The thrill of the greasepaint had nearly worn off for the members of Kiss at the end of their 1998 "Psycho Circus" tour. But luckily for those who still want to party every day, Ace, Gene, Peter and Paul decided to strap on the big rubber codpieces one last time for a series of blood-spitting farewell gigs opened by the Motor City Madman himself, Ted Nugent. Skid Row was picked to round out this scream dream lineup after the Cheap Trick boys turned down a chance to relive their arena-rock daze.

Glam-rock revelers who survive the show will take home greatest-hits memories of all the old flashpot-and-fireworks touches--along with many, many farewells from the stage. Fans may even leave with a few blooper-reel highlights. As SonicNet reported from the band's Anaheim show, "a lift intended to fly [Paul] Stanley over the crowd got stuck, suspending him awkwardly in the air during nearly half of 'Love Gun.' While Stanley struggled to get down, Simmons took the lead vocal as the band plowed on through the tune." Thankfully, drummer Peter Criss has yet to spontaneously combust.

"When I get up on stage, I'm god, I am the king, because I can burp, fart, do anything you want and they go, 'Yeah!'" Simmons has said. That'll get us through the summer, sure. But what will Kiss Army loyalists do for future kicks? Not to worry. Although Simmons promises the band is done with albums of new material and roadshows, the fire-breathing bassist adds that "KISS will continue in some ways--certainly the comic books and other stuff will go on." That other stuff includes a concert disc, "Alive IV," a "Kiss Circus Cartoon Show" for Fox Kids, and "Rock and Roll All Night," a movie Simmons is co-producing for CBS, that arbiter of hip youth culture. Seems like a smart move, given the runaway success of 1999's "Detroit Rock City."

Frank Sennett

Newcity.com affiliates say goodbye, Kiss:

SWEET KISS
Farewell Tour whips fans into a frenzy

SO PUT AWAY YOUR MAKEUP...
The superheroes of Rock have seen a million faces, and they've rocked them

KISS IS STILL KISS
Rock's campy superheroes vamp through a fiery farewell performance

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES
Of Kiss, cops, mom and cigarettes

LONG KISS GOODNIGHT
The most famous tongue in rock has a little more wagging to do