KISS rocks and rolls all night in Baltimore

The first time I saw KISS, in 1997 at the Baltimore Arena, I was a few months shy of turning 12, and absolutely vibrating with excitement to see this crazy band with my dad and older brother. Fire! Explosions! Blood! Demons! Surely my life was about to change.

And I think it did. KISS being the third concert in my young life – and I had just started playing guitar – further cemented my devotion to the awesome power of rock ‘n’ roll. From the first notes of the night to the final singalong chorus of “Rock and Roll All Nite,” I was enthralled by the guitar theatrics, the pyrotechnics, the costumes and makeup, and the overall showmanship of the band and its enormous production.

To find myself photographing these icons at the same venue 26 years later was just, well, bananas. The question was, of course, whether KISS would bring that same frenetic energy that’s inspired grown men to paint their faces for 50 years, and turned me into a true believer two-and-a-half-decades ago.

I’m happy to report that Wednesday night’s show – the third-to-last show on the band’s End of the Road World Tour, and therefore the band’s third-to-last show ever – was a triumphant sendoff for these kings of rock.

Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” appropriately played over the PA as the lights dimmed and a giant KISS backdrop hanging over the stage lit up. The opening notes of “Detroit Rock City” played and the backdrop fell with the boom of the night’s first pyrotechnics. As the Starchild (lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley), the Demon (bassist Gene Simmons) and the Spaceman (lead guitarist Tommy Thayer) descended from the ceiling on platforms and Catman (drummer Eric Singer) hammered his drums, pyrotechnics went off with every strum of the guitars.

The band’s set focused mostly on classics but featured songs from all over the catalogue (1998’s “Psycho Circus” and 2009’s “Say Yeah” made appearances). CFG Bank Arena erupted with excitement as the band rocked songs like “Deuce” and “Cold Gin” from the band’s 1974 debut. The audience ate up fan favorites “Lick it Up” and “Calling Dr. Love.”

But KISS isn’t a band that just played the hits (which, in itself, would be enough). In addition to mesmerizing guitar and drum solos, epic theatrics ensued throughout the show. The drum riser went up another 20 or so feet, and platforms on the side of the stage carried Gene and Tommy up in the air. Not to mention … FIRE. So much fire. You could feel the warmth of the flames and the boom of the fireworks. In its nearly 50 years of touring, KISS has truly mastered the art of indoor fireworks (and performing in platform shoes).

Throughout the night, Paul waxed nostalgic about the many times the band played Baltimore since the mid-70s. In fact, in his pitched-up scream-speech between songs, I believe the word “Baltimore” was uttered no less than 500 times, much to the amusement of those around me. One of the coolest parts about KISS bringing their farewell jaunt to the city was that it was their last stop prior to closing their touring career with two nights at Madison Square Garden.

The best tricks were saved for late in the show, and they kicked off with Gene Simmons’ bass solo, which was really more a vehicle for him to spit (fake) blood out of his mouth. And how did Gene follow that up? By singing “God of Thunder” from 1976’s Destroyer from a platform that practically rose to the ceiling. Once he got back down to ground level, Paul took flight as he’d done for decades, soaring to a stage in the back of the arena to sing “Love Gun,” “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” and the first part of “Black Diamond.”

The encore kicked off with drummer Eric Singer, whiskers painted on his face, playing piano and singing lead on the ballad “Beth.” The band then rejoined its feline beat-keeper for “Do You Love Me.”

Of course, the quintessential KISS mission statement “Rock and Roll All Nite” closed the show with a truly spectacular site – Gene and Tommy stepped onto slanted light rigs that had platforms on the end, which brought them nearly to the level of the upper deck and spun them around 360 degrees. The confetti cannons shot off what someone told me was 1,000 pounds of confetti. It sounds like a lot, but I’ve never seen that much confetti. I lost sight of the band at some point when it was being pumped into the air full-force.

After blazing through one last “Rock and Roll All Nite,” Paul asked his beloved Baltimore audience for a favor, and promised one in return. “Baltimore, we’ll never forget you. Never forget us.”

So, did the KISS farewell tour live up to the hype? Hell yeah, it did! The band was tight, the vocals were on-point, the production was over-the-top, the atmosphere was festive … the whole experience simply rocked.

While my own musical journey has taken me all over the place and my tastes have broadened far beyond guitar-centric rock music, the concert was a great reminder of my first musical love and once again immortalized KISS as beacons of rock ‘n’ roll. I am still a believer.