Photos by Rémi Thériault / Text by Tony Martins


In the gathering storm, they assembled.

But the thundering torrent craved by the black-clad and war-painted KISS Army was musical-pyrotechnic, not meteorological.

In a moist June air, hunkered down on the vast plain of the LeBreton Flats, civilian photographer Rémi Thériault and assistant Alex Deszcz surveyed the jittery regiment, each member jacked with anticipation for an opening battlecry from rock legends KISS at Ottawa's Bluesfest.

“There were too many to count,” recalls Theriault. “I'd have to say hundreds and hundreds of people were wearing make-up.”

Seeking summer opportunities to shoot photos of “normal to crazy people,” Thériault figured a KISS concert was worth a look, but shooting calmly on a battleground is never easy.

“You could feel the excitement of the show coming up,” Thériault recollects. “Once in a while you'd see someone with six-inch heels, full dress, make-up and wig and the fans would go nuts. But they weren't the actual band, just dressed like them.”

Dressed like them is the hallmark of the KISS Army, an all-ages subculture that has fervently followed the band's exploits since the mid-1970s.

“Can't say I'm the biggest KISS fan,” admitted Thériault, “although I know they have some of the most loyal fans. And after seeing the show I don't blame them.”

“Twenty feet of Marshall amps stacked on the stage, fireworks during a good part of the show, Paul Stanley zip-lining into the crowd, Gene Simmons raised to the roof ... jammed packed entertainment.”

And so the Army thunders on.