Kiss Tour

The Kiss Tour was Kiss' first album support tour. Sometimes known as the First Tour, it also encompassed several shows before and after the "official" dates. Kiss took most of August off from the tour to record their follow-up album, Hotter Than Hell.

Kiss Tour

Promotional tour by Kiss
Location	North America
Associated album	Kiss
Start date	February 5, 1974
End date	October 4, 1974
No. of shows	84
Kiss concert chronology

In the tour program for the band's final tour, Simmons reflected on the tour:

Being in Kiss in the very first year and touring around the United States, we felt like we were taking off. It was like somebody pushing you into the deep end of the pool whether you can swim or not. The early years of Kiss were far from glamorous. We rode in a station wagon hundreds of miles every day. We would take turns driving and sleeping in the back. We ate burgers at roadside taverns. We stopped and peed on the side of long stretches of highway when we couldn't find a town anywhere near. We ate beans and franks, because we couldn't afford better food as we were on a $85 a week salary! Becoming a rock star was better than anything and beyond anything I ever imagined. There were moments of doubt for me that we were gonna make it.[1]

Reception

A reporter from the Winnipeg Free Press who attended the Taché Hall performance in Winnipeg on February 8 which was part of the "Festival of Life and Learning", noted the number of visual effects that notably were smoke bombs, dry ice on the song "Firehouse", as well as the flashing lights and hydraulic lift for the drummer. The reporter however, noted the responses from the audience who were shocked, with others in attendance "sitting on their hands for the majority of the performance".[2]

Personnel

• Paul Stanley – Lead vocals, background vocals, rhythm guitar and lead guitar
• Ace Frehley – Lead guitar, rhythm guitar, background vocals and lead vocals
• Gene Simmons – Bass, background vocals and lead vocals
• Peter Criss – Drums, percussion, background vocals and lead vocals

Setlist

1. "Deuce"
2. "Strutter"
3. "She"
4. "Firehouse"
5. "Nothin' to Lose"
6. "Cold Gin"
7. "Kissin' Time"
8. "Let Me Know"
9. "Acrobat" ("Love Theme from Kiss")
10. Gene Simmons bass solo
11. "100,000 Years" and Peter Criss drum solo
12. "Black Diamond"

Encore

13. "Baby Let Me Go" ("Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll")

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue	Support Act(s)
February 5, 1974	Edmonton, Alberta	Canada	Dinwoodie Lounge	Barbarossa
February 6, 1974	Calgary, Alberta		Jubilee Auditorium
February 8, 1974	Winnipeg, Manitoba		Taché Hall	Mood Jga Jga
February 17, 1974	Long Beach, California	United States	Civic Auditorium	Rory Gallagher Fleetwood Mac
February 18, 1974	Los Angeles, California		Los Angeles Room	N/A
February 21, 1974			Aquarius Theater
March 22, 1974	Devon, Pennsylvania		Valley Forge Music Fair	Redbone
March 23, 1974	New York City, New York		Academy of Music	Argent Redbone
March 24, 1974	Owings Mills, Maryland		Painter's Mill Music Fair	Aerosmith Redbone
March 25, 1974	Washington, D.C.		The Bayou	N/A
March 29, 1974	Asbury Park, New Jersey		Sunshine In Concert Hall	Renaisssance Truth
March 31, 1974	St. Louis, Missouri		Aviation Field	Thirteenth Floor
April 1, 1974	Cleveland, Ohio		Agora Ballroom	Rory Gallagher
April 3, 1974	Columbus, Ohio		The Agora
April 7, 1974	Detroit, Michigan		Michigan Palace	Aerosmith Mojo Boogie Band Michael Fennelly
April 8, 1974	Dekalb, Illinois		University Center Ballroom	Conqueror Worm
April 12, 1974	Detroit, Michigan		Michigan Palace	Blue Oyster Cult Suzi Quatro
April 13, 1974
April 14, 1974	Louisville, Kentucky		Beggar's Banquet	Thunderhead
April 15, 1974	Nashville, Tennessee		Mother's	Max Onion
April 16, 1974
April 17, 1974	Memphis, Tennessee		Lafayette Music Room	Kathi McDonald
April 18, 1974
April 19, 1974	Chicago, Illinois		Aragon Ballroom	Quicksilver Messenger Service Flying Saucer Les Variations
April 21, 1974	Charlotte, North Carolina		Flash's	Ritual
April 27, 1974	Passaic, New Jersey		Capitol Theatre	Blue Oyster Cult Ross
May 2, 1974	Comstock Park, Michigan		Thunder Chicken	Argent
May 3, 1974	St. Louis, Missouri		Ambassador Theater
May 9, 1974	Parsippany, New Jersey		The Joint in the Woods	Sweetwater
May 12, 1974	Wyandotte, Michigan		Benjamin Yack Recreational Center	Savoy Brown Silverhead
May 14, 1974	Fraser, Michigan		Fraser Hockeyland Arena
May 16, 1974	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Canada	Centennial Concert Hall	Savoy Brown Manfred Mann's Earth Band
May 17, 1974	Edmonton, Alberta		Kinsmen Fieldhouse
May 18, 1974	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan		Saskatoon Arena
May 19, 1974	Lethbridge, Alberta		Exhibition Pavilion
May 20, 1974	Calgary, Alberta		Foothills Arena
May 24, 1974	Portland, Oregon	United States	Paramount Northwest Theater
May 25, 1974	Seattle, Washington		Paramount Theatre
May 26, 1974	Spokane, Washington		JFK Pavilion
May 27, 1974	Olympia		St. Martin's Capitol Pavilion	Savoy Brown
May 28, 1974	Vancouver, British Columbia	Canada	PNE Gardens Auditorium	Savoy Brown Manfred Mann's Earth Band
May 30, 1974	San Diego, California	United States	Sports Arena
May 31, 1974	Long Beach, California		Long Beach Auditorium
June 1, 1974	San Francisco, California		Winterland Ballroom
June 3, 1974	Anchorage, Alaska		Sundowner Drive-In Theater	Savoy Brown Flight Island
June 4, 1974	Fairbanks, Alaska		Baker Field House	Savoy Brown
June 12, 1974	Flint, Michigan		IMA Sports Arena	New York Dolls
June 14, 1974	Cleveland, Ohio		Allen Theater
June 15, 1974	Toronto, Ontario	Canada	Massey Hall
June 17, 1974	Asbury Park, New Jersey	United States	Sunshine In	Truth
June 19, 1974	Atlanta, Georgia		Alex Cooley's Electric Ballroom	Outlaw
June 20, 1974
June 21, 1974
June 22, 1974
July 11, 1974	West Palm Beach, Florida		West Palm Beach Auditorium	Blue Oyster Cult Nazareth
July 12, 1974	Orlando, Florida		Jai Alai Fronton
July 13, 1974	Tampa Bay, Florida		Curtis Hixon Hall
July 14, 1974	Birmingham, Alabama		Birmingham Municipal Auditorium
July 16, 1974	Baton Rouge, Louisiana		Independence Hall	Blue Oyster Cult New York Dolls
July 17, 1974	Atlanta, Georgia		Alex Cooley's Electric Ballroom	Fat Chance
July 18, 1974
July 19, 1974	Fayetteville, North Carolina		Cumberland Auditorium	Blue Oyster Cult Nazareth Glass Moon
July 25, 1974	London, Ontario	Canada	Centennial Hall	Rush Ronny Legge
August 3, 1974	Indianapolis, Indiana	United States	Convention Center	Blue Oyster Cult James Gang Chris Jagger
August 4, 1974	South Bend, Indiana		Morris Civic Auditorium	Blue Oyster Cult
September 13, 1974	Kitchener, Ontario	Canada	Sir Wilfrid Laurier Theater	Fludd
September 14, 1974	Toronto, Ontario		Victory Theater
September 15, 1974	Lock Haven, Pennsylvania	United States	Lockhaven Fieldhouse	Blue Oyster Cult Rush
September 16, 1974	Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania		Paramount Theater
September 18, 1974	Atlanta, Georgia		Electric Ballroom	Rush Fat Chance
September 19, 1974
September 20, 1974
September 21, 1974				Outlaws Fat Chance
September 28, 1974	Detroit, Michigan		Michigan Palace	Roy Wood Wizzard
September 30, 1974	Evansville, Indiana		Evansville Stadium	Billy Preston Rush
October 1, 1974	Jacksonville, Alabama		Leone Cole Auditorium	Rush
October 4, 1974	Houston, Texas		Music Hall

References

1. (2019). End of the Road World Tour Program, pg. 5.
2. Winnipeg Free Press, February 11, 1974

Bibliography

• Gooch, Curt; Suhs, Jeff (2002). Kiss Alive Forever: The Complete Touring History. New York: Billboard Books. ISBN 0-8230-8322-5.
• Gill, Julian (May 8, 2020). Kiss On Tour (2020 ed.). KissFAQ Publishing. ISBN 978-1-7344412-1-5.