As they prepare to raise the curtain on New York City, we take a look back at some of KISS’s most memorable performances.
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In terms of showmanship, few bands can compete with KISS. Renowned for their quirky, mellow shows, innovative use of pyrotechnics, and tons of makeup, the band took rock ‘n’ roll staging to a whole new point and paid huge dividends. The New York quartet’s tours have consistently ranked among rock’s biggest earners for nearly five decades.
However, despite all the flavor, it’s vital that KISS discovered good luck through courage and grafting. The band’s first concert, at a club called Popcorn in Queens, New York, on January 30, 1973, drew an audience of less than 10 people and KISS suffered a few blows before fame and fortune came to them. However, they continued to revel in stratospheric degrees of good fortune and leave in a burst of glory, with their gigantic new “End Of The Road”. “Global excursion spanning 4 years. In fact, as they prepare to raise the curtain on New York’s Madison Square Garden, it’s the most productive time to revisit some of KISS’ most productive concerts.
Listen to KISS live now.
KISS’s initial five-song demo with manufacturer Eddie Kramer (Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin) landed the band a deal with Neil Bogart’s Casablanca label, but good luck remained elusive at first. The band’s early albums, KISS and Hotter Than Hell, reached the top slightly. One hundred of Billboard’s two hundred and its third underrated one, Dressed To Kill, also sold slowly at first.
On the plus side, KISS’s live reputation is on the rise. The band’s outrageous, heavily made-up symbol and over-the-top live performances began to attract widespread attention, with Gene Simmons and his company appearing live on NBC TV’s Midnight Special on April 1, 1975. .
Despite this, Casablanca was on the verge of bankruptcy when KISS kicked off their four-night adventure at Detroit’s Cobo Arena on May 16. Still, the adversity translated into absolutely transcendent rock ‘n’ roll music, much of which was captured for the band’s make. or-break double live album, Alive!First released in September 1975, Alive! rewarded KISS with their first U. S. Top 10 hit and preserved the band’s career well. Since then, the record has become one of rock’s iconic live albums, garnering praise from rock enthusiasts of all kinds. In 1992, Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil told Guitar World, “Alive!It’s the first album I ever bought. And he wasn’t alone: you can hear KISS’s influence on steel and punk.
In 1974, the Cadillac Vikings inexplicably lost the first two games of the season. The year before, they had gone undefeated. Looking to replenish things, the football team’s coaches tried playing music before practices and games to energize the team. On Cadillac’s KISStory website, coach Jim Neff picks up the story: “I picked a scandalous new band: KISS. They were wild, bold, and loud. It was a game that was bound to happen. The 1974 team won its last seven games with KISS as its inspiration. The organization found out what we were doing and promptly adopted the Vikings as their team. Then, in October 1975, KISS came to Cadillac High School and played a back-to-school concert in the gymnasium of the best school. Music aside, it’s hard not to love the photographs that emerged from this event.
Consolidating the post-Alive! Popular with the platinum-selling Destroyer and Rock And Roll Over studios, KISS first arrived in Japan in March 1977 with their “Sneak Attack” tour. Mixed in with the rock elite, KISS landed in Tokyo on a Pan Am flight called the “KISS Clipper,” whose call was painted on the side of the Boeing 747, but even this big front didn’t prepare them for the level of fandom they would encounter. The band played nine concerts in total, adding several nights at Tokyo’s famous Nippon Budokan.
Playing in front of an estimated total of 22,000 enthusiasts, KISS presented two mythical displays of the Budokan on April 2, a matinee session at 3 p. m. and a visualization of the moment at 7 p. m. local time, with television station NHK filming for national broadcast. Eddie Kramer also recorded the performances for an aborted Japanese live album, the audio was later used for television broadcasts on NHK’s “Young Music Special”, while dramatic video footage of both performances was recorded. It was later broadcast as part of KISStory Vol. The photographs also suggest that the KISS craze was widespread in Japan and box office receipts later proved it, as KISS’s tour of Japan broke attendance records previously held by the Beatles.
KISS had previously played at the Richfield Coliseum in September 1976, but the band returned to Cleveland as conquering heroes in January 1978 on the “Alive II” tour, selling the hit live album of the same name. An even bigger spectacle than usual, filled with pyrotechnics, fireworks, smoke bombs and aerial platforms.
However, although KISS were invincible, the weather had other plans, causing a blizzard accompanied by a fall of snow that would have deterred smaller groups. KISS, however, refused to bow to the elements. The weather led the band to arrive. expired and some level effects became useless, however, enthusiasts still filled the room.
Ken Sharp, co-writer of KISS: Behind The Mask, recalls, “It was the height of KISS madness. It was anything on par with the bigger show, almost like a Broadway show in terms of choreography and things done. There’s a DNA that exists on almost every single rock screen today where you can point the dial at KISS.
KISS, and its unwavering army of KISS enthusiasts, triumphed against the elements at the Richfield Coliseum, but the event may have ended in tragedy after the show ended, when enthusiasts scrambled to find a way out and discovered many of their cars buried under snow in the parking lot. Some were even forced to spend the night there with their heroes.
“They didn’t have enough trucks to clean things up because they were busy in the city,” Gene Simmons recalled in an interview with Cleveland. com. “We slept in the sand, but we made sure tons of food, pizza, all kinds of things got to other people who were stuck. “
Finally, KISS debuted in Australia in 1980, and it was a show for all ages. With the album’s first single “Shandi” reaching the country’s Top 5, KISS, now with Eric Carr on drums, won near-Beatlemania reception when the Australian leg of the “Unmasked” tour opened in Perth in early November 1980.
“When other people said you were as tall as the Beatles, it was pretty hard to understand until you got off a plane and there were thousands of them at the airport and thousands more camping outside, so you couldn’t get out of the hotels,” Paul Stanley recalled on KISS’s 2019 “End Of The Road” tour show: “We were in the headlines for almost 3 or 4 weeks. We got to the point where I asked for us to have no more parties because literally each and every night. “The promoter throws us a party.
After the disco and force pop experiments of Dynasty and Unmasked, KISS returned to their hard rock roots with Creatures Of The Night in 1982. As part of the album tour, the band embarked on a major 50-date North American tour in the winter of 1982. The band’s first three shows in South America, all in Brazil, came to an end and KISS back experienced a new fandom point when they played in Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Sao Paulo in June 1983. , at Rio’s Maracanã Stadium, KISS – now with guitarist Vinnie Vincent replacing Ace Frehley – led a 14-song set that was enthusiastically won and ended with the inevitable “Rock And Roll All Nite” in front of an audience of around 137,000 fans. A truly epic denouement to the tour, those pioneering Brazilian exhibitions were also vital as they became the last KISS dates where the band played with their distinctive composition until 1996.
It shouldn’t be unexpected to see a display of the band’s first makeup-free excursion on this list. But this excursion, and the album Animalize, were full of novelties. Animalize was the first (and only) studio album to feature guitarist Mark St. John. John; the up-and-coming Bon Jovi supported KISS in Europe and performed their first gigs in the UK, and new lead guitarist Bruce Kulick joined KISS full-time on the American stage. Kulick actually replaced St. John (who suffered from arthritis). ) the European stage, but later joined the band full-time after KISS felt he had greater compatibility for the band than St. John’s. John’s. John.
Shortly after Kulick joined the band full-time, MTV filmed and recorded KISS’s triumphant exhibition at their old home turf, Detroit’s Cobo Arena, and as the Animalize Live Uncensored video that followed reveals, Bruce Kulick is indeed a smart fit for the band. On the excursion calendar, Gene Simmons confirmed, “the band is alive and well and betting more than ever. “
While 1987’s Crazy Nights were doing smart business, KISS was once again in a position to embark on a major global excursion with a stop in Europe, adding a massive appearance at the annual “Monsters Of Rock” festival (now downloaded) at Castle Donington in the UK. , alongside Guns. N’ Roses, David Lee Roth, Megadeth and Iron Maiden.
“Monsters Of Rock” provided a very attractive line-up for heavy rock enthusiasts, but die-hard KISS enthusiasts wanted to take part in the band’s secret warm-up at London’s Marquee Club. Having hosted the first concerts of legendary artists such as The Who, The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix, The Marquee had a capacity of only about 500 people, but it was still the place where all the bands looked to play in London. By the time of the ‘secret’ component of KISS, the club had moved from its old home on Wardour Street to a new base on Charing Cross Road and those travelling to the now-legendary show had to be on the lookout.
One lucky fan in attendance recalled that The Marquee’s concert was the ultimate holy grail of KISS exhibitions. Writing anonymously on Kissin UK’s fan site, he wrote: “This exhibition is the most rocking and sweaty KISS exhibition I’ve ever attended. I waited in line since 6:30 after we were informed that there might be a secret KISS exhibition. There were five of us in Nottingham and surprisingly there was no one queuing, so we figured we’d locate a place to eat because we thought we’d been given it and [KISS] doesn’t ring. But, as we started walking, a well-known jet-black Trans-Am truck passed us and stopped in front of the canopy. After all, it’s happening.
Homecoming concerts have been emotional occasions for KISS, however, in retrospect, their concert at Madison Square Garden in November 1990 was especially poignant, as it became the band’s last appearance with drummer Eric Carr, who died of cancer the following year.
Another colossal commission in support of KISS’s album Hot In The Shade, the eponymous band’s world tour included no less than 123 concerts, though it focused only on the United States and Canada. Once again, KISS spared no expense with a soft display with lasers and a massive Sphinx-style prop (nicknamed “Lion”) that forms the central component of their décor. At the end of each performance, Leon would disappear and the glowing KISS logo would rise from the bottom of the level. the final “Rock City of Detroit. “
KISS performed alongside Slayer and Black Sabbath on the 1994 “Monster Of Rock” tour, after which they toured Japan on their own, finding that their long-term popularity in the region remained intact. Eager to deliver something truly spectacular, the band pulled out all the stops with a high-level display that consisted of fireworks, lasers, strippers (!), and even the return of “Leon,” the giant Sphinx from the 1990s “Hot In The Shade” excursion. What did this stage do? Even more special were the band’s philanthropic efforts, which saw the creation of the “KISS Save The City Fund” to raise funds for survivors of the recent great Hanshin earthquake near the Japanese city of Kobe, which killed more than 6,000 people.
Proving that rock enthusiasts deserve to never say never, it happened in 1996, when the classic KISS lineup comprised of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss donned their Love Gun-era level makeup and costumes and set foot on the level. for the first time since the 1979 “Dynasty” tour.
It’s fair to say that the band’s first concert at Detroit’s Tiger Stadium was one of the most anticipated rock ‘n’ roll events of the year, and KISS didn’t disappoint. Performing to a sold-out crowd of more than 40,000 people, the iconic New York group The Quartet presented an enthusiastically won set that also saw the return of old KISS stunts, adding Simmons’ fireplace blood and saliva, Frehley’s smoky, taut guitar, pyrotechnics and rigging. The Alive World Reunion Tour” eventually lasted over 12 months and featured 192 concerts, with Paul Stanley later stating, “By then, it was the ultimate KISS show, in the sense that we looked at the show, which we imagined as best as possible. , and said, “Get over that. “
KISS had to do everything they could to overcome the bad luck of the “Alive World Reunion Tour”, but in fact they gave it their all with the 1998 “Psycho Circus Tour”. The band was selling their first studio album in about two decades, and the outing began with a special Halloween display in Los Angeles, in which the Smashing Pumpkins helped and was broadcast on FM radio across the United States. What made the field trip (and exhibit) so historic, however, was that it was supposedly the first to incorporate three-dimensional imagery into a live performance (audience members were encouraged to wear glasses during some songs).
On Halloween, there were plenty of costumes in the crowd and on stage (Billy Corgan dressed up as the Beatle). And, according to the LA Times, “at the end of the show, the quartet fled in a pickup truck as enthusiasts cheered them on but got stuck in traffic on their way to their hotel. Stanley said the organization was allowed to get out of the van “to walk the rest of the way, still dressed in makeup. “People were like, ‘Great costumes!'”
After the two peaks of the “Alive World Reunion” and “Psycho Circus” tours, the former KISS band said goodbye with their particular North American “Farewell Tour” that lasted from March 2000 to April 2001. However, Peter Criss did not remain on the course (he was repositioned through Eric Singer returning for the Japanese and Australian legs), while Ace Frehley made his final appearance as a full-time member of KISS at the final rite of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Since then, KISS has settled into a lineup consisting of original members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, complemented by Eric Singer and lead guitarist Tommy Thayer. Well-received albums such as Sonic Boom (2009) and Monster (2012) added valuable music to the band’s already formidable catalog, while also supporting the tours “The Hottest Show On Earth” (2010-11) and “Monster Tour” (2012-13) revealed that KISS can still fill stadiums in the 21st century.
However, as KISS embarked on their “40th Anniversary World Tour” (first subsidized by Def Leppard), the air of anticipation surrounding the band was reminiscent of the buzz leading up to 1996’s “Alive World Reunion,” and the band responded by gambling. some of the most productive exhibitions of his long and long career. On this tour, Paul Stanley thought KISS was “playing harder than ever” when KISS landed to get the equivalent of a real welcome in South American territories like Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay. , Chile and Argentina, as well as returning to Sao Paulo in Brazil. Paolo will perform in front of an audience of more than 70,000 people.
True to form, KISS wouldn’t possibly walk away quietly at dusk as their remarkable career, despite everything, comes to an end. Instead, the band opted to retire with the monstrous “End Of The Road” tour, a massive four-piece band. Show of the year.
The now-established KISS quartet of Simmons, Stanley, Singer and Thayer began their excursion in Vancouver on January 31, 2019, the dates were partially extended due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Inevitably, the disruption forced some of KISS’s excursion plans. But it also sparked one of the band’s most important historic concerts: a live-streamed pay-per-view show for New Year’s Eve in Dubai, filmed and directed by filmmaker Daniel. Catullo (Rage Against The Machine, Creed, Mariah Carey) uses more than fifty 4K cameras with 360-degree perspectives of a 250-foot stage.
Dubbed “KISS Goodbye To 2020,” the exhibit broke two Guinness World Records: one for the maximum flame projection introduced at a music concert (73 total) and another for the highest flame projection at a music concert (35 meters). Director Catullo later told Music Mayhem that the occasion was “a highlight of my career,” while in an interview with The Oakland Press, Gene Simmons also admitted that the exhibition in Dubai was a highlight of KISS’s incredible history. “People in Dubai, which is a desirable place, advised any madness and said, ‘Here you can do whatever you want, with no restrictions,'” he revealed. “And we said, ‘Wait a minute, you mean we can have the biggest fireworks show ever seen, since Krakatoa and The Big Bang?They said “yes,” so there you have it.
Listen to KISS live now.