Kiss Kick Off ‘End of The Road’ Tour: Set List, Photos, Videos
Kiss kicked off their farewell End of the Road tour last night at Rogers Arena in Vancouver with a sharp, career-spanning 20-song show performed on a brand new and very impressive-looking stage.
You can see the complete set list, exclusive photographs and fan-shot video from the concert below.
A victory lap tour like this isn't the time for radical reinvention, so the band moved from one beloved set piece to the next in a logical and familiar order. Paul Stanley flew over and across the crowd onto a second stage to perform "Love Gun," Gene Simmons soared high above the stage to spit blood and play "God of Thunder" and Tommy Thayer's guitar shot spark-rockets during his solo.
While 12 of the evening's 20 songs came from the group's first six albums, attention was paid to other eras of their career, particularly the '80s. The band sounded great, and the stage was as good as they have been promising in recent interviews.
After the familiar introduction and curtain drop, Stanley, Simmons and Thayer descended from the ceiling on three giant hexagon-shaped pods. About a dozen slightly smaller pods hung at various angles over the set, alternately flashing lights, images or video of the performance below.
Hydraulic risers on either side of the stage and under the drum kit lifted Eric Singer, Thayer and Simmons high in the air while Stanley delivered his "100,000 Years" rap, a sparkling piano rose from the floor for the drummer's take on "Beth" and two gigantic cranes carried Simmons and Thayer over the furthest reaches of the venue's floor for the closing "Rock and Roll All Nite."
Of course, flames and sparks shot out of the stage from every conceivable angle.
Apart from a couple quick between-song speeches thanking fans for their support, and occasional montages and collages of video and photos from throughout the group's history, not a whole lot was made of the fact this is a farewell tour. If you didn't know going in this was goodbye, you really wouldn't have reason to think one was necessary.
Watch Kiss Open With 'Detroit Rock City' in Vancouver
Kiss' End of the Road tour will visit Portland, Ore., tomorrow night, and is currently booked through a Dec. 3 show in Auckland, New Zealand. It's expected to last far beyond 2019. "This is a huge world and there's so many places to go see," Stanley told Billboard. "This is going to last a few years."
Kiss Perform 'Rock and Roll All Nite' in Vancouver
Kiss, End of the Road Opening Night Set List
1. "Detroit Rock City"
2. "Shout It Out Loud"
3. "Deuce"
4. "Say Yeah"
5. "Heaven's On Fire"
6. "War Machine"
7. "Lick It Up"
8. "100,000 Years"
9. "God of Thunder"
10. "Cold Gin"
11. "Psycho Circus"
12. "I Love It Loud"
13. "Hide Your Heart"
14. "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll"
15. "Love Gun"
16. "I Was Made for Lovin' You"
17. "Black Diamond"
18. "Beth"
19. "Do You Love Me?"
20. "Rock and Roll All Nite"