There are two things in life that continue to warm our cold black hearts: Soldiers returning home to surprise their families, and young musicians jumping on stage to rock out with their heroes.
The latter was in full effect on Friday (February 16) when Gene Simmons played the Lynn Auditorium in Lynn. The rock and roll superstar was in town for a solo show, but it turned out to be anything but, thanks in part to a fan named Brian McCauley, who was invited on stage to sing KISS’ 1976 classic “Calling Dr. Love.”
McCauley did not disappoint.
“We had never met Brian before,” Simmons wrote on KISS’ Facebook page, sharing a video of the performance shot by TJ Welch. “We did not rehearse with him. We didn’t know that Brian was a graduate of a school for the blind, originally started by Helen Keller. All we knew was that he was relentless. He called and emailed everybody in the band, as well as the promoter, and then simply barged into my dressing room backstage, and told me he would be on stage to sing ‘Dr. Love’. In G flat, no less.”
The school for the blind that Simmons referenced is Watertown’s Perkins School for the Blind.
“I didn’t want to say anything about Brian’s lack of eye sight, because that’s not what it’s about,” the Demon added. “But Brian, being the rockstar that he is, grabbed the microphone and told everybody that despite his blindness, he reminded all of us, including yours truly that ‘…life has limitless possibilities.’ And then he proceeded to tear the roof off the concert hall, steal the show and upstage the entire band.
Simmons then called McCauley a “remarkable young man,” signing his note off with the ultimate compliment: “When I grow up, I want to be just like him.”
Watch video below, and crank up the volume.
[h/t Ultimate Classic Rock; photo via YouTube screengrab]