KISS: End of the Road Tour

Bossier City, LA, 9/7/2019

I’ve been a KISS fan for a very long time. I’ve been ridiculed, laughed at, and even accused of worshiping Satan because of my love for the band. Despite this fact, though, I’ve only recently been able to see them perform live. In total I have seen KISS perform live on three occasions. The first two times were in Houston and the most recent show was in Bossier City, LA. This show was a little bit more special than the other shows, though, as this show would be my young son’s first concert.

KISS didn’t disappoint.

The opening act for KISS was a performance painter named David Garibaldi. I, along with most of the folks in line around me prior to the show, had serious doubts about a painter being the warm-up for the band. I, and everyone else that doubted him, was wrong about David Garibaldi. The guy painted three pictures within thirty minutes and had the crowd cheering the entire time. He did brilliant paintings of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Elvis, and KISS. To top it all off, the KISS painting was raffled off for charity. I’ve followed Garibaldi’s Facebook page ever since and he comes across as a genuinely nice guy. Check out his Facebook page for links to his website and other social media.

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When it was time for KISS, they opened the show as they always open the show, “You wanted the best! You got the best! The hottest band in the world…..KISSSSSSSS!” This was followed by the dropping of the black KISS curtain and the band exploding onto the stage via lifts, all the while belting out the opening to Detroit Rock City. They went on to play a total of twenty tunes including an amazing drum solo by Eric Singer (it was a highlight of the show for me) and a solid guitar solo by Tommy Thayer.

Gene spit blood and fire and tore through tracks like Calling Dr. Love and War Machine. Paul flew out into the crowd for two of his signature tracks, Love Gun and I Was Made For Lovin’ You. Eric Singer gave us his rendition of two of original drummer Peter Criss’ signature tunes, Black Diamond and Beth.

The stage lighting and pyrotechnics were the best that I’ve ever seen at any live show. They were also the best of all of the KISS shows that I’ve either attended or watched online. HD screens, laser lighting, flamethrowers, KISS beach balls, and the signature confetti were all used during the show. Sure, some of Paul’s lines were the same ones that he’s used for decades and his voice isn’t as good as it used to be, but you could tell that he and the rest of the band put their entire hearts into the show. Gene sounded great vocally and on bass. Eric’s drums and vocals were as solid as they’ve ever been as well. The real star of the show, though, was Tommy Thayer. Perpetually viewed in the shadow of Ace Frehley by far too many fans, Thayer fleshed out the solos and made them his own this time around. Tommy is proving to the world that he truly is one of the best guitar players to ever grace the stage with KISS.

When KISS played Rock N’ Roll All Nite to close out the show, everybody was on their feet. Knowing that it will most likely be the last time that we get to see these four guys on the stage together in full makeup and with tons of pyro behind them in Bossier City, it was a tad bittersweet. I’m going to miss these guys.

With that being said, however, something wonderful happened that evening. Throughout the show I would glance over at my son. He never looked back at me, though. He was too entranced with the wall of sound, flames, and lights that he was experiencing. He loved every single minute of the concert. As the final piece of confetti hit the ground and the crowd exited the arena as the house lights came up with God Gave Rock N Roll To You II blaring over the CenturyLink Center speakers, I looked at my son. He was smiling from ear to ear. He was completely amazed by what he had just seen.

Prior to KISS’ encore, he had been wearing ear plugs for the entire show. He was worried about damaging his ears. When Eric Singer returned to the stage to perform Beth, however, he took his plugs out, nudged me, and said that he wanted to hear all of the encore. I was fine with his actions and my heart tugged just a little bit as well. I gave him the okay and he smiled.

After the show, I picked up a t-shirt and bandanna from the merch table. My son didn’t want anything. As we walked to our car he repeatedly talked about what happened during the show and how cool he thought that it all was. Once we got to our vehicle, we decided to wait out the crowd a bit before leaving. We talked even more about the show and it was so refreshing to hear my son’s point of view. His favorite performer of the night was Tommy Thayer. Unlike many KISS fans these days, my son only knows Ace Frehley’s work with the band from what I’ve told him and played for him. His Spaceman is, was, and always will be Tommy Thayer. It was so refreshing to hear someone not complain about Tommy but instead, praise his work.

This show will always be my greatest memory of KISS. It was my last show, my son’s first show, and something that we will talk about until I’m gone. Hopefully my son will share this memory with his own son or daughter some day and he’ll get the chance to share some other band’s concert with them.

Thanks for the memories, KISS. This might be the end of the road, but you’ll be playing in hearts, minds, and plenty of stereos for many years to come.

Here’s the setlist from the show:

1. Detroit Rock City
2. Shout It Out Loud
3. Deuce
4. Say Yeah
5. I Love It Loud
6. Heaven’s On Fire
7. War Machine (Gene Breathes Fire)
8. Lick It Up
9. Calling Dr. Love
10. 100,000 Years (Eric Drum Solo)
11. Cold Gin (Tommy Thayer Solo)
12. God Of Thunder (Gene Simmons Bass Solo/Spits Blood)
13. Psycho Circus
14. Let Me Go, Rock N’ Roll
15. Love Gun (Paul On Crowd Stage)
16. I Was Made For Lovin’ You (Paul On Crowd Stage)
17. Black Diamond
18. Beth (Encore)
19. Crazy, Crazy Nights (Encore)
20. Rock N’ Roll All Nite (Closes Show)