The Hottest Band In The World Kiss Play Final New York City Show

August 24, 2019 Mark Smitty Neal Concert Reviews Comments Off

DSC_9757-2-copy — KISS’s ‘End of the Road’ Tour performs in the front of nearly 20,000 KISS Army at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Tuesday, August 20, 2019. Photo credit: Mark Smitty Neal.

BY MARK SMITTY NEAL | Go Venue Magazine

Dubbed the “End of the Road” tour, Rock and Roll Hall of Famers KISS brought their epic live show to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Tuesday, August 20th. With nearly 20,000 members of the KISS Army packing the arena and bridging a generation gap of fans that ranged from young children to their older grandparents to witness the show of a lifetime.

Even though Kiss hasn’t released any new material since 2012’s Monster, still their 45-year career has given birth to two dozen studio albums, which almost half of them achieving platinum status, this alone gives them the ability to tour solely on the reputation of their live show.

As expected, the show was a theatrical pyro filled spectacle of epic proportion. With a voice coming over the PA system announcing, “you wanted the best, well you got the best, the hottest band in the world Kiss”, a roar of cheers erupted as the curtain dropped. Opening with their rock anthem “Detroit Rock City” the band descended from the rafters on individual risers to a shower of sparks and fire blast like rock gods descending from the heavens. While they rocked through their immense catalog of albums, the set was heavily focused around their two early classics, the eponymous debut KISS and Destroyer. KISS didn’t let their army of die hard fans down as they performed with their usual flair of theatrics which included “The Demon” Gene Simmons breathing fire during the apocalyptic “War Machine” and spewing out blood during his bass solo on “God of Thunder”, Paul Stanley also did his usual zip lining over fans to a small stage at the back of the arena for their classic “Love Gun” and “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”.

Closing out the show with the legendary anthem “Rock and Roll All Night” was like a celebration on the 4th of July, as confetti and streamers rained down on the fans, explosions of sparks and fireballs blasting across the rear of the stage in sync to the beat of the drums, Paul Stanley performed his staple guitar smashing at the end of the song before the band would take their final bow on stage in New York City.