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Kiss Tour

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Kiss Tour
Promotional tour by Kiss
LocationNorth America
Associated albumKiss
Start dateFebruary 5, 1974 (1974-02-05)
End dateOctober 4, 1974 (1974-10-04)
No. of shows84
Kiss concert chronology

The Kiss Tour was Kiss' first album support tour. Sometimes known as the First Tour, it also encompassed several shows before and after the "official" dates.

History

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At the beginning of the tour Stanley returned to his iconic Starchild makeup after finishing the previous tour in his bandit makeup.[1] Stage props used for this tour were fire engine lights, a drum riser, sparkling drumsticks, Simmons spitting blood and breathing fire, a lighted logo of the band's name, Frehley's smoking guitar and flamethrowers.[2]

When the band was an opening act for Argent on May 2, 1974, in Comstock Park, they were only allowed to perform eight songs as Argent told them the rules, resulting in the headliners shutting off the power to Kiss' equipment when the audience wanted Kiss to perform more songs.[3] Rush opened for Kiss at the Centennial Hall in London, Ontario on July 25 during the tour, which was also John Rutsey's final performance with Rush. The opening act ended up impressing the band so much at that concert that they continued on tour with Rush as the opening act.[4] Kiss took most of August off from the tour to record their follow-up album, Hotter than Hell.

In the tour program for the band's final tour, Simmons reflected on the tour:

Being in Kiss in the very first year and touring around the United States, we felt like we were taking off. It was like somebody pushing you into the deep end of the pool whether you can swim or not. The early years of Kiss were far from glamorous. We rode in a station wagon hundreds of miles every day. We would take turns driving and sleeping in the back. We ate burgers at roadside taverns. We stopped and peed on the side of long stretches of highway when we couldn't find a town anywhere near. We ate beans and franks, because we couldn't afford better food as we were on a $85 a week salary! Becoming a rock star was better than anything and beyond anything I ever imagined. There were moments of doubt for me that we were gonna make it.[5]

Reception

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A reporter from the Winnipeg Free Press who attended the Taché Hall performance in Winnipeg on February 8 which was part of the "Festival of Life and Learning", noted the number of visual effects that notably were smoke bombs, dry ice on the song "Firehouse", as well as the flashing lights and hydraulic lift for the drummer. The reporter however, noted the responses from the audience who were shocked, with others in attendance "sitting on their hands for the majority of the performance".[6]

Setlist

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  1. "Deuce"
  2. "Strutter"
  3. "She"
  4. "Firehouse"
  5. "Nothin' to Lose"
  6. "Cold Gin"
  7. "Kissin' Time"
  8. "Let Me Know"
  9. "Acrobat" ("Love Theme from Kiss")
  10. "100,000 Years" (with bass solo and drum solo)
  11. "Black Diamond"

Encore

  1. "Baby, Let Me Go" ("Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll")

Tour dates

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List of 1974 concerts
Date[7] City Country Venue Support Act(s)
February 5, 1974 Edmonton Canada Dinwoodie Lounge Barbarossa
February 6, 1974 Calgary SAIT Gymnasium
February 8, 1974 Winnipeg Taché Hall Mood Jga Jga
February 17, 1974 Long Beach United States Civic Auditorium Rory Gallagher
Fleetwood Mac
February 18, 1974 Los Angeles Los Angeles Room
February 21, 1974 Aquarius Theater
March 22, 1974 Devon Valley Forge Music Fair Redbone
March 23, 1974 New York City Academy of Music Argent
Redbone
March 24, 1974 Owings Mills Painter's Mill Music Fair Aerosmith
Redbone
March 25, 1974 Washington, D.C. The Bayou
March 29, 1974 Asbury Park Sunshine In Concert Hall Renaissance
Truth
March 31, 1974 St. Louis Aviation Field Thirteenth Floor
April 1, 1974 Cleveland Agora Ballroom Rory Gallagher
April 3, 1974 Columbus The Agora
April 7, 1974 Detroit Michigan Palace Aerosmith
Mojo Boogie Band
Michael Fennelly
April 8, 1974 Dekalb University Center Ballroom Conqueror Worm
April 12, 1974 Detroit Michigan Palace Blue Öyster Cult
Suzi Quatro
April 13, 1974
April 14, 1974 Louisville Beggar's Banquet Thunderhead
April 15, 1974 Nashville Muther's Music Emporium Max Onion
April 16, 1974
April 17, 1974 Memphis Lafayette Music Room Kathi McDonald
April 18, 1974
April 19, 1974 Chicago Aragon Ballroom Quicksilver Messenger Service
Flying Saucer
Les Variations
April 21, 1974 Charlotte Flash's Ritual
April 27, 1974 Passaic Capitol Theatre Blue Öyster Cult
Ross
May 2, 1974 Comstock Park Thunder Chicken Argent
May 3, 1974 St. Louis Ambassador Theatre
May 9, 1974 Parsippany The Joint in the Woods Sweetwater
May 12, 1974 Wyandotte Benjamin Yack Recreational Center Savoy Brown
Silverhead
May 14, 1974 Fraser Fraser Hockeyland Arena
May 16, 1974 Winnipeg Canada Centennial Concert Hall Savoy Brown
Manfred Mann's Earth Band
May 17, 1974 Edmonton Kinsmen Fieldhouse
May 18, 1974 Saskatoon Saskatoon Arena
May 19, 1974 Lethbridge Exhibition Pavilion
May 20, 1974 Calgary Foothills Arena
May 24, 1974 Portland United States Paramount Northwest Theater
May 25, 1974 Seattle Paramount Theatre
May 26, 1974 Spokane JFK Pavilion
May 27, 1974 Olympia St. Martin's Capitol Pavilion Savoy Brown
May 28, 1974 Vancouver Canada PNE Gardens Auditorium Savoy Brown
Manfred Mann's Earth Band
May 30, 1974 San Diego United States Sports Arena
May 31, 1974 Long Beach Long Beach Auditorium
June 1, 1974 San Francisco Winterland Ballroom
June 3, 1974 Anchorage Sundowner Drive-In Theater Savoy Brown
Flight
Island
June 4, 1974 Fairbanks Baker Field House Savoy Brown
June 12, 1974 Flint IMA Sports Arena New York Dolls
June 14, 1974 Cleveland Allen Theater
June 15, 1974 Toronto Canada Massey Hall
June 17, 1974 Asbury Park United States Sunshine In Truth
June 19, 1974 Atlanta Alex Cooley's Electric Ballroom Outlaw
June 20, 1974
June 21, 1974
June 22, 1974
July 11, 1974 West Palm Beach West Palm Beach Auditorium Blue Öyster Cult
Nazareth
July 12, 1974 Orlando Jai Alai Fronton
July 13, 1974 Tampa Bay Curtis Hixon Hall
July 14, 1974 Birmingham Birmingham Municipal Auditorium
July 16, 1974 Baton Rouge Independence Hall Blue Öyster Cult
New York Dolls
July 17, 1974 Atlanta Alex Cooley's Electric Ballroom Fat Chance
July 18, 1974
July 19, 1974 Fayetteville Cumberland Auditorium Blue Öyster Cult
Nazareth
Glass Moon
July 25, 1974 London Canada Centennial Hall Rush
Ronny Legge
August 3, 1974 Indianapolis United States Convention Center Blue Öyster Cult
James Gang
Chris Jagger
August 4, 1974 South Bend Morris Civic Auditorium Blue Öyster Cult
September 13, 1974 Kitchener Canada Sir Wilfrid Laurier Theater Fludd
September 14, 1974 Toronto Victory Theater
September 15, 1974 Lock Haven United States Lockhaven Fieldhouse Blue Öyster Cult
Rush
September 16, 1974 Wilkes-Barre Paramount Theater
September 18, 1974 Atlanta Electric Ballroom Rush
Fat Chance
September 19, 1974
September 20, 1974
September 21, 1974 Outlaws
Fat Chance
September 28, 1974 Detroit Michigan Palace Roy Wood
Wizzard
September 30, 1974 Evansville Evansville Stadium Billy Preston
Rush
October 1, 1974 Jacksonville Leone Cole Auditorium Rush
October 4, 1974 Houston Music Hall

Personnel

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References

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  1. ^ Kielty, Martin (2023-12-21). "Why Paul Stanley Rejected Bandit Makeup After a Month". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  2. ^ Weiss, Brett (2016). Encyclopedia of Kiss : Music, Personnel, Events and Related Subjects. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 115. ISBN 9780786498024.
  3. ^ Simmons, Gene (2001). Kiss and Make-up. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4000-4523-5.
  4. ^ Daly, Skip; Hansen, Eric (2019). Rush: Wandering the Face of the Earth – The Official Touring History 1968 – 2015. San Rafael: Insight Editions. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-68383-450-2.
  5. ^ (2019). End of the Road World Tour Program, pg. 5.
  6. ^ Winnipeg Free Press, February 11, 1974
  7. ^ Gooch, Curt; Suhs, Jeff (2002). Kiss Alive Forever: The Complete Touring History. New York: Billboard Books. ISBN 0-8230-8322-5.

Bibliography

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  • Gooch, Curt; Suhs, Jeff (2002). Kiss Alive Forever: The Complete Touring History. New York: Billboard Books. ISBN 0-8230-8322-5.