The click is also there for production. The videos they play behind them have to be sync’d so that’s why all of that including the pyro is in time with elements of the music. I’ve been a fan since 1975 and I hate to see them getting old but it’s a fact of life. Live and let live!

The general public would be surprised to know that 99% of any&every A-level (& B & most of C!) bands use in-ears with timing cues and clicktracks and whatever else each performer wants in his or her personal mix. Stage Manager warnings & cues for upcoming pyro or CO2, lyric cues or key cues, and on & on. There's plenty of bands playing 2,500-cap rooms using tracked audience swells from 7,000-seat stadiums, through the p.a. to trigger the live audience to react the same way. The "casual banter" and interaction with the crowd by the frontman is on the setlist in between certain songs, sometimes for guitar changeovers, and that banter is 90% the same every night except for the name of the city (which is also in big letters at the top of the frontman's setlist taped down in front of him). There's lots more, but it would spoil a lot of visions people have about their favorites...

And I saw them May 17th 2022 (like last week) and had a great time and I didn't care how they were singing!! I was focusing on the great time I had and how great my first concert was.

KISS has earned my respect. The fact that they are able to do this into their 70's is amazing.

The host interrupts too much. Don't need to hear everything in your head.

You can trash them now. But not the 50 years they gave me as sound track of my life. Thanks KISS!

Penn Jillette talked about how when you’ve done the same show so many years, your mind wanders off to grocery lists and such. The in ear cues have their purpose

Kiss was THE band of my teenage years. If they have to rely on technology in their 70s for a show...so be it. Respect.

I'm not sure If anyone involved in the making of this video or anyone in the comments section plays in a band. I've played in live situations hundreds of times. And ANYTHING extra in your in ear monitor other than the rest of the band makes it that much harder when trying to play songs. I don't believe that you could pull just any musician on stage, hand them the in ears, and an instrument, and tell them, "Just follow the instructions you hear In the in ear monitors and follow the click." And they would do better than these guys do. Love these guys since the 70's and think they were and still are INCREDIBLE!🤘

Dude they’re like 70 years old. These tricks are called “professionalism” in my book. They’ve learned through trial and error over the course of 50 years of playing shows that this is the way to give the audience the best show they possibly can. They still play the guitars and drums live and those are definitely not fake solos either. And Paul isn’t faking it when he swings around over the audience with sparks and smoke shooting out of his guitar either. Unless you’ve spent 50 years playing rock concerts in front of tens of thousands of people I don’t think you have a right to criticize how they do it.

Who cares , kiss is a great band and at 70 years old still rock the house down. And I agree we should thank them for all the great music

Saw KISS in 2000 and 2004 enjoyed it because of the production. You don't go to see KISS and expect a show from a club in 1974. Also saw Paul Stanley as the Phantom in 1997 he was awesome. "Christine!!!"

Lots of artists use click tracks live. Often times the click will be pre-recorded on one side of a stereo mix that the drummer hears through headphones or an in-ear monitor, and on the other channel there will be pre-recorded backup vocals or other sound efx, or instruments such as horns or keyboards. It's all about making the sound full and as good as possible. Don't overthink it man.

The click track doesn’t mean they are not playing. Even sweetening the sound with backing vocals that would otherwise require more singers doesn’t mean they are not singing. The click track and the stage manager’s directions are needed because it’s such a complex production, syncing lights and pyro and cameras with the music. That stuff doesn’t make them lousy. All that production is actually the impressive part of what they do. What makes them lousy is that the songs are just not very good, and they don’t play and sing very well, and never really have. To their credit, they’ve never pretended to. They claim to put on the biggest spectacle, not the best music. And they are correct. Lots of people love the shows. So it’s all OK.

Most every major bamd with effects and video have the voice cue and "3, 2, 1" in their IEM feed. U2, The Who, etc...lots of bootlegs from IEM recordings have that. They aren't on a club stage anymore where they can read each other and change tempo, etc. When you have video interaction and effects, and are a mile from the rest of the band, you get the "3, 2, 1" in your ear

In ear click track cues are usually used whether in the studio or stage. Usually you will hear verse in 1234 chorus 1234 and such. It’s typical click useage

KISS, The most fun and amazingly exciting show I’ve ever experienced. The Stanley’s are family friends, and are one of the kindest families we’ve ever known. Truly genuine, good people.

How the hell are they supposed to pull off such hugely complex shows without coordination, like, seriously? The experience you get as a listener is fantastic -- that is what they're working for, and they're doing it well. Excellently, in fact.

The only thing that should ever be said to, or about KISS is thank you for all the wonderful years of great music.

I love when Paul says we have to wait for our KitKat to get on the drums lol I love 💕

I saw Kiss at SPAC in Saratoga NY on the End Of The Road Tour. In truth I didn't go to pick the show apart. I went to see a band I've been following since 1975. We all get older and, no lie, click tracks are a part of life. Click tracks have been used onstage an in the studio for decades. Playing to a click track simply keeps the band in time, nothing to get obsessed about. Paul's vocals are they way they are. I went to see Kiss in Saratoga for the big show and to have a good time. I also purged a few demons in the process, just by growling out a few lyrics (because nobody was listening to me) and just being an anonymous goofy guy in the audience. Who knows how many others in the crowd were doing the same thing?

I have seen them recently, in a shed, it was really good, nobody cared about the doubling of pauls voice, the people whom i went with have never seen KISS before and they loved it, i enjoyed it as well. Ive seen kiss since 1977 on every tour 2 or 3 times each tour so ive seen them ALOT. great times great memories.

As a performer myself, Ive worked with bands that pressed a button and mimed their whole show, and having seen Kiss in Verona in 2022 and the magnitude of the production, its nothing less than astounding ! What a show and performance! irrelevant of whether they use click trax prompts etc.. well worth the money just for the experience and i feel for the poor guy with the vacumm cleaner who has to clear up all those paper pieces at the end of each show! Fantastic Kiss.. You really were awesome !

Honestly the whole IEM thing doesent bother me. It makes sense considering how technical the show is with pyro and other effects. It guarantees a smooth running show. However it also kills a bit of the live vibe.

So cool to now these backstage things, this or the lip sync doesn't matter for me, still love the songs and the shows

cool technology they are using,, I love that! Definately helps make them stay tight and give the audience a great show after 50 years, I'm excited to see them on their last leg in Germany this summer

So when Paul Stanley always said I can't hear you........ He wasn't lying 🤣

I have been pissed continuously about band members everywhere slating each other,but whoever they are,and whatever they've said,DO NOT FORGET ! once all the great classics are gone,there are none to replace them. It's great that they are all still able to perform into their 70's.

I'm a sound engineer in Las Vegas! You wouldn't believe the tracks, and click cues that go on. 😂

I remember David Coverdale in a live concert on 1984. His voice was completely gone! Sure it was not due to the aging at this time. It can happen to all rock singers! To me it doesn’t mean nothing at all! Both singers are the best rock singers of all time!

I just saw them the other night at Rockville and they sounded great, yes Paul struggles at times but like you said their in their 70's. They still put on the best show of the day.

I've noticed a trend in a lot of older bands, they'll do a few songs acoustically so they don't have to strain their vocal chords

One time i paid 36 dollars for a ticket....and 40 dollars for parking.

This just popped up on my feed. Watched it. We could analyze ANY artist/band for doing all of this stuff. It's been going on for a couple of decades now with most artists/bands. To me it is really simple, if it bothers you, stop bitching about it, don't spend the money, and don't go. Go scream at the sky, go to your safe space, go seek therapy, go eat Cheetos in your basement, etc. There are literally thousands of people that pack the venues who don't care. They are there to have a good time and see their favorite artists/bands before they no longer tour. What they do with THEIR money and time is THEIR business. No one else's. Now I will step off of my soapbox. PS: Shane this is not necessarily directed to you. To the Fonz and others....it is.

Of course anyone who has ever been to a major league stage show or Broadway musical assumes that everyone is performing off the cuff, naturally as they feel inclined and whatever suits the moment... 😂 Making it look and sound perfect, easy and natural is what's called being PROFESSIONAL

Of COURSE their padding the audience sound during a covid live stream, EVERY band who did a live stream show had crowd noise, why is that so surprising?

Saw 'em last week.,...They absolutely kick ass! Huh, these critiques..come out the basement!

It is called a talk-back mic. Every single band does this on every single live concert....WTF??

The first time I saw KISS live in concert was more than a half a century ago. When you can measure their live performance history in centuries, the fact that they are still performing is miraculous no matter what it takes to keep going. That said, they still perform with more musical integrity than MOST. They are amazing, you have to give them that.

I love KISS regardless of what goes on. Maybe they have offstage assistance, maybe they don’t. One thing is for sure, they have NO PROBLEMS selling tickets to their shows! ROCK ON!!! 🤟😎🤟

It's well known Paul was struggling vocally a couple years ago, and even had to have a procedure done. But I saw them in November a couple weeks before their last show, and it was 100% live. And while he obviously didn't sound as good as prime years, it was damn good ENOUGH and I loved the show.

What I would like too see from kiss is that they do away from the huge stages and do a classic tour. The songs costumes and pyrotechnics from the first alive album. I think that's when they were the best but that's just me..

All I could think about was that scene in Spinal Tap where they play the military base and their monitors were picking up the "air control" and "combat" chatter!!! And I would BUST if one of the phrases coming through from the cue guys was: "Drive around to Window 1, please...." Do you want fries with that?!?!? 😹

Great band still love them, listen to all my LPS, with my h-aids out and turn it up loud.

It's just sad to go out this way. I think the criticism of "newer" acts like Britney Spears is that they have ALWAYS lip synced.....have always used backing tracks. even during the beginning of their careers. They are true pop acts who can't and have never played a truly live show or even in the studio. A band like Kiss paid their dues, so I think that's where the right to put down those acts comes from. Do I think it's ok? Well, I'm with you Shane. I would rather they just own it and state "hey, this is it and we can't do the set at the level we used to."

Newsflash... Rockstars have been doing this for years. Styx, Aerosmith

I`m just amazed they are able to be on stage at this point.

An absolute shell of their former selves. As a KISS fan from the beginning, it hurts my heart to hear and watch this. 😢

100.00 for a 🎟ticket ? Don't you mean 1500.00 for a ticket floor level up front. I'm not " throwing my hard earned $$$" at KISS using backing tracks.GEN X, 1965 so I've been there from the beginning. It's TIME 2 RETIRE PAUL & GENE.

The "double voice" in the beginning is Eric Singer doing the backing vocals... not a backing track. It's almost impossible to trigger a backing track like that live without a click. Another thing, and i listen to the song, he didn't sound that bad. Of course, he doesn't have the same power to keep the vibratos plus it sounds he's being extremely careful with those. Plus, the sound it's raw, not mastered and post processed. If you find any other live raw footage of any band will sound similar. If you add a bit of reverb or delay, it's not bad. Anyways, good you bring the discussion, but i don't find it that bad for two 70yo dudes rocking the stage. This is remarkable.

DUDE I SAW THEM IN 1979 (DYNASTY TOUR) SA TEXAS CONVENTION CENTER ARENA. WILL NEVER FORGET THAT CONCERT. I WOULD NOT CARE IF THEY DID ALL THAT LIP SYNCING ETC.

They should have called it quits 10 years ago when Paul's voice started to go.

I remember once,at an Aerosmith concert,they use lyric screen monitors on the floor that scroll the lyrics to the song they are playing.

Oh my God...I don't think that I could ever sing and have someone talking in my ear. I have issues with concentration and I'd be forgetting all the words because I'm not concentrating on my singing and concentrating more on the voices in my earpiece.

Playing guitar and singing at the same time is not an easy skill. Add in that they also have a click track and countdowns to also process in their ear, it must be challenging.

Great video man .. first one of yours I've watched. I've always been a big KISS fan and I think most of us around here have expected they were using backing vocals for some time, but most like most people, are getting frustrated with how defensive they've been as a band on this issue over the years. If they would even just stop criticizing others for doing it that would be much better for them.

I was never a kiss fan; I was rocking to Pat Benatar, but I think it is awesome that they are still playing in their 70's.

They're playing to a click and have verbal cues, but Paul's obviously not lip-synching because he sounds horrible in the clips you've played.

What is wrong with you?! Everybody does that for a decade now. They still play and sing live. Not like some other big names.

My first gig I made the mistake of announcing we made a couple mistakes. No one notices if you don’t say anytning

I don't get complaining about fake crowd noise during a pandemic show. the NFL, WWE, UFC, MLB, ext all had fake crowd noise.

I don’t know what you mean doing it without in ears. They would still have in ears. And the 1,2,3,4 is most likely the drummer counting it in. Other than maybe not having a click or backing track or pyrotechnics there is no real difference.

This is only news to non musicians. Or musicians who have never worked professionally. There’s no guy on stage talking you through the songs. It’s pre recorded to guide musicians through the tune. Incredibly important if you just hired a new tour cat and you have to make dates that are already booked. If you’ve ever seen a band playing and all of the sudden, without looking at each other, they all magically hit a note or tag in unison…there you have it. Side note, even with these vocal cues musicians mess up or lose the click.

Ever see that Seinfeld episode “The high note” where George decides he’s going to leave every situation on a high note where he’s on top and at his best? Kiss should have watched that episode and learned from it about 20 years ago. Money has blinded them and sadly, they clearly have no shame. How is Paul not embarrassed about his singing?

All because someone uses inner ear monitors - doesn't mean they are not playing! I am a semi-pro musician and on certain songs - we use samples and inner ear monitors. Why use inner ear monitors? Because it makes the setup easier and being able to control the volume is so key. Not every venue is MSG and if you actually want to get paid to play music - you better be able to control your volume for your circumstance. Why use samples? I am not carrying a keyboard player or a horn section for a handful of songs. In my case, it's more a matter of economics. It doesn't pay to drag out all that equipment - play for hours - be away from your family - for $50. Typically, only our drummer hears the click track but he is so good you would never know there is a click track. As for KISS: If you think logically for a minute - it's clear they are orchestrating fireworks, lights, and video to the music. It's all run by computers now so how else would you coordinate all that? You could SERIOUSLY get hurt by those fireworks if you're in the wrong spot and you would want to know WHERE you were in the song when that stuff is going off. As for Paul's voice: Yeah it's shot! 50 years of rock n roll singing/screaming at your top register has taken its toll. Clearly at times - he singing along to a track of his own voice but if he was faking it all the time - wouldn't he get a better track of his voice?!?!

His hearing aid telling him the battery is almost depleted.

Pretty much all the big acts are like this. In country and pop they tour with truckloads of ProTools setups and hard discs of backing tracks. Vocals, guitars, everything. If you're having an off night the sound man will turn your live rig down and you're basically lip syncing...

I'm not even a KISS fan, but I don't find it to be surprizing, and I don't see why Shane paints it to be insulting. Since at least the 80's, most live rock stadium performances (outside of GnR, and before grunge took hold) became very strcutured things tied to pyro, lights, video etc. Even show length within the time table of the venue was structured. The days of looser, Zeppelin and Who type performances (which had their regimen to a degree as well) were over.

Got tickets to The Stadium Tour here in Jacksonville on July 4th weekend I sure hope it's a lot better then that last "improvised" song's performance.

You can add or delete what Instruments or vocals you want..they are a very good tool for playing live..my band uses them..I have a click in my ear and then it might say intro..ok verse 1 or bridge..it takes some getting use too...

How did you get hold of the in ear monitor feed? Did Kiss release it to the public?

That he is exempt from lip syncing shaming. That's what he hears in his in ear.

As a sound engineer for quite a while I saw the transition from always using monitors to some bands using in years. And in my experience it was like night and day. The inner bands sang and performed with way less mojo. They stop pushing against the monitors. They stop pushing against the crowd. They basically stop moving air and sit inside their own heads and make music. It basically was like bands turning into robots rather than analog human beings. I always know when a band has in years and even before I see if there’s monitors on the stage or not. It’s like they’re neutered.

Bands have been doing this for a long time

Who's IEM mix are we hearing?

Shane learns about playing with clicks and tracks for the first time

Dude they are rock stars. They still rocked strutter....we use in ears at my church. Every rock band famous or not all use host fills, cues, all in ears....they are still playing it live

I dont think they lip sync like most pop bands do, they might have backing vocals but whatever, for 50 years of singing and screaming his voice is going to have a hard time. I think they sound good, their sound checks sound good too without all the pizazz.

Dude, I play drums in bar bands and I'm on click all night long. It certainly doesn't mean I'm not drumming live, I most certainly am, but I'm playing in time keeping the dancers happy by staying in great time, at the tempo the songs were recorded, making the line dances and two steps they've learned and practiced with the records feel natural and at ease. I also cue the band in to every single song. I say the name of the song, what the count is if a musician has a pick up and count it in. So if we're gonna cover Don't Rock The Jukebox by Alan Jackson, the vocalist sings a 3 beat pick up before the band kicks in, so I say, "Don't Rock on 5." The guitarist strums a G chord for the singer to get his note and I give a 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, and the vocalist starts singing on beat 2, band kicks in on 1. What part of this is cheating?

Big live shows are always now very tightly controlled and setup. Everything is running from a control track, lights, rigging, screens, stage effects, pyro. The 'artists' today are just following the cues. Nothing new or special at all. Been going on for many years. Maybe get to the point about Strutter without the obvious padding out going on, the audience hates wasting their time of fluff.

I've been to OSAKA to see Priest. The crowd is absolutely silent between songs. Kiss is legendary. Period.

He hears what he wants to hear. See my name..lol

bands using a click in their ears monitors is totally normal!!

It’s not KISS without Ace and Peter

If we found out Rush used click tracks and such would we be pissed

I love how you were ready to blast on Paul but didn’t know Cold Gin was a Gene song.

Well...hope you could sing as Paul does !! rock on baby !!!

Like they said on the other farewell tour, “It’s better to leave the party early than to stay too late” Yup you should have listened!

How many stadium shows have you done, dude? :D

I’m not sure they hear the same thing I do. Their stage makeup and outfits suggest they hear much heavier rock than I do when they play.

When they did the reunion tour with Ace and the '90s?.... Absolutely no way in hell am I paying any amount of money to go see them these days because it's a sad shame but Kiss cannot do what they used to do. There is 200 employees behind them making this happen and they are four guys on stage

Maybe they get lost..They there old as hell BUT this is KISS people ...who cares!! They earned everything they got..screw it...as long as you keep showing up they will come....RESPECT

Sit on it Fonz !

Are those people in those hotel rooms actually watching the concert or are they watching old episodes of the Golden Girls?

Sounds like the same person, Paul, who said 1...2... it just sounded like part of his talking to the crowd. Maybe I missed something. That aside... one of the funniest things Ive read lately was Gene saying this was for sure their last tour because KISS wants to go out on top LOL.

I don't mind if they use click tracks and in ears monitoring where they can get pre programmed instructions. This is pretty standard in much of the industry, it's just that no one is telling us about it. I play worship music in a church that uses in ears and much of this isn't a surprise to me at all. Click track can be very annoying, but it does keep everybody on the same page and the music tends to suffer far less off track mistakes. I think the big deal is like you say at the end, they want you to think that they don't use backing tracks, which I think could be a bigger difference. Paul's getting old enough and has put his voice through enough where he should just come out and say the obvious, but they won't because they've painted a picture to the contrary. It would go against their narrative of everything they've said about the current band and what those of us that prefer the original band think.

Gene can still sing. Paul can barely talk without cracking. It is what it is.

Why couldn't we see the band? DAMN! 😣

“We’re not doing a free form, jazz exploration in front of a festival crowd.” ….”You are witnesses at the new birth of KISS mark II, I hope you enjoy our new direction. On the bass, Gene Simmons, he wrote this,”

Kiss should of used that extra time to go into Jazz Odyssey, hell Spinal Tap did it at the show when they co-headlined with the puppet show.