The live band Gene Simmons says is out of everybody’s league: “Nobody’s like them”
What makes a good live show? Is it the sound quality? The atmosphere? The pyrotechnics? The audience interaction? The setlist? According to Gene Simmons, the ultimate defining quality of live excellence is how the band holds itself—if it ignores what others are doing and focuses on everything it has to offer, that’s when the true magic happens.
Of course, many Kiss fans will likely argue that this is precisely the appeal of their favourite band. With their energetic and visceral on-stage presence, it’s hard to find anyone that did it like Kiss. In fact, this exact calibre of uniqueness garnered them legions of fans, even if their sound and image seemed off-putting or artificial for some in the beginning.
But a live show isn’t just about whether a band stands out. It’s in their attitude, their silent ability to shun critics, and their unspeakable prowess under the spotlight, the kind that says: “We’re all here together for one night of fun, why not enjoy it?” According to Simmons, there’s only one band that holds this kind of magnitude on the platform, and that’s AC/DC.
For Simmons, that kind of confidence can’t be manufactured. Plenty of bands can copy another group’s stage moves or invest in bigger productions, but audiences can always tell when something feels forced. The acts that endure are the ones that seem completely comfortable in their own skin, never chasing trends or worrying about what’s fashionable.
Whether you loved or hated them, AC/DC always looked like they knew exactly who they were, and that certainty became one of their greatest strengths.
AC/DC has been enjoying a widely popular run of live shows lately, which just goes to show that, five decades on, they hold the same type of appeal. Simmons’ love for the band runs deep, mostly because he witnessed their trajectory as a band that went from putting in all the work to one that couldn’t have slowed down if they tried.
Perhaps this is why, when the musician was once asked about what he thought was the best-ever live set, he wasted no time naming the legendary rock band. “Best set? AC/DC on their first tour,” he explained during an interview with SiriusXM. “A band that didn’t pay attention, shares the same philosophy. No matter what any other band is doing, thine own self be true,” he continued.
Revealing his stance on the current landscape, he admitted, “A lot of the people look the same and act the same and do the same thing.” Regardless of genre, he continued, “There’s a lot of sameness going on.”
Detailing how a band like AC/DC helped to rupture this trend, he added: “Every once in a while, you see a band like AC/DC. Nobody’s like them. We’d like to think that we’re unique in that way too.”
It’s also what has allowed AC/DC to outlast so many of the bands they came up alongside. Musical fashions have changed countless times since they first arrived, but the formula has remained remarkably untouched. Simmons clearly recognised something familiar in that approach. Like Kiss, AC/DC never seemed interested in becoming somebody else. They were far more concerned with becoming the best possible version of themselves.
It’s clear why the AC/DC force continues to burn strong, their audiences comprising a mix of fans who were there from the very beginning and the younger generation who were likely tipped off by their parents. It’s in the spark, the fire that refuses to dim, even after all these years.
As Brian Johnson projected out to a passionate army of fans during the recent London’s Wembley Stadium show, “We’re going to have some fun and play some rock ‘n’ roll.” It’s that simple.
