KISS Army marched into the Staples Center for one last epic dive into the world of chaos, mischief and most importantly, unadulterated rock 'n' roll in Los Angeles. It all went down last night, March 4th, as part of their End of the Road World Tour.
I was among the Army who made a plan to escape reality for a night and be consumed by the KISS flame - literally.
Special guest opener David Lee Roth warmed our blood and hyped us up for the two-hour extravaganza that would follow.
Struttin' his stuff while adorned in a glam, red outfit, the former Van Halen frontman didn't flinch once as he delivered hit after hit from his vast catalog. Fans sang nearly every word to songs like "Panama," "Runnin' with the Devil," and "Jump."
Right at 8:45pm and not a minute too late, Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" started blasting over the speakers, the only sign we needed to know that it was time. The jumotron's gave fans a BTS view of the band amping up backstage and running to the stage.
Curtains are drawn, revealing an immaculate stage design, lights are going off, all four members are ascending from their own section of the stage, and
🔥✨POP✨🔥
pyro is spewing everywhere nearly singeing off our eyebrows, and Gene Simmons' tongue is already out before we can even blink. The band has entered in a blaze of glory with those sweet riffs to "Detroit Rock City," the opening song.
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The 21-song setlist was gifted with both hits and deep cuts to leave KISS fans fulfilled for years to come. Between songs like "Deuce," "Heaven's on Fire," and "Tears Are Falling," Paul Stanley addressed the army in his spunky strut, "PARTY LIKE IT'S FIRDAY NIGHT" he commanded and well, his wish IS our command.
The fire never stopped, and Simmons, the most beloved demon in rock, made the flames his b*tch during "War Machine," where he famously breathed fire at the end of the song, giving us no choice but to bow down.
Starman made sure we were all safe after "Calling Dr. Love," and now we are all officially immune... to anything that doesn't spell out "ROCK."
Halfway through the set we got to really see what the band was made of, other than an untouchable spectacle. First, all eyes were on Eric Singer during "100,000 Years" when he effortlessly threw hands at his drums and made eyes with us, up close and personal, via the Jumbotron cameras.
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Next up was "Cold Gin," a moment for Tommy Thayer to split our brains into two with not only a guitar solo, but a performance that featured him shooting fire at targets projected on the ceiling screens.
Lest we not forget about Simmons. "God of Thunder" was his time to shine as he preceded the song with psychotic bass solo that nearly set lightening to the Staples Center and blood began gushing out of his mouth. YES he spit it out like a human sprinkler, otherwise it's not a KISS show!
Toward the end of the set Stanley glided OVER the crowd and onto a small stage in the center of the crowd while they performed "Love Gun" and "I Was Made for Lovin' You."
After the main set closer "Black Diamond," we knew the show wasn't over yet, and before we knew it, Singer was snatching hearts behind the piano as he kicked off the encore set with "Beth." Did you know that the man can really belt? I'm not afraid to admit it brought a tear to my eye.
The tears then got heavier when Stanley put on his Kobe Bryant jersey and dedicated "Do You Love Me" to him, Gigi, and all the victims of the helicopter crash earlier this year. We were, after all, in Bryant's church.
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Last but not least, KISS did not let us leave without the most explosive performance of "Rock and Roll All Nite" featuring fireworks, smoke, balloons and confetti flying all around us.
A loving KISS goodbye.
Check out the entire setlist here:
