Hits-filled Kiss show in Fort Worth filled with all the pyro, confetti, stage stunts
If this really is it for Kiss concerts in Texas, they went out the only way possible: By playing the biggest, most outlandish rock show imaginable.
The band, which formed in 1973, played to a mostly-filled Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Friday night as part of its “End of the Road World Tour.”
The show was postponed from Oct. 2, 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, the two remaining founding members, have kept the bargain they made with their fans nearly 50 years ago. That every Kiss show would leave fans in awe of the stage production, singing along, and perhaps a little singed hair from the enormous pyrotechnics exploding from the stage. There was so much pyro it at times smelled like a 4th of July fireworks show. Plus, there were arena-spanning laser effects and enough confetti to fill 20 New Year’s Eve celebrations, and Kiss balloons dropping from the rafters.
All of that joyous mayhem was crammed into a two-hour set filled with the iconic bands most cherished songs, including the night’s opener “Detroit Rock City.”
Of the set’s 20 songs, 13 came from six of the band’s first seven albums — all released between 1974 and 1979.
The crowd of all ages and from all over — one family was in from Venezuela (mother and 4-year-old daughter with painted faces), another from Mexico City — licked it all up, to steal a phrase from one of seven songs the band played from its later material.
The set list took it’s cue from the band’s long time introduction before hitting the stage: “You wanted the best, you’ve got the best. The hottest band in the world: Kiss!”
And that’s what Stanley, 69, and Simmons, 72, along with their band mates guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer, brought to their fans, many of whom were wearing the band’s famous Kabuki-style face paint.
Technically, the band sounded great, and Stanley and Simmons still move and sing like men half their age.
Early on, Stanley told the crowd the band has been coming to Fort Worth since 1976, and he later name-dropped a bunch of East Texas towns, including Greenville, Royse City, Rockwall and Caddo Mills. He says he knows the area pretty well. Perhaps “Starchild” is a secret cattle rancher.
Stanley did most of the talking, but Simmons sounded steady on bass and strong when it was his turn to sing, such as one of the night’s highlights, “God of Thunder.” Simmons’ blood-spitting is still creepy (and cool) in all the right ways and the ominous tone of the song underscored the drama. His other show trademark — spitting fire from a torch — came during “I Love It Loud.” Cool as ever.
“Are you getting what you came for,” Stanley asked before introducing “Lick It Up” from the band’s 1983 album. “I know some of you weren’t born in 1983 … but you know this one.”
They did.
While the show was mostly a tribute to their escapist style of rock, their longevity, and a nod of nostalgia — old classic images and video of the band from over the decades played on a huge video screen behind the stage during some of their decades-old classics such as “Deuce” and “Black Diamond” — the band wasn’t just going through the motions.
Stanley, with his large platform boot in a lasso, flew from the main stage above the fans on the floor to a smaller stage at the other end of the floor for “Love Gun” and “I Was Made For Loving You.”
It was a cool moment for die-hard Kiss fans during a night full of them. The stage was deceptively bland looking at first glance. But at various points in the show, massive risers lifted band members high above the stage, including during Singer’s drum solo. For “Beth,” the band’s hit piano ballad from 1976, which started the three-song encore, Singer appeared sitting at a grand piano that arose from a trapdoor at the front of the stage. Impressive. And very cool. And he faithfully recreated original drummer Peter Criss’s vocals.
Five of the 20 songs played, including two of the final three, came from their 1976 album “Destroyer,” arguably the band’s best album.
Stanley told a story about how nervous the band got when their live concert album “Alive!” was released in 1975 and sold millions. It’s the album that helped launch the band into superstardom. But the success scared the band, Stanley said. How do we top that, he asked.
“We’re going to work our asses off, and we’re going to go into the studio and do the best album we can,” he said of Destroyer.
The album’s finale “Do You Love Me?” was the second-to-last song of the set.
Of course, you don’t have to be in the Kiss Army to guess their closer. “Rock and Roll All Night” came with confetti cannons that would make Times Square weak in the knees.
It sounded just like it did in the 1970s. It encapsulated the band and its ethos, and was a perfect way to end the band’s final Texas show, if that is indeed the case.
Kiss set list at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Oct. 1, 2021
Detroit Rock City
Shout It Out Loud
Deuce
War Machine
Heaven’s On Fire
I Love It Loud
Lick It Up
Calling Dr. Love
Say Yeah
Cold Gin
Tears Are Falling
Psycho/100,000 Years
God of Thunder
Love Gun
I Was Made For Loving You
Black Diamond
Beth
Do You Love Me?
Rock and Roll All Night
This story was originally published October 2, 2021 at 5:30 AM.
