On March 15th, KISS played the RodeoHouston show at Reliant Stadium in Houston, TX. A review of the show courtesy of the Houston Press is now available at KISSonline.com. An excerpt is available below:

"In Tom Snyder's 1979 interview with the original members of KISS, only two of which remain, he asked bassist Gene Simmons, 'What would happen if you went out on stage for a concert and you didn't set off the fireworks, didn't break the guitar, and didn't have the smoke, fire, and blood?'

Simmons responded astutely, 'It would still be a rip-roaring rock and roll show because...we don't stand still when we play our instruments. We run around and pretty much raise hell.'

Over 30 years later, Aftermath wanted to test that theory, since we were aware of some of the stage restrictions at Reliant Stadium. There was no blood and not as much fire as we expected, but there were plenty of pyrotechnics for the group to put on a decadently distinctive KISS show, playing 12 songs in their entirety in just an hour.

We were hot with expectancy before the lights even went off. We delightedly watched those little mutton-busters get scared out of their minds as a rodeo clown with full KISS makeup hoisted them up after the inevitable sheep trampling.

Imagine being five years old, strapped to a running sheep in front of 70,000 people, and then busting your ass just to be saved by an old man dressed like Gene Simmons. That's traumatizing stuff, man.

When the lights went out and the initial fireworks were over, we watched a video of the members 'getting ready' and 'approaching the stage.' The band rode out to the stage on golf carts and the customary introduction boomed through the stadium: 'You wanted the best, you got the best: the hottest band in the world, KISS!!'

Go to this location for more. Click here for a Houston Press slideshow from the night.

As previously reported, Gene Simmons spoke with DJ JC Green of Alfa Rock 105.7 FM and Metal Messiah Radio's Heavy Metal Thunder program last week to promote their March 12th show at Coliseo de Puerto Rico in Hato Rey. Simmons spoke about the band's follow-up to Sonic Boom and answered the burning question - will the original line-up (Simmons, frontman Paul Stanley, guitarist Ace Frehley, drummer Peter Criss) reunite once again?

Audio of the chat can now be heard below:

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Excerpts from the chat follow:

Simmons on new album: "The new record, which we already started working on - we start recording in three weeks - is going to be the next step to Sonic Boom. Very similar, straight rock songs, no ballads, no keyboards, no nothing, just rock. We have brand new songs that we've been writing. We've been writing a lot and there's some very good material and that's what we are going to record. A lot of the songs have been written by the whole band together, so no outside writers, just the band doing what it did on the first three records; write the songs ourselves. Once you know who you are are and how you breath - because every song is like an animal - you try to bring life to the song so it becomes real. Once you know who you are, it's easy to do - just do what the animal does without thinking about what's popular, what a producer would do. You just do it like you would naturally do it. We have almost all the songs written. In fact we have too many songs; about 20-25 things that look and sound good. It's a very busy time, but the album is going to take precedence."

Simmons on a reunion with the original band members: "There will be one more time that we will play together. Some time in the future there will be a last show. Sometime in the future we'll be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. There will be one more time when we do it together to honour the beginning. But you know when you run a long-distance race, not everyone can run a long race. Some people are only good for the beginning of the race. They don't have the passion and the will, the endurance. Not everyone can run a long distance race."

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