Kiss Kruise Day 4
Carnival Destiny
Sunday, October 16, 2011
View all of our Kiss Kruise coverage here.
Unlike the previous days of KISS Kruise, this one was confined to the Carnival Destiny. Thus, we got to really rub elbows with the rest of the passengers during a day filled with many activities that had the feel of a drunken, hard-rocking expo.
Here is Massachusetts resident and Kiss superfan Andy Moyen displaying peak form during the bellyflop contest that he eventually won. Right before he dove in, he stripped off an extra layer to display a pair of white boxer shorts that proclaimed, "Kiss This."
The members of Skid Row -- prior to their Palladium performance that evening -- officiated a game of quarters near the Aft Pool, which consisted of several loud clusters of drinkers huddled around tables. As the smell of stale Miller Lite wafted through the air, the victorious cries became more and more boisterous. When a team was eliminated, the strains of "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" added to the cacophony. Only one person could take home the trophy, and it was a fellow named Dan, who displays perfect form here:
Later in the same spot, there was a private happy hour for Kiss Army, which was filled with wild howls from this bunch, which represented 32 countries from around the world. Kiss web and brand guru Keith Leroux was also handing out some bitchin' Kiss Navy guitar picks.
Included in the assembled Kiss Navy was retired WWE professional wrestler Adam "Edge" Copeland.
Also in the fold was Connor Jackson, an employee of Anderson Nissan service department in his home state of North Carolina. "I met one of my customers here, and I thought it was hilarious," he said.
Jackson -- who got a $200 gift from his mother to cover the initial deposit for the cruise -- was quick to respond when asked how his Kiss fandom began. "I was really into
Batman and costumes when I was younger," he said. "When I was five years old, my
dad showed me Kiss Alive, and it's been like heroin ever since. This has
been the best four days of my life."
And a big part of this for Jackson was the carefully sculpted set lists, which mixed in a bunch of older stuff with the best-known Kiss tracks. (Read reviews of the unmasked Lido Deck performance, the first Palladium performance, and the second Palladium performance.) "To open up with 'Room Service' and go into 'Two Timer' was... I
almost cried," Jackson said. "To hear those songs was unbelievable. You're never going to hear those songs live again ever."
Throughout the day, fans were getting into costume for a look-alike contest. Many were swapping tips in their rooms for the proper application of the Kiss makeup, which took hours for some to perfect. Miami's Heart Body Art group -- consisting of Stacey Love Coon, Courtney Cates, and Andrew Parker of Telekinetic Walrus fame -- was set up in one of the ship's corridors painting faces, and had never done Kiss makeup prior to this experiences. After downloading some images and practicing on each other, things came together and they got to work at last Wednesday's pre-party at Transit Lounge. "Everybody's face is different," Love Coon said, while applying paint. "The challenge is figuring out the
dimensions. Some people have a longer upper lip, some people have a
longer forehead."
Several newly initiated members of the Kiss Navy renewed their vows:
And several more showed off their permanent Kiss-themed body art:
By the end of the night, there were more people in makeup than not, and here's possibly the youngest soldier in the Kiss Army:
Rounding it out, here's the entire Kiss lineup represented with absolutely zero of the band's original members.
