Kiss
Viejas Arena turns up in the first round of announced dates for Kiss’s End of the Road World Tour, for a February 7 performance that the band promises in a press release to be “the ultimate celebration” and “our biggest show yet.” As to whether it’s actually the end of the road for the costumed entrepreneurs, who’ve been creating entry level rock for over 40 years, that’s certainly open to interpretation. They once swore never to put the makeup back on, as well as promising nobody would ever portray existing characters created by ex-bandmembers. But when your bassist famously swears he never drank alcohol, took drugs, or paid prostitutes – and yet sings of partying every day and does photo shoots with porn stars – it’s more evident than ever that truth isn’t truth.
As far as we know, the touring lineup will consist of co-founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley backed by the usual two guys pretending to be Ace and Peter. But the real Ace Frehley (who currently lives in San Diego) recently recorded with Simmons and has mentioned publicly that he’d like to be part of the “farewell” tour, and supposedly retired drummer Peter Criss must be running low on old Kiss action figures to sell off by now. At this writing, only a few ticket packages have been announced, with seat prices averaging $30 to $1000. There are two VIP options, a “Captains Lounge” meet and greet that includes a dedicated VIP entrance, a photo op with Kiss, and a hospitality lounge with a bar serving beer, wine, and Kiss’ signature End of the Road cocktail. The regular VIP meet and greet comes with a commemorative laminate and “access to crowd-free merchandise shopping.”