Kiss has announced its final string of shows, which will culminate over two nights — December 1st and 2nd — at New York's Madison Square Garden. Kiss will kick off its final North American tour on October 29th at Austin's Moody Center.
There has been no word as to whether co-founders Ace Frehley and Peter Criss will appear at the final New York shows.
The band posted a testament on its official Kissonline.com website, which reads:
The absolute final shows of our final tour, 'The End Of The Road Tour,' will kick off this October and culminate in a massive show in the city where it all began. New York City has been a part of our ethos and storyline for more than four decades, so we felt it fitting to culminate our career on stage at Madison Square Garden.
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!
During a new chat with Classic Rock, Paul Stanley was pressed about the persistent rumor that he's actually visibly lip-syncing substantial parts of the band's shows, to which he said, “Ha. Well, that’s just nonsense, of course. And the idea that we need to explain or clarify what we do is nonsense. I sing every song. Any band that’s out there with a big show knows that you have to be coordinated and there has to be syncing with the technology, the lights and the pyro and everything, so the idea that you’d go out there without a click (track) to lock you in is just ridiculous.”
He went on to say, “And does it really matter? I’ve seen bands that are considered the greatest in the world and I’m saying to my wife, 'Who’s playing that beat on the drums?' As long as what’s going on is honest, why gives a f***? Things evolve over time, and it’s a different world now than it was 30 or 40 years ago. Do we really need to put everything under a microscope when people are having the best night of their lives? I won’t do it.”
Paul Stanley told that as excited as he is to perform with Kiss, wrapping up the band's life on the road is far from being a heartbreaking event for him: “There's nothing bittersweet about this tour — it's all sweet. What I've been given and what we've accomplished, and how we've been rewarded is indescribable. And look, I'm not Yoda — I'm gonna say the end of something is the beginning of something else. I'm not going to change who I am and I'm not going to change my trajectory, and everything will go on.”
Gene Simmons explained that even 50 years on — no one puts more into their performance than Kiss does: “I wear seven, eight-inch platform boots. Our outfits — mine, I don't know, weighs at least about 40 pounds. I gotta spit fire and fly through the air and do all that kind of stuff; so if you put (Mick) Jagger and Bono — who are both great — in you stick 'em in my outfit, they'd pass out in a half-hour. We are the hardest working band in show business period.”
JUST ANNOUNCED: Kiss North American tour dates (subject to change):
October 29 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
November 1 – Palm Springs, CA – Acrisure Arena
November 2 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
November 6 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Bowl
November 8 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
November10 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
November 12 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome
November 13 – Saskatoon, SK – SaskTel Centre
November 15 – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre
November 18 – Montreal, QC – Centre Bell
November 21 – Ottawa, ON – Canadian Tire Centre
November 22 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Centre
November 24 – Knoxville, TN – Thompson-Boling Arena
November 25 – Indianapolis, IN – Gainbridge Fieldhouse
November 27 – Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena
November 29 – Baltimore, MD – CFG Bank Arena
December 1, 2 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden