Kiss bids farewell to Saratoga Springs
Fans at SPAC enjoy the End of the Road World Tour Saturday night
SARATOGASPRINGS, N.Y. » Kiss said farewell to area fans on Saturday during a stop at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, part of the band’s ongoing End of the Road World Tour.
Thousands of Kiss fans came out to the show, many dressed in Kiss T-shirts, some with their faces painted like favorite band members and a few in full costumes.
Followers like those in the “Kiss Army” were sure not to miss Saturday night’s show because, after decades of touring, the group is marketing this current string of shows as “the final tour ever.”
For this occasion, Kiss really pulled out all the stops, creating a grand spectacle from the beginning to the end of a two-hour set.
Before that, a unique opening act, a performance painter named David Garibaldi, started the show off by live painting rockstar portraits, which he then donates to be auctioned for charity.
Once darkness fell over the venue, the Starchild, the Demon, the Spaceman and the Catman all descended on moving platforms down to the SPAC stage among flashy lighting, fireworks, and fog.
Kiss began their set with 1976 single “Detroit Rock City” followed by “Shout It Out Loud.”
The glam metal gods kept the energy high all night with different stunts, pyrotechnics and, of course, the greatest Kiss hits that concertgoers came to hear. “Let Me Go, Rock ‘n’ Roll,” “Calling Dr. Love,” “Heaven’s on Fire,” “Love Gun,” “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” “I Love It Loud” and “Lick It Up” were all included in the setlist.
Between the Spaceman (Tommy Thayer) shooting UFOs with explosions from the end of his guitar, the Demon (Gene Simmons) squirting blood out of his mouth and flicking his famous tongue, and the Starchild (Paul Stanley) gliding over the crowd to spend some of the set with the fans in the back sections, Kiss definitely kept it interesting throughout their entire performance.
The band members exited the stage with the last notes of “Black Diamond,” then returned for an encore. Drummer Eric Singer, also known as the Catman, sat behind a piano to sing power ballad “Beth,” after which his bandmates took the stage once again too.
Before breaking into “Crazy Crazy Nights” and “Rock and Roll All Nite,” founding Kiss member Stanley informed fans that his fellow rocker Simmons’ birthday was the next day.
When concertgoers sang him “Happy birthday,” Simmons answered the questions on everyone’s mind, enthusiastically sharing that he would be turning 70 years old.
At the end of the night, after showers of confetti poured over the crowd, Stanley kissed his guitar goodbye and smashed it into pieces on stage, before asking onlookers the important questions “Have you had a good time?” and “Did you get what you came for?”
Finally, Stanley left the audience with the words: “Saratoga Springs we will never, ever forget you!”