UPDATE (APRIL 16, 2023): This past Thursday (April 13), Gene Simmons took to social media to guarantee fans that he’s doing well following his onstage health scare the prior night.
Specifically, Simmons tweeted: “Hey everybody, thanks for the good wishes. I’m fine. Yesterday at Manaus Stadium in Brazil, experienced weakness because of dehydration. We stopped for about five minutes, I drank some water, and then all was well. Nothing serious. Tomorrow, Bogota Stadium. See you there!”
An hour later, he posted another bit of reassurance: “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.”
You can view both tweets below.
Indeed, KISS’ show in Colombia last night (April 15) was incident-free. In fact, the band tweeted about it earlier this morning (April 16), so they should be all set to continue their South American tour this Tuesday (April 18) at Brazil’s Arena BRB Mané Garrincha.
KISS had to pause their show in Manaus, Brazil last night (April 12) after Gene Simmons fell ill during the performance. They took a brief break while he recovered, and then finished the show.
Brazilian publication G1 reported that Simmons asked a member of their crew for a chair at one point during the show [via Blabbermouth], and played while sitting down. Apparently, the fans brought Simmons’ condition to the attention of Paul Stanley, who then paused the show to let the rest of the crowd know that something was going on.
“We’re gonna have to stop. We know how much you love Gene,” Stanley said to the crowd in a fan-filmed video, which shows Simmons sitting on the other side of the stage surrounded by crew members and drinking water. “He’s obviously sick, and we’re gonna have to stop to take care of him because we love him, right? Let’s give Gene a really loud, ‘Gene!'”
See video footage below.
Simmons was taken backstage by members of their crew, and the audience was encouraged to wait until the band was ready to return to the stage. A bit later, Simmons came out and thanked the crowd, and they resumed the show.
G1 further noted that the temperature in Manaus during the performance was around 80 degrees, so it’s possible that Simmons was feeling the effects of heat exhaustion. Loudwire sends our best to the rocker.
READ MORE: Everything We Know So Far About the Upcoming KISS Biopic on Netflix
KISS’ South American tour continues Saturday, April 15 in Bogota, Colombia, and wraps up at the end of the month. Then the rockers will headline the Sonic Temple Festival in Ohio in May before heading to Europe. In the fall, the rockers will play throughout the U.S. and Canada, and their very last shows will take place in early December at Madison Square Garden in New York City. See all of their upcoming dates and get tickets here.