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One year on from their final live appearance, New York rock outfit Kiss have celebrated the anniversary of their split with a new video recap of their last show.
The final performance – which took place on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023 – saw the veteran group return to New York City’s Madison Square Garden for the final date of their protracted End of the Road farewell tour.
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“One year ago, today – December 2, 2023 – The last KISS Tour ever reached The End Of The Road with one final epic performance at Madison Square Garden in New York City!” the group wrote on social medoa. “Re-live the magic of that night with this awesome MSG concert recap.”
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Across 23 tracks, the band waved goodbye to their legions of fans with a fitting set full of their famous hits and live favorites – complete with their trademark stage spectacle. The concert was also streamed live via PPV.COM, and now Kiss have shared a new video capturing footage of the band before the 20,000-strong crowd.
Notably, Kiss’ final show was accompanied by the news that the group intend to live on as digital avatars after their split. The band made the surprise announcement at the end of the show, with vocalist/guitarist Paul Stanley telling fans “your love, your power, has made us immortal”.
“The new Kiss era stars now!” he added.
Kiss’ avatars were created by George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic, in partnership with Sweden’s Pophouse Entertainment Group, according to the Associated Press. The companies previously collaborated on the ABBA Voyage show in London, a virtual concert performed by the Swedish pop group.
“Kiss could have a concert in three cities in the same night across three different continents. That’s what you could do with this,” Pophouse CEO told the AP.
Though specifics were not made clear at the time, the band announced only weeks later that their digital appearances would kick off in Las Vegas 2027. ““It’s a must-see, go-to experience,” Stanley told Billboard’s Behind the Setlist podcast this year. “It’s beyond anything that anyone else has contemplated.”
“We’re creating something that’s not a concert,” he added. “The idea of a hologram — and it’s not a hologram, but that term seems to get thrown around a lot — but the idea a simulated concert is not what we want to do. Frankly, I would find that boring.”
Marty Friedman, the former lead guitarist of Megadeth, recently shared a surprising story about how he missed out on a chance to join KISS because he was “too short”.
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In an interview with Sam Ash Music, Friedman, best known for his decade-long tenure with Megadeth from 1990 to 2000, was asked if there was any KISS song he would have liked to play guitar on.
His response revealed a fascinating piece of rock history: “I would’ve wanted to be on any KISS song. I’ll give you a quick story about that – when they were changing guitar players a long time ago, I got a call from KISS’ people.”
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The conversation quickly took an unexpected turn when KISS’s management started asking Friedman a series of questions, seemingly unrelated to his guitar skills.
“They say like, ‘Do you think you’d be interested in auditioning for KISS?’ I’m like, ‘Tell me when and where.’ They came back and were like, ‘We’ve got a couple of questions for you. You don’t have any facial hair, do you?’ No. ‘You got long hair right?’ Right. ‘You’re skinny right?’ Right. ‘And you’re over 6 feet tall?’ and I’m like, ‘What? I’m 5’7 but I’ll have an operation, I’ll do something.’”
Unfortunately for Friedman, his height proved to be a deal-breaker. “They were like, ‘I’m sorry, it’s not going to work out.’ I was so bummed.”
Despite the disappointment, Friedman acknowledged the importance of image for a group like KISS. “I get why they did it. KISS is meticulous about their image, and having a height difference wouldn’t fit the band’s aesthetic.”
This attention to their image was crucial for KISS, one of rock’s most theatrical and elaborate bands. Formed in 1973 in New York City, KISS quickly became known for their blood-spurting, fire-spitting, face-painted performances. The group have delivered numerous hits to the Billboard Hot 100, including classics like “Rock and Roll All Nite” (1975).
This year, the band made headlines again when Pophouse, a Swedish company known for its work with ABBA’s Voyage show, acquired KISS’s publishing, recording royalties, and trademarks. This includes the band’s iconic logo and makeup design.
“We have a lot of plans for KISS,” Pophouse CEO Per Sundin told Billboard in April. Although Sundin says the company bought out the rights owned by frontmen Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, they will work with the company to develop the show, which is expected to open in 2027 in a U.S. city that Sundin declined to name.
“We want to keep to the legacy,” Sundin says. “We want to extend it and amplify it for new generations.”
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Kiss fans from around the world will be able to watch the final stop on the End of the Road Tour at Madison Square Garden on Saturday (Dec. 2). The final KISS concert will be available to live stream on pay-per-view.
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Read on for more details on the show, plus when and how to watch from anywhere.
How to Watch
The End of the Road concert will stream live from Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Kiss fans can purchase the concert live stream for $39.99 at PPV.com. The digital ticket includes replay access.
Visit PPV.com to watch live or stream through the PPV app — you can find it in Apple’s App Store and the Google Play store. Watch live on a PC, laptop, TV, mobile phone and other compatible devices. PPV.com is compatible with Android 10+, iOS 15.0+, Mac OS 11, Window 10+ and Chrome, Safari and Firefox browsers.
Kiss is back on stage after canceling several dates on the End of the Road Tour as frontman Paul Stanley came recovered from the flu. The band has just two more shows ahead of the final show on Saturday.
Kiss will perform at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore on Wednesday, Nov. 29 before heading to New York for two, back-to-back performances at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 1 and Dec. 2.
Last-minute tickets to the three remaining shows in Baltimore and New York City are available online. Prices range from $89-$334 at Vivid Seats and $67-$319 at Seat Geek (use code: BILLBOARD10 to save $10 off eligible purchases of $250+. Valid on first purchase only).
Kiss announced the pay-per-view concert on Nov. 9 writing in an Instagram post “50 years of Rock ‘n’ Roll. 1 Final Show. Rock out with @kissonline one last time! Their final concert ever, LIVE from @thegarden, streaming exclusively worldwide on PPV.COM.”
Need something to wear to the Kiss concert? Shop End of the Road tour merch here.
Watch the trailer for the final concert below.
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