KISS Playing ‘Absolute Final Shows’ At Madison Square Garden In December


The 50 Best Live Albums of the 1970s
The 50 Best Live Albums of the 1970s

KISS has finally reached the proverbial end of the road. The New York-reared Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, who now include lone original members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, will play their final concerts on Dec. 1-2 at Madison Square Garden as the culmination of the four-plus-year End of the Road tour.

“KISS was born in New York City. On 23rd Street. Half a century ago. It will be a privilege and honor to finish touring at Madison Square Garden, 10 blocks and 50 years from where we first started,” the band said in a statement. Members of KISS also discussed the news this morning on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show.

More from Spin:

 

The MSG dates cap a fall North American touring leg beginning Oct. 29 in Austin. Tx., and including a Nov. 3 visit to the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Tickets go on sale Monday (March 6) via a KISS Army presale, followed by a general public on-sale on March 10.

KISS has a busy concert schedule leading up to the finale, with a new round of dates starting April 12 in Brazil. The group will play Europe for most of the summer before taking a break in mid-July.

Asked by SPIN last year what he planned to do once KISS stopped touring, Simmons said, “I may go out with the Gene Simmons Band. It’s a lot of fun — a totally different experience. It’s like being in the Ramones or U2 or something. You put on sneakers and a T-shirt, and that’s all the work. So your heart doesn’t have to go ‘Boom, boom, boom, boom,’ like it’s going to thump out of your chest, like at KISS shows. If you are a blues artist, you can do that until you’re in your mid-’80s, the way B.B. King did at 88. Are you kidding me? Me walking around on stage with dragon boots and all that, even past 75? I can’t imagine it. The physical wear and tear, your heart just is not going to be able to take it. I defy these guys half my age to get into my outfit [and] see how long you’ll last on stage.”

Here are KISS’ fall tour dates:

Oct. 29: Austin, Tx. (Moody Center)
Nov. 1: Palm Springs, Ca. (Acrisure Arena)
Nov. 3: Los Angeles (Hollywood Bowl)
Nov. 6: Seattle (Climate Pledge Arena)
Nov. 8: Vancouver (Rogers Arena)
Nov. 10: Edmonton, AB. (Rogers Place)
Nov. 12: Calgary (Scotiabank Saddledome)
Nov. 13: Saskatoon, SK. (SaskTel Centre)
Nov. 15: Winnipeg, MB. (Canada Life Centre)
Nov. 18: Montreal (Bell Centre)
Nov. 19: Quebec, QC. (Videotron Centre)
Nov. 21: Ottawa, ON. (Canadian Tire Centre)
Nov. 22: Toronto (Scotiabank Arena)
Nov. 24: Knoxville, Tn. (Thompson-Boling Arena)
Nov. 25: Indianapolis (Gainbridge Fieldhouse)
Nov. 27: Rosemont, Il. (Allstate Arena)
Nov. 29: Baltimore (CFG Bank Arena)
Dec. 1-2: New York (Madison Square Garden)

To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.

The post The 50 Best Live Albums of the 1970s appeared first on SPIN.