opened for Kiss at Tiger Stadium

Throughout 1995 and 1996, the band also performed on several late-night talk shows, including The Jon Stewart Show (for a second time), The Late Show with David Letterman , and Late Night with Conan O’Brien (with Kay Hanley of Letters to Cleo as a guest vocalist). On June 28, 1996, Sponge, along with Alice in Chains , opened for Kiss at Tiger Stadium in Detroit on their reunion tour . It was previously announced that Stone Temple Pilots would open the show, but had to cancel their performance due to vocalist Scott Weiland ‘s substance abuse issues. The show was reported as having an attendance of almost 40,000 people. Sponge’s second album, Wax Ecstatic , was released shortly after in 1996 and the first single, ” Wax Ecstatic (To Sell Angelina) “, received significant airplay on radio and MTV. Sponge also performed on the Lollapalooza festival tour that summer. The second single, ” Have You Seen Mary “, also received significant airplay and was included in the 1997 film Chasing Amy . Around this time, Sponge’s manager Susan Silver retired from the music business to focus on her family.