Posted By Frank DobrovnikTwo years ago, some 10,000 members of the Kiss Army came from all over the world to descend on a casino parking lot in little Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The upcoming Kiss concert at the Ontario Sault's Essar Centre promises to be a different affair, in a few ways and for a few reasons.
All signs indicate it will be an intensely local affair.
Based on a quick glance at zip codes of ticket-buyers, five to 10 per cent of concert-goers will be from out of town, compared with eight to 10 per cent for the average show, said Trevor Zachary, marketing and events manager at the Essar Centre.
"It's actually closer to a regular show than I expected," Zachary said.
A handful booked from as far as Winnipeg, Calgary and Iowa.
Hotel numbers back him up. David Cartmill, general manager of the Days Inn, said of those coming from out of town, most are from places such as Sudbury, Wawa and northern Michigan. "The people that we're seeing are within a three- to five-hour drive, not people from Toronto or Detroit," Cartmill said.
Some rooms are still available, he said. "It's not full but there is a spike that day."
Ian McMillan, executive director of Tourism Sault Ste. Marie, said they've also taken about 40 to 50 calls of interest, mostly from Michigan and northeastern Ontario.
It's not that the band's rabidly loyal fans worldwide are staying home Dec. 15. It's just that they can probably see the band close to where they live — wherever they live. Paul, Gene and the boys have been on the Alive/35 tour, celebrating the 35th anniversary of the seminal live album that really made their name, since March 2008, and have hit Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the United States, South America and Canada.
The Sault will be the last show before Kiss undertakes another tour of Europe in support of the new Sonic Boom album beginning next May, with more dates across the world presumably to follow.
Back when they played Kewadin Casino in July 2007, the band had scheduled just six shows the entire year, and one of them had to be cancelled.
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This time, "the majority of tickets being sold are going to be of a local flavour," Zachary said.
It speaks to the intense support the band commands here that Saultites can sell out the 5,000-seat Essar Centre essentially on their own, he said.
The current leg of the tour is being billed as "fan-directed." Earlier this year North Americans voted online to bring Kiss to their town, and the Sault placed third, behind only Oshawa and Winnipeg.
"People were front and centre and wanting tickets more than anybody in the world, as you can see from the voting numbers," Zachary said.
One of those fans is Marc Capancioni. The communications director for the Economic Development Corp. is going with a group of 10 locals and, even after seeing Kiss more times than he can remember — nine or 10, he thinks — this one's going to stand out, he said.
"It's obviously special because this is by far the smallest venue," he said.
Having said that, "A Kiss show is a Kiss show: out of this world."
The band tacked the Sault show onto the end of the tour in early October, nearly two months after the fall dates were first announced. Zachary believes the fact Kiss are wrapping up here makes this stop counts for something.
"The feedback I'm getting from the stage manager and the tour manager — of course they want to take a break because they've been on this leg of the tour a long time — but they're extremely excited to be playing here. I really feel our shows going to be special because after this, that's it."
All signs indicate it will be an intensely local affair.
Based on a quick glance at zip codes of ticket-buyers, five to 10 per cent of concert-goers will be from out of town, compared with eight to 10 per cent for the average show, said Trevor Zachary, marketing and events manager at the Essar Centre.
"It's actually closer to a regular show than I expected," Zachary said.
A handful booked from as far as Winnipeg, Calgary and Iowa.
Hotel numbers back him up. David Cartmill, general manager of the Days Inn, said of those coming from out of town, most are from places such as Sudbury, Wawa and northern Michigan. "The people that we're seeing are within a three- to five-hour drive, not people from Toronto or Detroit," Cartmill said.
Some rooms are still available, he said. "It's not full but there is a spike that day."
Ian McMillan, executive director of Tourism Sault Ste. Marie, said they've also taken about 40 to 50 calls of interest, mostly from Michigan and northeastern Ontario.
It's not that the band's rabidly loyal fans worldwide are staying home Dec. 15. It's just that they can probably see the band close to where they live — wherever they live. Paul, Gene and the boys have been on the Alive/35 tour, celebrating the 35th anniversary of the seminal live album that really made their name, since March 2008, and have hit Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the United States, South America and Canada.
The Sault will be the last show before Kiss undertakes another tour of Europe in support of the new Sonic Boom album beginning next May, with more dates across the world presumably to follow.
Back when they played Kewadin Casino in July 2007, the band had scheduled just six shows the entire year, and one of them had to be cancelled.
Advertisement
Click here to find out more!
This time, "the majority of tickets being sold are going to be of a local flavour," Zachary said.
It speaks to the intense support the band commands here that Saultites can sell out the 5,000-seat Essar Centre essentially on their own, he said.
The current leg of the tour is being billed as "fan-directed." Earlier this year North Americans voted online to bring Kiss to their town, and the Sault placed third, behind only Oshawa and Winnipeg.
"People were front and centre and wanting tickets more than anybody in the world, as you can see from the voting numbers," Zachary said.
One of those fans is Marc Capancioni. The communications director for the Economic Development Corp. is going with a group of 10 locals and, even after seeing Kiss more times than he can remember — nine or 10, he thinks — this one's going to stand out, he said.
"It's obviously special because this is by far the smallest venue," he said.
Having said that, "A Kiss show is a Kiss show: out of this world."
The band tacked the Sault show onto the end of the tour in early October, nearly two months after the fall dates were first announced. Zachary believes the fact Kiss are wrapping up here makes this stop counts for something.
"The feedback I'm getting from the stage manager and the tour manager — of course they want to take a break because they've been on this leg of the tour a long time — but they're extremely excited to be playing here. I really feel our shows going to be special because after this, that's it."
