End of the Road: Kiss Farewell Tour

I have to admit, I was originally on the fence when Susan asked if I wanted to see Kiss perform on their “End of the Road” world tour stop in Oklahoma City. While there are plenty of Kiss songs I enjoy, I’d be hard pressed to refer to myself a member of the band’s “Kiss Army.” Like most of the band’s casual fans, I enjoy a lot of their songs from the late 70s and early 80s, a few from the mid 80s, and almost nothing from the past thirty years. Still, it’s hard to say no when a legendary band you’ve never seen live before is playing in your town on their retirement tour — plus, nothing says “bonding time with your children” like watching a grown man breathe fire and spit blood while playing bass, so there’s that.

When it was time to leave for the show, Mason informed us he wasn’t going because he had a cold, and Morgan informed us that she wasn’t going if Mason didn’t have to go. This is the time (in every outing, really) where I turn into the dad from A Christmas Story and start yelling at everybody to get in the goddamn car before I start smashing everybody’s iPhones. So I guess the good news here is that all four of us arrived to the show on time, and also the ride was very quiet and peaceful since nobody was talking to me.

Tensions settled when Kiss took the stage around 9 p.m. The band kicked off the evening with “Detroit Rock City,” “Shout it out Loud,” and “Deuce,” three classic hits. I hadn’t looked up the set lists from any of the other tour stops and was afraid that the band might be playing some lesser known songs on their farewell tour, but if there’s one thing you can say about Kiss it’s that they give the fans what they want. Tuesday night the fans wanted to hear the band’s greatest hits, and that’s exactly what Kiss delivered.

This tour is not without its detractors. There are those who complain that Paul Stanley (who is 67) and Gene Simmons (who will turn 70 this summer) aren’t as nimble on stage as they once were. There are fans who desperately wanted the band’s original line up (with long-ousted members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley) to reunite, instead of performing with their current guitarist and drummer (who have been with Kiss for almost two decades). There have been accusations that the band performs to a backing track (and not completely live), that Paul Stanley can no longer sing, and, most recently, that the band ripped off much of its stage set from Motley Crue’s recent farewell tour.

Here’s what I have to say. Yes, the guys don’t jump as high or run as fast on stage as they did 40 years ago. And no, that wasn’t original members Ace Frehley or Peter Criss hiding under those costumes. Kiss would not be the first band to play over a backing track, and their stage did resembles Motley Crue’s from their farewell tour (we attended that one, too).

At the end of the day, none of that mattered — not to us, and not to the 18,000+ people in attendance Tuesday night. Either you enjoy watching a nearly 70-year-old man 40′ in the air spitting fake blood and shouting “GOD OF THUNDER!” or you don’t. In that moment, none of that other stuff seemed to matter.

Toward the end of the show, spotlights revealed a small round stage on the far end of the concert arena. As the band pounded out the opening notes of “Love Gun,” Paul Stanley slung his guitar over his back, grabbed onto a motorized zip line, and zoomed over the crowd until he reached the smaller stage. Two songs later he was zipping back to the main stage, just before Gene Simmons and guitarist Tommy Thayer were hoisted into the air by cranes and sent out over the audience. At one point Susan said, “this is over the top!” and it was.

And that’s Kiss.

The night ended with confetti filling the air and balloons being dropped from the ceiling as the band broke into their biggest hit, “Rock and Roll All Nite” — and that’s what we did. I know I don’t have much credibility as a guy who also enjoyed Guns ‘N Roses’ most recent outing, but, naysayers be damned, Kiss went out with a bang Tuesday night in Oklahoma City. I hope someday someone asks my kids if they ever went to any cool concerns as a kid and they recall the times their mean ol’ dad made them go to one.

Setlist:

Beth (Eric Singer on piano)
Do You Love Me
Rock and Roll All Nite