeve as well, what with fireworks show, giant Kiss balloons, confetti, and so much more! As always, Kiss knows how to build a party, and we were all having a blast! A freakin’ hit parade as a setlist - thank you for playing Tears Are Falling, which I haven’t heard live before! - and still time for all the solo rounds as well, even though it was a festival gig. I’m apparently not getting tired of seeing fireworks shoot out of the Spaceman’s guitar during Tommy Thayer’s solo, and I was also duly impressed and entertained by The Catman Eric Singer’s laid back attitude, as he wiped himself down with a towel, while playing his drum solo just with his feet! Well, that part of it anyway.
Singer once again proved himself a formidable singer, when a piano was wheeled in for Beth later in the show, and of course Black Diamond before it.
Both The Demon Gene Simmons and The Starchild Paul Stanley reached for the stars; Simmons on his elevating platform for God Of Thunder, and Stanley as he put his foot in a hoop, and was zip-lined across the audience while playing Love Gun, finishing the song up out on the sound tower, and zip-lining back again in the next song, I Was Made For Lovin’ You. I loved it, it was so much fun and playtimey, and the band members were so full of energy and in such a good mood!
“Good people! I know you wanna go crazy! Who wants to go crazy?!”
- Paul Stanley (vocals/guitar)
People did indeed want to go crazy, and so they did. People were crazy for Kiss. Cheering, applauding, throwing hands in the air, all was game, and the biggest name of the game was, not surprisingly, singing along. It pretty much started when the show started, and grew from there. When we reached Heaven’s On Fire, the band even began making special room for the audience, and in the break between Black Diamond and Beth, the audience impromptu took up singing Rock And Roll All Nite, a song which was thankfully repeated in its full form at the end of the show, As the audience was already warmed up to it at this point, it saw the possibly loudest sing-along of any song of the night!
I have to say, 2022 was an extremely good year for Copenhell, and Kiss was one of the best shows there for me. Top three easily. If this truly was the band’s last goodbye, I’m sad, because I’m definitely not done with them, and honestly, they didn’t seem ready to hang up their plateau boots either.
Setlist:
Rock And Roll (Led Zeppelin song)
Detroit Rock City
Shout It Out Loud
Deuce
War Machine
Heaven’s On Fire
I Love It Loud
Say Yeah
Cold Gin
Solo (Thayer)
Lick It Up
Calling Dr. Love
Tears Are Falling
Psycho Circus
Solo (Singer)
100,000 Years (snippet)
Solo (Simmons)
God Of Thunder
Love Gun
I Was Made For Lovin’ You
Solo (Stanley)
Black Diamond
Beth
Do You Love Me
Rock And Roll All Night
God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II
Kiss
