By Joe Puccio
Fifty years after forming in New York City, glam rock icons Kiss ended it where it all began with a pair of sold-out extravaganzas at the legendary Madison Square Garden on December 1 and 2. For constituents of the Kiss Army privileged to be in attendance at one (or both) of the historic shows, it will surely be a moment that will never be forgotten.
The bittersweet jaunt, dubbed the ‘End of the Road World Tour,’ kicked off nearly five years ago in Vancouver, Canada (with an unavoidable COVID-19 interruption) and concluded after more than 250 epic performances, with stops in a vast number of countries including Germany, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Japan, Italy, and Switzerland.
The final concert, which doubled as a live pay-per-view special, had electricity in the air as the clock counted down the minutes until original torchbearers Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, along with Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer, took control of the stage for the last time as a unit.
A stentorian ‘sonic boom’ filled the “World’s Most Famous Arena” as the dueling axe work between Stanley and Thayer, sprinkled with Simmons’ bombastic bass lines, was immediately chased by the potent drumming of Singer on “Detroit Rock City,” a perfect choice to lead off the festivities. The anthemic “Shout It Out Loud” followed before the band trekked all the way back to their eponymous 1974 debut album with fan favorite “Deuce.”
Stanley’s skills as one of rock’s premier frontmen was inarguable as the Starchild shared engaging tales from the group’s lengthy history in between mesmerizing the crowd with his infectious charisma. While rumors of vocal issues have persisted on and off throughout this run, none were evident here at all.
Also notable was Stanley’s impressive zip lining from the main stage all the way across the venue to its B-stage, before performing the disco-infused “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” – no small feat considering the septuagenarian will be 72 next month.
For those looking for the over-the-top optical spectacles as part of Simmons’ act, he didn’t disappoint. Between spitting his trademark blood during his bass solo and breathing fire while playing “I Love it Loud,” the Demon lived up to his persona.
It couldn’t have been easy for Singer, a member since 1991, and Thayer, who joined in 2002, to satisfy the expectations thrust upon them by the Kiss diehards throughout the years, as the understandable desire to witness founding drummer and lead guitarist, respectively, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, never waned. Although the estrangement sadly hasn’t ceased, it’s a disservice to overlook the current duo’s contributions.
Thayer’s work on the obscure “Makin’ Love” was phenomenal, while Singer’s drum solo was creative and never repetitive and he excelled on the poignant “Beth” in both his heartfelt singing as well as his piano playing.
If there was one slight misstep, it was “Lick It Up,” as the 1980s-era Kiss classic sounded a bit out of tune. But it was quickly remedied as the band launched right into “Calling Dr. Love,” which was on point.
It certainly doesn’t take a genius to deduce what the closing number was. Despite hearing it thousands of times, “Rock and Roll All Nite” never loses its appeal and it beautifully capped off both the evening, as well as the fabled career, of one of the most influential rock bands of all time.
After the balloons, smoke, fire, and pyrotechnics cleared, Stanley, Simmons, Singer, and Thayer disappeared and it was announced, via video, that Kiss will live on as digital avatars. The AI-created version went on to perform “God Gave Rock and Roll to You” before “A New Era Begins” flashed across the screen.
“We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we’ve never dreamed of before,” Simmons said in the press release announcing the new project. “The technology is going to make Paul jump higher than he’s ever done before.”
Stanley added, “What we’ve accomplished has been amazing, but it’s not enough. The band deserves to live on because the band is bigger than we are.”
Only time (and Stanley and Simmons) will answer the abundance of questions that this announcement has created. There is no denying one thing, however: Kiss has left an indelible mark on rock and roll, fashion, style, and popular culture. And for that, they deserve our gratitude.
Setlist:
- Detroit Rock City
- Shout It Out Loud
- Deuce
- War Machine
- Heaven’s on Fire
- I Love it Loud
- Say Yeah
- Cold Gin
- Guitar solo (Tommy Thayer)
- Lick it Up
- Calling Dr. Love
- Makin’ Love
- Psycho Circus
- Drum solo (Eric Singer)
- 100,000 Years
- Bass solo (Gene Simmons)
- God of Thunder
- Love Gun
- I Was Made for Lovin’ You
- Black Diamond
- Beth
- Do You Love Me?
- Rock and Roll All Nite
Generation X Wire 