Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Standing at centerstage, four inches off the ground in his platform boots and surrounded by an array of fire-breathing contraptions that would make a pyromaniac blush, Paul “Starchild” Stanley recalled
“first-ever” New Jersey performance.
“At
in 1974!” the dolled-up rock legend shouted Wednesday night to the cheering crowd at Prudential Center in Newark, only 10 miles from the venerable hall in Passaic, which was demolished in 1991. Vaunted rock photographer
, who famously took John Lennon’s
, even
of Kiss’s supposedly inaugural Jersey show.
Stanley appears to be mistaken, however — Kiss
venue at least twice in ‘74 before that Capitol Theatre gig in October.
If Starchild was going to mention any New Jersey concert, he should’ve just gone with Kiss’s
at the Wildwood Convention Center in Wildwood. Recordings from this show (plus two others in Cleveland and Davenport, Iowa) were used to create the band’s career-launching “Alive!” live double album, which includes the version of “Rock and Roll All Nite” that virtually every living human-being knows by heart.
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Nearly 45 years later, Kiss and its legendary stage show are ready to hang up the silver studs and makeup bags, touring now through 2021 on its “End of the Road” farewell tour.
But Stanley, Gene Simmons and later band additions guitarist Tommy Thayer (since 2002) and Eric Singer (since 1991), weren’t going down without a fight Wednesday night, unleashing the stunt-laden rock extravaganza its Kiss Army wildly anticipates with every show, even as Stanley, 67, and Simmons, 69, climb toward old age.
The band’s “AC/DC for Dummies” heavy-glam-rock has always taken a backseat to the bombastic, highly marketable image and this performance was no different. The band hurtled through the hits, Stanley and Simmons’ respective voices have held up sufficiently well and all four members were allotted time for a few gratuitous solos. But let’s focus on the larger-than-life stage show, shall we?
Jamming before an enormous, octagonal big-screen lined with studs,the band stuck mostly to the classics Wednesday night:
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
- Before "War Machine," Simmons, donning his patented "Demon" bat wings and enormous platform heels — which appeared to depict an evil basilisk snake on each shoe — unleashed his fire-breathing routine, spitting a flammable liquid at the edge of flaming sword then stabbing the weapon into the stage, still burning. A roadie quickly ran out to smother the flames.
- Later, before the raging "God of Thunder," Simmons stood under harsh green spotlights with his patented sneer, which quickly turned into a cackle that spit fake blood all over his silver body armor. Delightful. He was then lifted a good 30 feet in the air on a platform as he led the chugging tune off 1976's "Destroyer" with his ax-shaped ax.
- After "Cold Gin," Thayer reprised "Spaceman" Ace Frehley's routine, shooting firework sparks from the neck of his guitar that made a bunch of LED panels hanging from the rafters and made to look like enemy spaceships "explode" on impact.
- Near the end of the set, Stanley asked the crowd to "invite him" out to a round auxiliary stage at the back of the arena. They cheered, he asked for more, they cheered louder, and then, instead of simply walking to the other stage, Stanley hopped on a zipline and floated over the floor crowd, riding the line to the little stage for "Love Gun" and the disco earworm "I Was Made For Loving You."
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
This was all surrounded by endless pyrotechnic work — blasts of smoke, enormous flames and fireworks all over the stage, boosting nearly every song in the two-hour performance. Oh, the insurance policy …
It was over-the-top rock n’ roll performance from a band that invented the over-the-top rock n’ roll performance — without Kiss cutting its teeth and wagging its tongue in the ‘70s, who knows what highly stylized acts like Motley Crue, Slipknot or even Lady Gaga would have turned out to be?
If this does turn out to be Kiss’s final New Jersey performance, it was a helluva run — even if you hate the music, respect is due to the guys who made millions of kids want to pick up the guitar, learn a few chords and rock and roll all night.
Kiss's setlist
- "Detroit Rock City"
- "Shout It Out Loud"
- "Deuce"
- "Say Yeah"
- "I Love It Loud"
- "Heaven's on Fire"
- "War Machine" (Gene breathes fire)
- "Lick It Up" (with "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who snippet)
- "Calling Dr. Love"
- "100,000 Years" (with drum solo)
- "Cold Gin" (with Tommy Thayer guitar solo)
- "God of Thunder" (with bass solo; Gene spits blood)
- "Psycho Circus"
- "Let Me Go, Rock 'N' Roll"
- "Love Gun" (Paul on stage in crowd)
- "I Was Made for Lovin' You" (Paul on stage in crowd)
- "Black Diamond"
- Encore:
- "Beth" (Eric Singer on piano)
- "Crazy Crazy Nights"
- "Rock and Roll All Nite"
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Kiss performs on its "End of the Road" farewell tour at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Aug. 14, 2019. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Kiss performs on its "End of the Road" farewell tour at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Aug. 14, 2019. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Kiss performs on its "End of the Road" farewell tour at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Aug. 14, 2019. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Kiss performs on its "End of the Road" farewell tour at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Aug. 14, 2019. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Kiss performs on its "End of the Road" farewell tour at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Aug. 14, 2019. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Kiss performs on its "End of the Road" farewell tour at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Aug. 14, 2019. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Kiss performs on its "End of the Road" farewell tour at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Aug. 14, 2019. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Kiss performs on its "End of the Road" farewell tour at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Aug. 14, 2019. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Kiss performs on its "End of the Road" farewell tour at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Aug. 14, 2019. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Kiss performs on its "End of the Road" farewell tour at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Aug. 14, 2019. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Kiss performs on its "End of the Road" farewell tour at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Aug. 14, 2019. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Kiss performs on its "End of the Road" farewell tour at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Aug. 14, 2019. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Kiss performs on its "End of the Road" farewell tour at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Aug. 14, 2019. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Kiss performs on its "End of the Road" farewell tour at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Aug. 14, 2019. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Kiss performs on its "End of the Road" farewell tour at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Aug. 14, 2019. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Kiss performs on its "End of the Road" farewell tour at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Aug. 14, 2019. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Kiss performs on its "End of the Road" farewell tour at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Aug. 14, 2019. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Kiss performs on its "End of the Road" farewell tour at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Aug. 14, 2019. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Kiss performs on its "End of the Road" farewell tour at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Aug. 14, 2019. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Kiss performs on its "End of the Road" farewell tour at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Aug. 14, 2019. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Bobby Olivier may be reached at bolivier@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@BobbyOlivier and Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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