Photos by Carl Scheffel/MSG Photos** and Heidi Lenze*

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At one point during the hometown performance,  guitarist Paul Stanley introduced a song with, “Here’s one from 1983,” and I turned to the young, hip Englishman sitting next to us, a guy who had flown in from London for this show. “Were you alive in 1983?” I asked. He laughed, replying, “’93, maybe!” At the end of the show he said, “That was definitely the best show I’ve ever seen!” My companion, a music professional, told him, “I’ve been to over 20,000 shows, and this was in the top three…maybe the best.” The Alpha and Omega agreed.

Kiss certainly knows how to do it right, and connects with audiences of all ages and stripes. Kids of ten years and up wandered the corridors in Kiss makeup, as excited as their banker—or biker—parents.  The band’s choreographed moves (practiced so often over five decades that they are as natural as breathing), the sets, the fireworks and of course the songs, make a Kiss concert an unforgettable experience.

With Gene Simmons regularly showing off the size of his tongue, one unscripted moment stands out: perched on the apron and leaning into the same mic, Simmons turned slightly and shoved that famous member into Stanley’s ear. Stanley didn’t miss a beat of music, but he did jump a foot and shot Simmons a look, while Simmons smirked like a kid under his makeup.

Theatrics aside, the band was in top form vocally and musically. Having covered thousands of shows myself, I can vouch for the pathos that clouds performers who continue to perform long after they should have retired, but that wasn’t the case here. Halfway back in the the enormous cavern of MSG, we could feel a wall of heat every time the flamethrowers on stage blasted off, and an equal shot of virtual heat when the band ripped through “I want to rock and roll all night.” The one truly quiet moment came toward the end, when a piano rose through the stage floor, and Eric Singer movingly sang the lovely ballad “Beth.”

The show included two stages so even those in the back got a good look; multiple flamethrowers, incredible lighting effects, huge balloons, a smoke-breathing dragon, a flight across the entire arena by Stanley, and bucket-lift rides around the upper decks by both Stanley and Simmons, all culminated in a confetti downpour that shot off more bits of paper than the combined FBI, CIA and White House usually shred in 10 years.

Now, that’s a memorable Kiss goodbye!

—Suzanne Cadgène

Find an End of The Road performance near you HERE