American rock legends Kiss are embarking on the final leg of their End of the Road World Tour, which will give the North American contingent of the Kiss Army a last chance to experience the band.
Celebrating 50 years of Kiss
The band, founded in 1973, is celebrating its 50th anniversary with the current Kiss line-up consisting of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Tommy Thayer, and Eric Singer. The Kiss Army can look forward to the band’s greatest hits, such as Rock And Roll All Nite, I Was Made For Lovin’ You, and Crazy Crazy Nights, plus the legendary Kiss pyrotechnics.
The first leg of the four-year farewell tour began at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver in 2019. The 13th and final leg of the tour will see the band return to Canada for November dates in nine cities, including Vancouver, Edmonton, Montreal, Quebec City, and Toronto. The tour will end in New York, with the band playing two dates at Madison Square Garden in December.
The kings of merchandising
But the conclusion of the tour will not signal an end to the Kiss merchandising machine. The band has historically expanded into other areas of the entertainment industry, such as movies featuring band members. In fact, a Kiss biopic is set for release on Netflix in 2024. It’s a known fact that the rockers have always taken merchandising to another level beyond the ubiquitous band T-shirts with a dizzying array of products, including pinball machines, air guitar strings, and (believe it or not) coffins.
The rockers are widely known as the kings of merchandising, which has led to Kiss featuring in a wide range of board games and video games. Now the band is joining fellow rockers Guns N’ Roses at the cutting edge of technology with the band immortalized in an officially branded slot game: KISS – Reels of Rock. The game takes players on a world tour with the band featuring Starchild, the Demon, the Spaceman, and the Catman and a selection of Kiss hits. The slot titles featuring the rock gods are among the games on offer at Jackpot Village Casino, currently ranked as the #2 best casino according to Canadian online casino reviews. With online casinos offering players as many as 2,000 slot titles, the association with popular rock bands enables online casino operators to stand out in a competitive industry.
The end is nigh…or is it?
The North American tour dates have been described as the “absolute final shows”, and Paul Stanley highlighted the particularly gruelling schedule involved in a lengthy tour with a band like Kiss, expressing his envy of artists who can perform in jeans and t-shirts: “We’re athletes; we’re running around on stage with 30, 40, pounds of gear, and it’s not possible to do it that much longer.”
Bassist Gene Simmons revealed to Howard Stern that he is sure to be emotional when the end of the tour, which has received rave reviews in the press, finally arrives as the band spoke to the US radio star dressed in their famous outfits complete with full makeup.
So, this year could be the final chance for the Kiss Army to see the band perform in the flesh. Or could it? Kiss performed a farewell tour in 2000, and the rockers are still going strong 23 years later. Stanley has stated it is the end of touring for the band, but it would be foolish to rule out one-off performances or even a Las Vegas residency for a band that just won’t quit!
