‘Gene’ of Psycho Circus NYC sticks his tongue out as he plays bass guitar and does his best imitation of Gene Simmons during their performance recently at Rabkin Park in Union.
UNION, NJ — The recent performance by Psycho Circus NYC in Union brought out a good number of diehard Kiss fans to cheer on the tribute band.
Ellie Sweeney, of Springfield, never saw Kiss perform and was anticipating the Psycho Circus NYC show at Rabkin Park. Wearing a Kiss T-shirt and carrying a Gene Simmons doll, she shared that her favorite Kiss song was “Sure Know Something,” from the 1979 album “Dynasty.”
Kirk Suquilanda, of Elizabeth, never saw Kiss either. His favorite Kiss song is “Hard Luck Woman,” another classic from 1976’s “Rock and Roll Over.” He said, “I love Peter Criss. Ace is my favorite. His solo album was my favorite.” Suquilanda said he has been a Kiss fan for about 10 years.
Toni Kostuk, of Union, saw Kiss perform a dozen times. She said, “Kiss was our life growing up. We emulated them. Friends ended up in bands because of them. We would dress like them on Halloween.”
Nick Clemente, of Union, first saw Kiss 46 years ago at Madison Square Garden and saw them many times since. He also has seen several Kiss tribute bands.
His friend, Danny Roselle, said, “Kiss is literally the reason we’re all friends.” Roselle said he first saw Kiss on the Lick It Up Tour at Radio City Music Hall.
Psycho Circus NYC hit the stage while it was still light out and played long after sundown. They opened with “Psycho Circus.” the title track from the 1998 album, and the audience was blown-away from the get-go. They not only replicated Kiss in make-up and costume, but with their instruments, too. And if you closed your eyes, they sounded just like the old Kiss records you played faithfully on your stereo back in the day.
Covering the vast collection of music Kiss put out over the years, Psycho Circus NYC pulled out all the favorites during their two-hour performance. Kiss fans were treated to songs such as “Deuce,” “Strutter,” “Watching You,” “She,” “Hotter than Hell,” “Firehouse,” “Shock Me,” “C’mon and Love Me,” “Shout it Out Loud,” “Parasite,” “Love Gun,” “War Machine,” “Detroit Rock City,” “Cold Gin” and “Black Diamond,” to name a few.
Due to safety reasons, they did not include the pyrotechnics, but they do include them in some shows.
Psycho Circus NYC stayed in character for the entire show. Band members did not go by their real names, but were instead called by the original members of Kiss that they represented: Paul Stanley on guitar, Gene Simmons on bass, Ace Frehley on lead guitar and Peter Criss on drums. “Paul” was “Paul” all night long, revving the audience up, joking around and referring to Union as “Union City,” an allusion to one of their classic tunes, “Detroit Rock city.” And, of course, his performance was solid.
“Ace” offered a phenomenal guitar solo on his Gibson Les Paul, then said, “Raise a toast to Ozzy” and led into an electrifying medley of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath songs – “Crazy Train,” “Iron Man” and “Paranoid.” He concluded by saying, “Rest in peace, Ozzy,” as it was just a few days after Ozzy Osbourne had died.
“Gene” had his shining moment during “God of Thunder,” from the “Destroyer” album. It’s during this song where Gene Simmons is known for spitting fake blood, enhancing his demon persona. Blood was not used during this performance, but that did not take away from the powerful, thrilling showcase. “Gene” commanded the stage and extended his iconic signature long tongue for the fans.
“Paul” invited “Peter” out from behind the drums to sing the romantic ballad that Peter Criss originally sang, “Beth.”
The performance ended with Kiss’s rousing anthem “Rock and Roll All Nite” and had everyone on their feet, dancing and singing.
Nick Clemente, of Union, commented, “They were the tightest Kiss tribute band I ever saw!”
Learn more about Psycho Circus NYC on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573827187002.
Photos by Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta
