You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best… Dr. Love Rocks the Tuscany Copa Room!

Dr. Love – A KISS Experience played the Copa Room at the Tuscany Hotel Friday, February 13, 2026, with the Rain Dogs opening.

The Tuscany Hotel and Casino’s Copa Room has continued to be a great place to go for rock and roll in the wake of Count’s Vamp’d closing its doors last year. Many thanks to the crew here, including Mike, Brian, Grayson, and Mitch, wo continue to give Vegas rockers a place to go and experience local talent and beyond!

Friday the 13th brought a double header to the Copa Room’s stage, with the Dr. Love KISS tribute band, and an opener called the Rain Dogs; the latter being an acoustic duo consisting of Stoney Curtis and Patrick Vitagliano. Anyone who follows the Vegas scene knows these two; Patrick fronts the Bones, an eccentric power-pop act that combines covers, originals, and a wide variety of musical styles. Stoney has played with the Bones as well but is best known for his own band as well as being one of the guitarists in Count’s 77. The two delivered an interesting opening set with a wide variety of tunes, including originals and covers (when’s the last time you ever heard anyone perform “Eve of Destruction” live?) The band even threw in a few more obscure KISS tunes that Dr. Love wouldn’t be performing, including the underrated pop ballad “Shandi” from KISS’ 1980 effort UNMASKED, an album I still consider to be unjustly bashed. From Meat Loaf to Prince and plenty in between, this was a great unplugged set.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Dr. Love. How many KISS tributes has this town had? It seems like no matter how many KISS tribute bands there are, there’s always some degree of overlap with members, but no two are ever exactly the same. In the past, we had Sin City KISS, which was rebranded as Generation KISS following the death of legendary Las Vegas Gene Simmons, Louis Reyes, with Mike Campion stepping in to fill the Demon’s boots. This band, presumably, replaces Generation KISS, featuring Campion as the Demon, Steve Mitchell AKA ChippenPaul as the Starchild (who had played this role in both Sin City KISS and Generation KISS), and Keith Robert as the Spaceman (he’d played this role in other KISS tributes in the past). The only musician I didn’t recognize was the drummer/Catman. But as they’d quickly prove, they were all more than up to the tasks at hand!

The night also had a few special events going on, with a kissing contest for couples on account of Valentine’s Day Weekend, and a contest to give a signed Dr. Love drumhead to the craziest KISS fan in the audience!

Unsurprisingly, the costumes, musicianship, and on-stage chemistry weren’t too far removed from what one would’ve seen at a Sin City KISS or Generation KISS concert, but that’s not a bad thing. The setlist mainly featured tunes from the classic 70s makeup era of the band, with the group giving powerful renditions of them. It’s tough to pull off a classic-style KISS show in a club/on a small stage, but these guys certainly make the best of what they can. While the Tuscany is largely a “sit down” venue with tables and chairs, it didn’t stop fans from crowding the center near the stage to rock out to the band’s sounds.

It remains to be seen if Dr. Love will become the new dominant KISS tribute on Sin City’s scene, but this fan would certainly be fine if that ended up being the case, with the group proving their love of all things KISS on this evening at the Tuscany. The opening Rain Dogs set was fantastic as well! KISS fans will definitely want to keep their eye on Dr. Love, and for any future gigs.