Kiss Tour

Kiss Tour
Promotional tour by Kiss
Location	North America
Associated album	Kiss
Start date	February 5, 1974
End date	October 4, 1974
No. of shows	84
Kiss concert chronology
	; Club Tour; (1973–1974); ; Kiss Tour; (1974); ; Hotter than Hell Tour; (1974–1975);

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

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

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

"Deuce"
"Strutter"
"She"
"Firehouse"
"Nothin' to Lose"
"Cold Gin"
"Kissin' Time"
"Let Me Know"
"Acrobat" ("Love Theme from Kiss")
"100,000 Years" (with bass solo and drum solo)
"Black Diamond"

Encore

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

Tour dates

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	Barbarossa
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	Los Angeles		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	Rory Gallagher
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	Detroit		Michigan Palace	Blue Öyster Cult Suzi Quatro
April 14, 1974	Louisville		Beggar's Banquet	Thunderhead
April 15, 1974	Nashville		Muther's Music Emporium	Max Onion
April 16, 1974	Nashville		Muther's Music Emporium	Max Onion
April 17, 1974	Memphis		Lafayette Music Room	Kathi McDonald
April 18, 1974	Memphis		Lafayette Music Room	Kathi McDonald
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	Argent
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	Savoy Brown Silverhead
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	Atlanta		Alex Cooley's Electric Ballroom	Fat Chance
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	United States	Morris Civic Auditorium	Blue Öyster Cult
September 13, 1974	Kitchener	Canada	Sir Wilfrid Laurier Theater	Fludd
September 14, 1974	Toronto	Canada	Victory Theater	Fludd
September 15, 1974	Lock Haven	United States	Lockhaven Fieldhouse	Blue Öyster Cult Rush
September 16, 1974	Wilkes-Barre		Paramount Theater	Blue Öyster Cult Rush
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	Rush

Personnel

Paul Stanley – vocals, rhythm guitar
Gene Simmons – vocals, bass
Peter Criss – drums, vocals
Ace Frehley – lead guitar, backing vocals

References

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

Bibliography

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

[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.

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