Gene Simmons Band

The legendary KISS frontman brought his new live band to Gothenburg for a cavalcade of old KISS hits, solo material, and cover songs. The crowd itself happened to have a fair share of talent of its own, however, and almost stole the show!

The Gene Simmons Band is a solo project led by Gene Simmons, the famous bassist, and co-founder of the iconic rock band KISS. Gene Simmons Band was formed as an outlet for Gene Simmons to perform outside of KISS. It allows him to explore different musical ideas and perform songs that might not fit within the KISS framework. The band primarily tours and performs live, offering fans a chance to see Simmons in a more intimate and personal setting compared to the large-scale KISS concerts. Their setlists often include KISS classics, as well as Simmons' solo material and covers of rock and roll staples.

Band Lineup

Gene Simmons (Vocals, Bass)
Brent Woods (Lead Guitar)
Jason Walker (Rhythm Guitar)
Brian Tichy (Drums)

Show Filled With Fan Interactions

Bringing people from the crowd up on stage for them to sing or play with the band was a recurring theme throughout the show. There were several people in the front row who had brought home-made signs with them, requesting to play a certain instrument and/or song, and a few of them got their dream come true this night!

First time seeing Gene Simmons (or KISS, for that matter), I didn't quite know what to expect, but it was a very fun show. Gene is a pretty funny guy and most of his talks between songs gave a laugh or two. For instance, he brought a little girl up, and asked "How old are you, little girl? Ten? I'm a hundred and ten!". Both Gene and the crows seemed to have a good time indeed!

Some fans got to sing along to a tune!

Truls showed off his chops behind the drums...

...while Melker took over the rhythm guitar for the song Parasite.

Photographing the Event

This was the first time shooting from the pit of Liseberg's large stage, which was quite exciting! I shot alongside a handful other photographers, one of which had shot KISS shows since the 80s!

The biggest challenge going to a larger venue was the sheer height of the stage. This gives you quite a tricky angle of view, since the edge of the stage tends to obstruct anything farther back on-stage (such as the drummer). To get a better view I once tried raising the camera above eye level with the LCD tilted a bit down and used that instead of the viewfinder to compose. The angle was still too low, though, so I mostly took tighter, individual shots of the band members. Drummers are usually the hardest to shoot, but here it was even trickier. I think I'll try growing longer arms until next time!

I would also like to send out a special thanks to Liseberg for giving CS the opportunity to shoot this show!