KISS LIVE AT GOLDEN 1 CENTER IN SACRAMENTO, CA ON 2/9/19
End of The Road Tour
Kiss a making one last hurrah with a world tour entitled “End of The Road” tour before they lay down their days of touring. This doesn’t mean that Kiss are breaking up or not doing shows or the Kiss Cruise. It just means that they are stepping away from major touring. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley have given us four decades of music without ending the band so we at Mayhem Music Magazine hope that they continue to keep the Kiss Machine moving forward.
Tonight the tour makes its stop at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Ca. It’s a night of heavy rain and thousands of fans still stand in lines to witness this show knowing it could be the last time they see the band perform live. The Golden 1 Center is a beautifully well designed venue with a structure that allows clear views for all from all angles and Kiss has packed the fans to the rafters.
The evening starts off not a band but a different kind of artist. Rock n roll painter David Garibaldi, who also hails from Sacramento, was the opening act. He cranked the music, talked to the crowd, and splashed, brushed, jumped, and moved to create three paintings of Freddie Mercury, Jimi Hendrix, and of course Kiss.
Kiss start their show off with video monitors on the sides of the stage showing the band walking the hallways backstage toward the stage as the lights drop and the Golden 1 Center goes dark inside. The giant curtain covering the stage with a Kiss logo drops to reveal multiple futuristic octagons that are lit up above the stage. On top of three of those octagons are Gene, Paul, and guitarist Tommy Thayer who are separately lowered down to the stage level while they play ‘Detroit Rock City’.
We are in sensory overload are we experience lights, explosions, fire, a huge video screen behind the band, and of course music. Kiss continue as Gene Simmons’ takes the lead on the next few songs with ‘Shout It Out Loud’ and ‘Deuce’.
As you look around at the crowd you see so many fans with painted faces, Kiss clothing, and several in full Kiss costumes. The best part is everyone is completely into what’s happening onstage and living for this moment.
The band perform ‘Say Yeah’ which is from the 2009 Sonic Boom album which is the first song played tonight that was written with Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer in the band. The band continues with a song that was originally done when drummer Eric Carr and guitarist Mark St. John were in the band, the 1980’s hit ‘Heaven’s on Fire’. Next played is ‘War Machine’ in which we get to see the Demon himself spit fire and ‘Lick it Up’ which originally featured Vinnie Vincent on lead guitar. I can say as a fan that it was great to not only hear songs that were written in the Ace Frehley/Peter Criss era but to also hear more of their full Kiss catalog.
As the show progresses we are graced with a rockin’ drum solo by Eric Singer during ‘100,000 Years’, blood spitting by Gene during ‘God of Thunder’, a blistering guitar solo by Tommy.
‘Psycho Circus’, ‘I Love It Loud’, ‘Hide Your Heart’, and ‘Let Me Go Rock n’ Roll’ keep the appetites of the fans fully fed as the night seems to get louder with every song. At this point Paul Stanley is hoisted above the heads of the crowd to a platform at the rear of the center to sing ‘Love Gun’ and ‘I Was Made for Loving You’. The show was ending with another track from the 1974 debut album ‘Black Diamond’ and Paul thanks the crowd and says “goodnight Sacramento”. With cheers from the crowd the stage goes dark. The only question is how much chanting was it going to take to get Kiss out for an encore.
It didn’t take too long before we find Eric Singer at a piano to play the legendary ballad ‘Beth’. I will say that Eric knocked it out of the ballpark with this sacred song. The crowd joined at times as a sing a long. Kiss close out the night with ‘Do You Love Me’ and of course ‘Rock and Roll All Nite’. At this point all Hell breaks loose at the air is filled with confetti and Gene and Tommy are raised over the crowd to continue performing. The night closes with flames, explosions, and Paul smashing a guitar to end this incredible show.
The kid in me is saddened is saddened that is most likely the last time I see my musical childhood heroes perform live but the adult in me is glad I was here to experience this night. Thank you Kiss for doing this tour, thank you Golden Center 1 for hosting the evening, and thank you to all the fans that shared in this evening’s even.
Long Live KISS!!!
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