Gene Simmons had to take a seat, literally, during his latest KISS concert after he fell ill onstage. The legendary rock star, 71, was rocking out in Manaus, Brazil on Wednesday night when he suddenly stopped playing and sat down in a chair, according to viral videos of the concert (below). In one clip, Gene’s bandmember Paul Stanley interrupted the show as crew members surrounded the ailing bassist.
Kiss interrompeu show em Manaus após Gene Simmons passar mal.
Ele parou o show, sentou em uma cadeira e depois saiu do palco. Foi socorrido pela organização e o show foi interrompido. Minutos depois, no entanto, voltou ao palco e concluiu o show.
— José Norberto Flesch (@jnflesch) April 13, 2023
“We’re gonna have to stop,” Paul said, gesturing at Gene. “You know how much we love Gene, and he’s obviously sick. And we’re gonna have to stop to take care of him, ’cause we love him, right?” He then asked the crowd to chant “Gene.” According to ACritica, Gene left for about five minutes and then returned to the stage to finish out the night.
After the news of Gene’s incident took over Twitter the next day, the good-natured musician took to his own account to assure fans that he’s doing just fine. “Ok, kids. Not a big deal. Thanks for your kind wishes,” he tweeted. “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. 🤟😎”
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!
— Gene Simmons (@genesimmons) April 13, 2023
The tweet was actually Gene’s second attempt at letting his stans know he’s not ill. An hour earlier, he posted, “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!”
Last month, KISS announced that they would play “the absolute final shows of their final tour” at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Dec. 1 and 2, per Rolling Stones. “Kiss was born in New York City on 23rd Street. Half a century ago,” the statement read. “It will be a privilege and honor to finish touring at Madison Square Garden, 10 blocks and 50 years from where we first started.”
And it looks like Gene will be healthy enough to finish what he started!