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Gene Simmons Has Scary Moment at KISS Show, Moving Platform Malfunctions

Gene Simmons was able to avoid a potential fall during KISS’ show in Tampa, Fla. over the weekend when his moving platform malfunctioned at the start of the band’s set….

Gene Simmons
Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Gene Simmons was able to avoid a potential fall during KISS' show in Tampa, Fla. over the weekend when his moving platform malfunctioned at the start of the band's set.

KISS opened their Tampa gig on October 9 with "Detroit Rock City," where the band comes down to stage level via descending platforms. In the fan-shot video below, the back of Simmons's platform suddenly drops leaving the platform stuck in position on a very awkward angle.

Fortunately, Simmons was able to steady himself and prevent a nasty fall by holding onto a cable while the platform moved closer to the stage. Crew members then quickly sprung into action to provide some stability so The Demon to step off the platform in a safe manner.

While this was happening, the rest of KISS played an extended intro to "Detroit Rock City" to kill some time. After all, if there's one thing that KISS is able to do after decades of major stage productions, it's being able to roll with pretty much any malfunction that comes their way.

Simmons would note today (October 11) on Twitter, "We are committed to you and to putting on the greatest on Earth…even though it’s not always as safe as we want it to be. This happened 2 shows ago…"

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Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights