The legendary rock band KISS are ready to hang up their boots and makeup after the final two shows of their five-year ‘End of the Road’ tour this Friday and Saturday at Madison Square Garden in their hometown of New York.
The tour, which started on January 31st, 2019 in Vancouver, Canada, has taken the band around the world for a total of 13 legs and 250 shows, featuring their trademark pyrotechnics, costumes, and anthems. The tour was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced most of the shows in 2020 to be rescheduled in 2021, and by Paul Stanley's flu, which caused them to cancel three shows in the last week.
Stanley and Gene Simmons explained why they decided to end their touring career on a high note.
"Arguably, this has been not only the most consistent, but the best line-up of the band. The shows have been bombastic. We're not doing the End of the Road tour because we hate each other. We're not doing the End of the Road tour because we stink. We're doing the End of the Road tour because everything is great and we want to do the greatest show we've ever done, the most bombastic, the most explosive, the most comprehensive. We want to celebrate. We want to do a victory lap with the people who have made this happen for the last four-and-a-half decades. So that's really what it's about. It's a vast, vast difference," Stanley said.
Simmons added: "This decision to finally end it comes from a sense of knowing yourself. It feels right to end it on a high note. Why the hell would you want to be pathetic pale version of who you were? 'Hey, remember when they were great?' No, no, no. Quit once you reach Mount Olympus -- when there are no higher peaks. Go out a champion and gracefully thank the fans with all your heart and gracefully walk off into the sunset."
KISS have released 20 studio albums, 13 live albums, and countless compilation discs. They have sold over 100 million records worldwide and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. Ace Frehley and Peter Criss were also not invited to take part in the End of the Road. Saturday's show will be available on Pay-Per-View, and, once the curtain comes down, KISS will have done just under 3,000 shows in 50 years of rock and roll history.
[Source: Classic Hits Today]