Kiss makes nice, Nirvana gets hugs at Hall of Fame NYC induction
After months of slugging it out in the press with each other and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fane, Kiss' induction was practically a lovefest, a "Doctor Love" fest.
The original members of Kiss -- Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss -- spent most of their time saying kind things about each other and their fans, the Kiss Army, out in force at Barclays Center.
However, Stanley did take some time out to chastise the Rock Hall, who the band had battled over which members of the band would get inducted and which would perform at the ceremony. (When discussions broke down, the band opted not to perform at all.)
"The people are speaking to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and they are saying they want more," Stanley said. "They want to be part of the induction and the nominations. They don't want to be spoon-fed by a handful of people."
Even Kurt Cobain's widow Courtney Love who has publicly battled the surviving members of Nirvana -- Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic -- over numerous issues, simply hugged them, before Long Beach's Joan Jett took on the vocals of the classic "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Linda Ronstadt was unable to attend because of her battle with Parkinson's disease. The Rolling Stones' ex-manager Andrew Loog Oldham boycotted the ceremony over what he felt was disrespect from the Rock Hall by inducting him jointly with the late Beatles manager Brian Epstein.
This year's induction at Brooklyn's Barclays Center -- which also included the drama-free honorees Daryl Hall & John Oates, Peter Gabriel, Cat Stevens, and Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band -- was the first to be open to the public in New York. An edited version of the ceremony will air on HBO on May 31.