KISS – End of the Road World Tour

According to the MacMillan Dictionary, the end of the road means “the moment when someone or something has to stop”. With that in mind, you can imagine the shockwaves throughout the world of rock in early 2018 when KISS filed an application to the US Patent and Trademark Office to use the phrase, ‘End of the Road’ exclusively for entertainment purposes, specifically for “live performances by a musical band”. Could it be true that Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and co were planning to call it a day?

Shortly afterwards the news every fan feared was confirmed. The band would be removing their famous makeup, hanging up their glitzy shoulder pads and codpieces and placing the platform shoes back into their boxes for the last time. No longer would they be the Starchild, the Demon, the Spaceman and the Catman. Instead, they’d return to the more sedate names of Paul, Gene, Tommy and Eric. With Simmons fast approaching his 70th birthday and Stanley a sprightly 67, nobody could blame them for wanting to spend more time at home.
No more world tours after this. They’d reached the ‘end of the road’ after almost 46 years.

Loved by rock audiences in Glasgow, particularly after still-talked-about shows at the legendary Apollo in 1983 and 1984, there was quite a buzz in the city when it became clear the band’s final UK tour performance would be at the SSE Hydro. Indeed, it would also be their final European tour show! This was a “must attend” show for any serious KISS fan!

On approaching the impressive bowl shape of the Hydro with my wife and two sons (my youngest son in particular being a KISS aficionado at only 8 years old!) it was clear that fans of all ages had turned out to give the band a proper send off. In the main concourse, it was obvious that the merchandise stalls were doing a roaring trade in tour t-shirts, despite the steep prices! Men, women and children all over the venue were sporting KISS t-shirts, vintage and new. Faces were painted with makeup of favourite band members and wigs were adorned. Some even wore replica stage outfits! It was set to be a ‘crazy, crazy night’ in Glasgow… but was that the reality or a just a wish driven by nostalgia?

KISS have always done things very differently from other bands and the choice of support act for this tour was no exception. Visual artist and performance painter David Garibaldi was chosen to warm up audiences with his unique act where he rapidly creates paintings of rock musicians live onstage whilst their music blasts out over the PA system. Garibaldi didn’t just stand and paint though. He danced energetically around the stage, encouraging audience participation and using brushstrokes on the canvas to the beat of the music! First up was Ozzy Osbourne, accompanied by music from throughout Ozzy’s career with Black Sabbath and solo material. This was followed by an amazing painting of John Lennon (with Beatles music, of course) which was painted upside down before being rotated to reveal the full image. To finish, the artist created a canvas of the 4 members of KISS, adding the St Andrew’s flag in the background to make it local to that night’s Scottish performance. What made this truly unique was that the audience had the opportunity to enter into an auction for that very painting of KISS which was signed backstage by the band. All proceeds were donated to the Teenage Cancer Trust. If I’m honest, I didn’t really know what to expect from David Garibaldi… but it worked when all my instincts said it wouldn’t! The crowd were left ready for the main event of the evening. Job done!

As the intro video of KISS walking from the dressing room to the stage played on the side screens, the place was packed from the standing area right up to the seats on the 3rd Level. The familiar words indicating the start of a KISS show hollered over the PA system.

“Alright Glasgow. You wanted the best. You got the best. The hottest band in the world… KISS”

The lights and strobes surrounding the set burst to life, the intro to Detroit Rock City kicked in and the black curtain shielding the stage dropped to the ground in sync with a barrage of pyrotechnics. With flashes of light and fireworks accompanied by almighty bangs coming from all areas of the stage, it was easy to miss the heroes of the night being lowered to the ground on hydraulic platforms with smoke billowing from below them. Imagine 4 small spaceships landing on the stage and you won’t be far away from what it looked like. It was quite a spectacular opener visually and coupled with one of their most popular songs from 1976’s Destroyer album, it was exactly what fans expected from KISS… with added pizazz! As with almost every show in every city they play, Stanley stepped off the platform and shouted “Glasgow” into the microphone. The beginning of the end of the road had started!

“Who was at the Apollo in ’83?” asked Stanley, much to the approval of the crowd, many of whom appeared to actually have been there! “That was then but this is now” he shouted as the band visited the Destroyer album once more with the catchy riff of Shout It Out Loud followed, of course, by another explosion of fireworks. Next, we were transported back to 1973 and the eponymous debut album with Deuce whilst vintage footage of KISS in their 1970s prime played on the central screen. This was a real crowd pleaser with Gene Simmons providing lead vocals whilst guitarist Tommy Thayer, still often cited as the new boy after 17 years, stalked the stage from one side to the other. He has clearly mastered stagecraft in his time with the band!

With 46 years’ worth of material to choose from, it was inevitable that songs from some more recent albums would be played. Say Yeah! from 2009’s Sonic Boom was made for crowd participation, hence it being played in KISS shows fairly regularly over the past decade. Stanley encouraged the crowd to join in, asking them to sing (or shout!) the “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” refrain during the chorus. Often at concerts by long standing or vintage rock bands, newer material can come across as a bit of a damp squib but the fists punching the air to every cry of “Yeah” suggested otherwise! Singing from the audience continued with the infectious “Hey, hey, hey yeah” from the intro to 1982’s I Love It Loud. Sometimes, Simmons taking lead vocals provides the ears with a short break from the higher pitched Paul Stanley. He’ll never win a singing award but his lower, more menacing vocals suit certain KISS songs well.

The set stayed in the same early-80s era with Heaven’s On Fire and War Machine, the latter accompanied by eye-catching animation. It was also at this point that the audience had the first glimpse of the circus-like pomp made famous by KISS. Simmons took centre stage as the song drew to an end with the sound of fire engine sirens and breathed fire from his mouth like the Demon he portrays. This is the kind of spectacle KISS fans love!

Lick It Up and Calling Dr. Love brought the set towards the mid-point, this time with a lack of the pyrotechnics that had been so prominent in the early part of the show. Simmons, who once famously claimed to have slept with over 2000 women, clearly wrote the innuendo filled lyrics and played the part of Dr. Love quite convincingly as he sang!

After such a powerful start, I felt the show started to sag a bit as the obligatory solos were rolled out one after the other. It’s not that the musicians aren’t talented. Of course they are. But sometimes, no matter how majestic they are on their instrument of choice, a solo can be a bit... well… boring! Often, this is the point when many a person chooses to go to the toilet or to buy another drink. But at least with KISS, there’s some type of spectacle along with the solos to at least try and keep the audience focused.

First up was the Catman, Eric Singer. The drummer who first joined KISS in 1991 but has been a mainstay since 2004, started his solo spot as the last notes of 100,000 Years echoed across the arena (ironic choice of song to start the solos as that’s how long it felt they went on for!!). One thing I noticed about Singer throughout the concert (and indeed any other time I’ve seen the band play), is that he has a knack of playing loudly, hitting hard and never missing a beat without looking particularly energetic. His arms always look as if they’re moving slowly compared to other drummers and his drum fills appear very slow and laborious. But that’s not a criticism. Indeed, it’s the sign of an experienced musician! His solo was as exemplary as a drum solo can be without being too flashy. The drum riser impressively lifted up towards the top of the rig with smoke billowing below whilst the cameras focused on his footwork on the double bass drums for all to see. Even as he took his bow, Singer was barely sweating!

The guitar intro for Cold Gin started and Simmons once again stepped up to the microphone, providing Paul Stanley’s voice with another well earned break. It was yet another track from the 1974 debut and the crowd reacted well, perhaps because many, including me, were in desperate need of such a drink! It was Tommy Thayer’s turn to demonstrate his skills during a solo slot and he certainly showed that he’s come a long way since he painted Stanley’s house and cleared the gutters at the Simmons household in the early days with the group. Thayer is a phenomenal guitar player. He honed his skills with Black ‘N Blue and even wrote a track with Doro Pesch, so his skill isn’t in question. But similar to Singer’s drum solo, it was all very pedestrian. No fast, wild journeys up and down the fret board. No obvious guitar hero faces or poses. Granted, there is more to being a good guitarist than shredding rapidly and posing. It’s often more about tone and feeling. Thayer had tone in abundance but the rest of the solo lacked feeling. It looked simply like a task he had to do. The main thing that kept the crowd on edge was the anticipation of the pyrotechnics exploding from the Spaceman’s guitar stock. Watching Thayer’s firework shooting guitar choreographed with the image on the central screen was entertaining but as he played the last note there was a definite feeling of losing interest in certain quarters of the audience.

The lights dimmed and Simmons appeared centre stage, bathed in green light and clutching his unusual but fearsome looking axe-shaped bass guitar. The Demon’s bass solo isn’t musical in any way, shape or form. It could be argued that it is simply some random hitting of notes but on this occasion, it wasn’t about talent. It was about creating a spooky atmosphere fitting of the character. The bass was merely a prop. The image of Simmons on the screen was manipulated by the technical crew to appear blurry and shaky, evoking memories of old Hammer Horror movies. As his head started to shake, eyes rolling upwards, the familiar blood started to flow from his mouth much to the approval of the audience (or to those who were still interested!). At this, he was hoisted into the air with the introduction of God Of Thunder, performing the song high above the audience where he could almost touch the top of the lighting rig.

KISS really needed to get back on track and get the audience back onside and a huge song was needed to do this. Their salvation came in the form of the melodically bombastic Psycho Circus from 1998’s album of the same name. Stanley returned to lead vocals with a primal scream, shaking things up a bit. It was noticeable that many in the audience returned to their seats or standing positions as the song started. This particular song is a personal favourite and the band did it justice, from the overtly aggressive parts to the softer, quietly sung midpoint. This segued straight into Let Me Go, Rock ‘N Roll, the first time the Hotter Than Hell album was visited in the show.

We were now on the home straight! There’s always been a very theatrical, verging on camp side, to Paul Stanley… and it’s not just the wig and the glam outfit. It’s his general demeanour. When he addresses the audience, he speaks in a very pantomime-like style. This may be how he actually speaks but to me, it’s the voice of his Starchild persona as opposed to Stanley himself. Announcing that he wanted to relocate to a small stage at the rear of the SSE Hydro for a few songs, he asked the audience to invite him by shouting out his name. It took a few lame efforts but eventually, he stuck his foot into a hoop at the bottom of a zip line and flew above the heads of fans in the standing area, landing on a small stage behind the lighting desk. It’s an ingenious stunt used in every show as it allows those in the seated areas to feel a bit closer to the action for a few songs. The familiar machine gun guitar riff of Love Gun burst into life as Stanley preened around the small stage with the rest of the band remaining on the main stage. There was time for another Glasgow Apollo 1983 reference before the disco inspired I Was Made For Lovin’ You started. This song has split the KISS Army over the years, with many claiming it is a sell out whilst also reportedly being Gene Simmons’ least favourite song by the band. This wasn’t overly obvious in the Glasgow crowd with a lot of hand clapping and dad dancing apparent before Stanley made his return flight to the main stage, playing a very emotional feeling intro to Black Diamond. Stanley appeared genuinely touched by the reaction of the Glasgow audience to this classic track from their 1974 debut. For a band often criticised by music snobs for not being musical enough, the vocal harmonies during this song were brilliant from the outset. The lights dimmed and the show appeared over. Surely there would be an encore?

Of course there was an encore! It was, after all, the last show of the UK and European run! As the band reappeared onstage and the stage lights were switched back on, a silver glitter grand piano was sitting at the centre of the stage. Drummer Eric Singer sat on the piano stool and played the intro to Beth with a backing tape providing the accompanying string arrangement. Not only is Eric Singer a talented drummer. This song demonstrated his prowess on piano and vocals. The audience sang along to every word of the song (which was almost disastrously called Lydia back in 1976!) and they were encouraged to switch on mobile phone torches as opposed to the lighters used in the 80s power ballad heyday! It was quite a sight to see literally thousands of mobile phone lights from the standing area right up to the higher-than-comfortable seats on Level 3 of the arena! The song concluded to rapturous applause and the band took a bow, throwing guitar picks and drumstick to some lucky fans.

But it wasn’t quite time to leave the stage yet. Stanley was handed a St. Andrew’s flag painted guitar, a gimmick loved by patriotic Scots at any concert by any band, and played the opening riff to Crazy, Crazy Nights. Large balloons were released into the audience and these made their way back and forth from front to back as the song progressed. From my vantage point, it was clear that this infectious and commercial sounding, radio friendly song was a fan favourite. Hands were in the air and almost everyone seemed to know the words. It’s no wonder it regularly appears on rock compilation albums and radio shows worldwide to this day. As with most KISS concerts for the past God-knows-how-many-years, the show was brought to an end with an epic version of Rock And Roll All Nite, a 44 year old boogie that still has the ability to drive a crowd wild! Even the more sedate fans in the seats were tempted to stand up to dance, despite it being 11pm. The instruction to party all night can be found in the lyrics of the song! The band appeared to be savouring the moment as the song neared an end with the KISS Army loudly singing the chorus. Ticker tape and confetti were fired above the audience, covering those in the standing area and this signalled the start of an outstanding pyrotechnic finale. Fireworks shot from all sides of the stage and flames appeared sporadically from centre stage as what can only be described as a massive spinning sparkler appeared higher up. The pyrotechnics were so intense that the heat from them could be felt in the seats at the rear of the arena. With a ‘kiss’ of his guitar and a final flurry of pyrotechnics, Paul Stanley thanked Glasgow for the hospitality. Then there was darkness. The house lights came on and the stage was empty. After 20 songs and 2 hours 15 minutes, KISS had completed (very possibly) their final performance in the UK and Europe. As the audience filtered out of the SSE Hydro, the KISS reworking of Argent’s God Gave Rock And Roll To You boomed out across the PA system. But in Glasgow that night, KISS gave rock and roll to the masses and put it in the soul of everyone.

If this is indeed the end of the road for KISS… what a road it has been!

GG