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End of the Road World Tour

The End of the Road World Tour was the final concert tour by the American rock band Kiss. The tour began on January 31, 2019, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada and concluded on December 2, 2023 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, United States. This was the final concert tour to feature the final band lineup with founding members Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, as well as Tommy Thayer on lead guitar and Eric Singer on drums.

Background

The tour was announced on September 19, 2018, following a performance of "Detroit Rock City" on America's Got Talent. Tour dates were officially announced for North America, Europe and Oceania on October 30, 2018. Professional painter David Garibaldi served as Kiss's opening act for the 2019 North American and European legs of the tour. David Lee Roth was later announced as the opening act for the 2020 North American leg. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the shows that were to take place in 2020 were postponed into 2021.

The band later announced on November 20, 2020 that they would perform an exclusive New Year's Eve 2020 livestream show. The Kiss New Year's Eve 2020 Goodbye livestream concert was produced by City Drive Studios and directed by Daniel Catullo. The pay-per-view concert was part of the Landmarks Live Series and was filmed with over fifty 4K cameras with 360-degree views on a 250-foot stage at The Royal Beach at Atlantis The Palm, Dubai. The performance broke two Guinness World Records: one for the highest flame projection in a music concert and another for the most flame projections launched simultaneously in a music concert. On June 11, 2021, following the premiere of the band's documentary Biography: Kisstory at the Tribeca Film Festival, the band performed a five-song set at Battery Park in New York City.

In an October 2021 interview, Stanley stated that Kiss' final concert together was estimated to take place in early 2023: "I believe strongly by the beginning of 2023 we will be finished, it seems only natural for the final show to be in New York. That is where the band started, and that was really the background for the band getting together and writing these songs and played loft parties and played clubs starting with an audience of probably 10 people. It seems we should go full circle." The band performed on board the 2022 edition of the Kiss Kruise in October to November 2022, which was their final time they would perform on the cruise.

In addition to adding another 100 cities on tour into 2023, Simmons stated that he would continue working with the American rock-inspired restaurant Rock & Brews, and performing with his solo band when the final tour had concluded. He later stated that the band was retiring out of self-respect and love for the fans and that he would be very emotional during the band's final performance which he presumed would take place around 2024, although the band's manager Doc McGhee insisted the band's final show would "definitely" take place in 2023. The band later confirmed the final leg of the tour on the Howard Stern Show on March 1, 2023, with the final show taking place in New York City on December 1 and 2, 2023, in which the second and final performance was streamed on Pay-per-view.

In preparation for the final performances in New York City, a number of various events in honor of the shows took place across a five day period, which included a lighting ceremony on the Empire State Building in honor of both the band's final two shows and its 50-year history, with colors of silver that represented the band logo, and the colors of red, purple, green and blue to honor the band characters. At the end of the final show in New York City, the band announced a "new era" for Kiss, in which they would live on as digital avatars for fully virtual stage show performances, which was created by Industrial Light and Magic and Pophouse, who had previously created ABBA's similar ABBAtar digital presentation.

In the tour program for the final tour, both Stanley and Simmons commented on the tour:

Kiss is much more than a rock and roll band. The band and its fans are a tribe. It's humbling for me that we can be the magnet that brings people together. What we have with the fans is reciprocity. The fans are our oxygen, they are our blood. They make it possible for us to exist. This tour is a celebration of 40 years of that connection between Kiss and the fans.
– Paul Stanley

Kiss has always marched to the beat of their own drum. It's amazing how a band like Kiss that started off innocently enough as just four guys off the streets of New York who wanted to put together the band they never saw onstage turned into a worldwide phenomenon. The fact that it actually worked beyond anyone's wildest dreams is amazing.
– Gene Simmons

Reception

Vancouver Sun's Stuart Derdeyn, who had attended the tour's opening night in Vancouver, Canada, gave the show a positive review, stating: "After being treated to an opening trio of tunes that included "Detroit Rock City", "Shout It Out Loud" and "Deuce" embellish with as much pyrotechnics as other bands might use for an entire show, the crowd at the opening night of the KISS 'End of the Road' world tour was right in the sweet spot that the New York City quartet has always been able to get them into."

Chris Jordan from the Asbury Park Press who had attended the Madison Square Garden performance on March 27, 2019, gave the concert a positive review. He noted the large amount of energy that the band had, as well as praising the amount of explosions, fire breathing and elevated risers. The reporter closed the review, stating: "By the time the band got to 'Rock and Roll All Nite', with a burst of confetti to close the show, it was apparent. You were rocked."

Nikki O'Neill from the Chicago Tribune who had attended the performance in Chicago, stated: "Saturday's show was delivered by a musically tight and drama-free band. Original member Paul Stanley especially seemed to have fun on stage, often letting a smile crack through his "Starchild" makeup, addressing the crowd in his unmistakable stage voice, which best can be described as a mix of Southern rock 'n' roll preacher and fired up drag queen. Although the show is super-scripted - because of the ample pyrotechnics, the band would argue - there's not a moment of dullness or dead air as KISS gave the audience a live summary of its career, with 20 songs representing the classic '70s era and the makeup-free '80s, performing only one song from the '90s and one from 2009 with the current lineup."

Backing track accusations

During the first leg of the tour, the band, and particularly Stanley, were initially accused by fans of lip syncing and using backing tracks during their performances. In response to the accusations, Stanley did not confirm nor deny that he lip syncs on stage, saying he is taking care of his voice. Accusations were revived following the band's Belgium performance when a slip-up with the fireworks and drum cues occurred at the end of the opening song, "Detroit Rock City". McGhee later confirmed that Stanley did sing fully. He denied that Stanley was lip syncing, but stated that he will sing to tracks.

Opening acts

David Garibaldi (North America 2019, Europe 2019, North America 2021)
The New Roses (May 27 in Leipzig, 29 in Vienna and 31 in Munich, Europe 2019, June 1 in Dortmund and June 24 in Frankfurt, Europe 2022)
David Lee Roth (North America 2020)
Frank's White Canvas (April 19 in Santiago, Latin America 2022)
Catoni (April 20 in Santiago, Latin America 2022)
Arde La Sangre (April 23 in Buenos Aires, Latin America 2022)
The Last Internationale (June 7, July 21, Europe 2022)
Shiraz Lane (June 20 in Helsinki, Europe 2022)
Mammoth WVH (July 5 in Nîmes, Europe 2022)
Wolfmother (Australia 2022)
Tumbleweed (Australia 2022)
Mulga Bore Hard Rock (Australia 2022)
Sepultura (April 20 in Belo Horizonte, Latin America 2023)
Skindred (United Kingdom 2023)
The Wild Things (United Kingdom 2023)
In Extremo (Europe 2023)
Skid Row (Europe 2023)
The Darkness (July 15 in Tønsberg, Europe 2023)
Eagles of Death Metal (July 15 in Tønsberg, Europe 2023)
Fangst (July 15 in Tønsberg, Europe 2023)
Weezer (Australia 2023)
Regurgitator (Australia 2023)
The Delta Riggs (Australia 2023)
Dirty Honey (July 9 in Zagreb, and July 14 in Budapest, Europe 2023)
Crown Lands (Canada 2023)
Amber Wild (United States)

Setlists

Tour dates

^Note 1 At this show, the band performed for 45 minutes until a storm resulted in them stopping the rest of the show.
^Note 2 For this show, the band and the audience sang "Happy Birthday" to Gene Simmons, as he turned 70 the following day.
^Note 3 The band and the audience sang "Happy Birthday" to the band's manager Doc McGhee who turned 69.
^Note 4 Yoshiki made an appearance to perform "Beth" and "Rock and Roll All Nite" with the band.
^Note 5 Yoshiki joined the band again for this show.
^Note 6 There was no opening act for this show, as David Lee Roth's Las Vegas residency legally prevented him from performing elsewhere in Nevada.
^Note 7 The band dedicated "Do You Love Me" to Kobe Bryant and the victims of the 2020 Calabasas helicopter crash at this show.
^Note 8 Simmons celebrated his birthday at this show with the band and audience singing "Happy Birthday", as he had turned 72.
^Note 9 At this show, Simmons' platform malfunctioned during the opening song, tilting to one side. Simmons was able to maintain his balance until his platform was carefully lowered while the band performed an extended introduction.
^Note 10 On the first of two performances in Sydney, Simmons celebrated his birthday with the band and audience singing "Happy Birthday" while being given a cake by the band's manager McGhee, as he turned 73 the day before.
^Note 11 Kiss' final Japan performance.
^Note 12 Kiss' final Mexico performance.
^Note 13 Simmons performed part of the set in a chair, following the performance being paused when he felt unwell due to the high temperatures.
^Note 14 Kiss' final South American performance.
^Note 15 Kiss' final Europe performance.
^Note 16 Kiss' final Australia performance.
^Note 17 Kiss' final Canada performance.
^Note 18 Kiss' final performance.