KISS says goodbye to Memphis with spectacle-filled finale at FedExForum
By Bob Mehr / Memphis Commercial Appeal
Roughly four miles and 45 years separated rock band KISS’s first appearance in Memphis from its last. In April of 1974, the group – fresh off the release of their self-titled debut – played Lafayette’s Music Room in Overton Square; on Saturday night the group brought its “End of the Road” farewell tour downtown for a stop at the FedExForum.
Other than distance and time (and some 100 million in record sales), little separated the two Bluff City performances. Both were spectacles – monuments even – to deliciously over-the-top theatrics, swaggeringly silly rock songs, and the strange power of four guys in makeup and platforms playing power chords.
The FedExForum – like most of the venues on KISS’s final victory lap – was sold out, packed with partisans young and old (though more of the latter), eager for an evening of mindless rock bliss. They were not disappointed.
Following their familiar howling intro (“You wanted the best… you got the best!) the group descended from the rafters, riding flying saucers and playing “Detroit Rock City.” KISS concerts are as much about production as music, and the opening number confirmed the fact, offering all manner of flames, fireworks, explosions and wild mugging by the band.
The group -- led by its two founders, front man Paul Stanley and bassist Gene Simmons, with Tommy Thayer on guitar and Eric Singer on drums – delivered a 20-song exercise in customer satisfaction. KISS may be many things, but subtle is not one of them. Every move, every gesture, every bit of between song banter, every piece of pyrotechnics was designed to feel as big to those in the rafters as those sitting in the front rows. “Saturday, February 23rd is a night,” screeched Stanley, “YOU…WILL…NEVER…FORGET!”
