Regular visitors to this space will be well aware of my skepticism regarding final / farewell tours. So when Kiss proclaimed that its show at Madison Square Garden this past weekend was “The End of the Road,” my reaction was something along the lines of “My ass!” Like Gene Simmons (possibly the most avaricious person on the planet) is going to give up touring and the steady cash flow that it provides? Impossible. By all accounts, Simmons needs money like most people need oxygen, and bandmate Paul Stanley probably can’t survive with adulation.
But, Kiss being Kiss, they have an angle: it was announced at the conclusion of the Garden show that the band will “become immortal” and live on as “avatars.” Evidently, some sort of motion-capture technology has been used to capture the members of Kiss, if not in their prime, at least while they are still ambulatory. This being the case, Kiss can (in theory) keep on rocking forever. For some reason, I’m thinking of the “Futurama” episodes that portray Richard Nixon as disembodied, his head in a jar full of some liquid that keeps him alive forever. Imagine Simmons and Stanley sitting on a shelf, next to each other in perpetuity.
Fortunately, there are still plenty of musicians who don’t think that actually showing up in person and playing a gig is a totally twentieth century kind of thing, and some of them are in Houston this week.
Ticket Alert
Speaking of farewell tours (and we were), tickets are on sale for a Foreigner-Styx double bill at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Saturday, June 22. Pre-tour PR says this is the last jaunt for Foreigner (no mention of avatars either), but we’ll see what happens when the money runs out. Having said that, it should be noted that Foreigner’s Kelly Hansen is a dynamic front man and one hell of a singer. Check out his recent conversation with Bob Ruggiero of the Houston Press here.
‘90s icon Alanis Morissette will be at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Sunday, June 16, touring to celebrate the 25th anniversary of her album Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. Morissette has shrewdly booked perennial badass Joan Jett to open. If you want to impress your seatmates and make new friends, explain at some length that the incidents described in Morissette’s song “Ironic” are not, in fact, representative of irony. People love this stuff!
Limp Bizkit’s “Loserville” tour will make a stop at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Sunday, August 11. Ticket information is available by texting the number listed on the link, but it looks like the presale will be on Thursday and the general sale on Friday. Among the opening acts? None other than former teen sensation Corey Feldman (Goonies), who has performed with the band in the past, trotting out Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” complete with moonwalk.
Concerts This Week
Dallas alt-country dudes Old 97’s will perform tonight at the House of Blues. Though the band hasn’t released an album for a while, the 97’s made a memorable appearance as a space alien band on the “Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” last year, backing Kevin Bacon. ‘Cause Knowledge is Power: “Saturday Night Live” / “Portlandia” alum Fred Armisen filled in on drums for the band’s 2017 tour.
The Heights Theater will be jumping this week, with shows from two of Texas’ finest, Jack Ingram on Friday and Radney Foster on Saturday. Both have well-earned reputations as premier songwriters in the state, so you can’t go wrong with either one.
Josh Homme and Queens of the Stone Age will be at the 713 Music Hall on Saturday in support of the band’s latest release, In Times New Roman. The name of the tour? “The End is Nero.” For such a hard rocking outfit, these guys sure have a goofy sense of humor.
Christmas shows? We’ve got ‘em, starting with the Mix 96.5 “Deck the Hall Ball” on Thursday at the 713 Music Hall. The show will feature Train and Johnny Rzesnik of the Goo Goo Dolls. Then on Sunday, it’s
Raul Malo with his holiday tour at the Heights Theater and The Trans-Siberian Orchestra at Toyota Center with matinee and evening performances of “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve.” Guitarist Ian Moore will bring his “Acoustic Family Christmas Show” to Main Street Crossing on Monday, with Bukka Allen and Warren Hood also taking part in the festivities. Alt-rock, country or prog, take you pick.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
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