KISS farewell tour to make a stop at Wells Fargo Arena
KISS threw some love Iowa’s way Monday morning with the announcement that the group will be making one last stop in central Iowa next September on their aptly named “End of the Road” retirement tour, a three-year jaunt around the globe to give fans one last time to “lick them up.”
And this time, it looks legit.
The creators of “Rock and Roll All Night,” “Love Gun,” “Christine Sixteen,” “Calling Dr. Love” and a wealth of other crotch-infused, sing-along gems have influenced many a rocker over the decades, will bring their larger-than-life staging and catalog of hits to Des Moines’ Wells Fargo Arena one last time on Sept. 3, 2019.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers, led by guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley and the fire-breathing demon himself, Gene Simmons, have sold more than 100 million albums worldwide over the course of their 40-plus years of performing since first getting together in New York in the early 1970s. But like a few of their rock n’ roll brethren, the quartet, rounded out by guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer, have also suffered the “We’re in/we’re out/we’re in/we’re out” syndrome (get your minds out of the gutter, folks) with regard to retirement . Twice, the group has announced their “retirement,” only to find themselves back onstage soon after.
But as Stanley’s high-pitch vocal tenor fades, and the number 70 creeps up on both Stanley and Simmons, all signs are pointing to this truly being the band’s wan song.
