KISS will play Oshawa in October

KISS will play Oshawa in October
Source: CBC.ca

Oshawa, Ont., will apparently get to rock to KISS after all.

City Coun. Robert Lutczyk told CBC News that the band will play in the city on Oct. 6 and 7, while Mayor John Gray told CTV the band will do a show on Oct. 7.

Gray said he spoke to KISS manager Doc McGhee and was told that the band will indeed perform in the city.

After winning an online competition among cities vying for a KISS concert earlier this summer, Oshawa was shocked to discover itself missing from the '70s-era rock band's upcoming tour schedule, released Monday.

"When I went online and saw the dates and saw that Oshawa wasn't there, I was in shock," Lutczyk told CBC News.

"It's not even that we were in the top 10. We were No. 1 — and not even by a bit but by a longshot. We blew Winnipeg completely out of the water by 2,000 votes."

The venerable rockers, whose hits include I Was Made for Lovin' You, Beth and Rock and Roll All Nite, launched an online contest in April calling on fans to help pick stops for the forthcoming tour.

"No matter where the fans say — from stadiums to cornfields — if there are enough votes, KISS will be there!" the band said in a statement at the time.

Oshawa eventually emerged as KISS capital, but was missing from the fan-chosen concert venues list released Monday, while other cities it had beat in the competition — such as Toronto, Montreal, Saskatoon, Calgary, Vancouver and Winnipeg — were included.

According to a statement from KISS management, "a few situations required locating shows in neighbouring market concert venues … to make sure that all regional fans get a chance to see KISS with the band's full stage production."

The statement also added that concert organizers "are currently planning something special for the city of Oshawa itself, so stay tuned for additional announcements."

Oshawa KISS fan Sean Shane had faith in the band.

"They're 100 per cent for their fans. They definitely like good publicity and if they didn't come this would be a terrible incident on their part," he said.