Legendary rockers Kiss recently halted their concert in Manaus, Brazil on Wednesday (April 12) after Gene Simmons fell ill. A video clip was posted on social media which saw the bassist/vocalist seated during part of the performance, which marked the opening concert of the Brazilian leg of the band’s “End Of The Road” farewell tour, with Scorpions and Sepultura also on the bill.
According to the Brazilian news site G1, Simmons asked at one point during the show for a member of the road crew to bring him a chair. From that point on, he performed the set while sitting down.
Before Kiss took a short break during the concert, Kiss frontman Paul Stanley told the crowd: “We’re gonna have to stop to take care of him, ’cause we love him, right? Let’s give Gene a really loud ‘Gene’.” He then added that he and his bandmates would return to the stage “a little bit later.”
According to Brazilian journalist Igor Miranda, Kiss came back on approximately five minutes later, with Gene greeting the audience in Portuguese: “Manaus, all right!”, adding “Thank you.”
Some media outlets and fans speculated that heat exhaustion contributed to Gene feeling unwell. According to the National Institute of Meteorology (INMET),the temperature in Manaus at the time of the concert was between 26.9 degrees Celsius (80.4 degrees Fahrenheit) and 27 degrees Celsius (80.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
Update on Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons is doing “okay” after he had to take a break and play sitting down during Wednesday night’s Kiss performance in Manaus, Brazil.
Gene’s bandmate Paul Stanley told the crowd that the bassist/vocalist was sick. Simmons’s illness reportedly forced the band to halt the show for several minutes, but that he was eventually able to finish the performance.
Gene recently issued the following update on his condition via Twitter: “Ok, kids. Not a big deal. Thanks for your kind wishes. Last night we played Amazon jungle Stadium/Brazil. Humidity and temperature were sky high. I was dehydrated and was forced to sit for a song. We got back on stage in 5 minutes & finished the show.”
Christina Vitagliano, the founder of Kiss Monster Mini Golf in Las Vegas, as well as the coordinator at Gene Simmons Axe Ltd., wrote in a separate post: “Hey everyone, The big guy is ok! Apparently, extreme humidity, bad food, and a stage full of fire don’t mix well when you’re dressed head-to-toe in a Demon costume. All is good. Gene’s tough!”
