KISS’ End of The Road Tour Comes To The Bay Area
KISS LIVE AT THE SHORELINE AMPHITHEATRE IN MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA ON 9/10/21
In March of 2020, the mighty rock band Kiss were on their ‘End of the Road’ World tour when the Covid pandemic stopped all bands from touring. Now 17 months later Kiss were to continue where they left off and resume touring. Unfortunately both founding members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley tested positive for Covid after playing several dates and some shows were missed as they both recovered.
Luckily for me, the announcement was made that they would resume touring and would not be cancelling their show at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California.
Once again I would get a chance to watch my childhood heroes (yes I said heroes) grace the stage one last time since I do believe they will actually stop touring once this tour is complete. To me, Kiss was always larger than life as they performed catchy songs and put on one Hell of a spectacular stage show. The kings of music merchandising were still creating new fans as parents were taking their children so see the band they loved at an early age.
As the lights in the amphitheatre lowered, you hear through the monitors that famous phrase…. “You wanted the best, you got the best, the hottest band in the world….KISS!!” The curtain drops and the band plays ‘Detroit Rock City’ as they are lowered from high above the light rigging down to the smoke filled stage. Explosions are going off and all fans were on their feet cheering.
Kiss continued their set with ‘Shout It Out Loud’. At this point it was safe to say that Paul and Gene had both recovered from their bout with Covid and were going to give everyone a great show. I can also say that Tommy Thayer’s guitar work and stage presence was perfectly on point as was Eric Singer’s drum work.
During the show we experienced massive explosions and an incredible light show. Other bands might consider that enough of a stage performance, but not for Kiss. The band also showcased Gene Simmons’ fire breathing to close the song ‘I Love It Loud’. Tommy Thayer’s used his sparks shooting flying V guitar during his guitar solo. Eric Singer shined bright during his drum solo as he showed off his skills and precision foot work. Gene also did his blood spitting antics and Paul zip lined over the crowd to the middle of the amphitheatre to perform ‘Love Gun’. This would be so over the top for any other band but this is another day in the life for Kiss onstage.
Kiss performed the majority of their hits during their twenty song setlist. All the fans including myself rocked out to classics like ‘Deuce’, ‘Cold Gin’, ‘Tears are Falling’, ‘Black Diamond’, and their disco inspired ‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’. The show encored with Eric performing ‘Beth’, ‘Do You Love Me’, and a confetti venue filled ‘Shout It Out Loud’.
The End of the Road tour might be their last but it doesn’t mean that they are done performing, just touring. I can easily see them setting up a permanent residency in Las Vegas, continuing with their Kiss Kruises, and playing one off major shows throughout the world. Kiss is far from over after a five decade career. Long Live KISS!!
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