Farewell Tour - 2000 - '01
Stage Props:
Pre-Show "hum"
Giant KISS Logo Curtain Before Show
Two Animated KISS Logos
Gene Spitting Blood
Gene Breathing Fire
Gene Flying
Paul Flying
Ace Smoking, Shooting, Flying Guitar
Ace's UFO Guitar
Fire Engine Lights
Fire Engine Siren
Platform Risers
Lighting Rig Platform
Dry Ice Smoke
Flash Pots
Bombs
Fireworks
Pyrotechnics
Drum Riser
Confetti
Giant Video Screen
Amplifier Stacks
KISS Army Banners
Flamethrowers (Gas Based)
Paul Smashing Guitar
Paul's T-shirt Cannon
Eric's Flaming Drum Sticks
Ace playing the encores in a KISS t-shirt in the August summer heat in St.Louis.
Typical Setlist:
01.'Detroit Rock City'
02. 'Deuce'
03. 'Shout It Out Loud
04. 'I Love It Loud'
05. 'Shock Me'
06. 'Firehouse'
08. 'Psycho Circus'
09. 'Calling Dr. Love'
10. 'Let Me Go, Rock N' Roll'
11. '2,000 Man'
12. 'Heaven's On Fire'
13. 'Lick It Up'
14. 'God Of Thunder'
15. 'Cold Gin'
16. '100,000 Years'
17. 'Love Gun'
18. 'Black Diamond'
Encore:
19. 'Beth' or
20. 'I Was Made For Lovin' You'
21. 'Rock And Roll All Nite'
Special Shows / Happenings:
- Blockbuster Desert Sky Pavilion, Phoenix, AZ, March 11, 2000 -
VH1 webcast a part of the show and broadcast the opening of the show.
- Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, CA, March 18, 2000 -
This show was full of bad luck, first Gene's flying rig malfunctioned causing Gene to be suspended a few feet above the stage and he had to be rescued by the crew. Next was Paul's flying rig malfunctioning while he was right above the audience. After the crew rescued a tired Paul after a few minutes and he was back on the main stage, his guitar refused to work after they restarted into 'Love Gun', when his guitar tech came to retrieve his guitar, he even forgot to bring a new one!
- Oakland Arena, Oakland, CA, March 23, 2000 -
A 36 year old KISS fan fell from 100 feet from the third tier from a concrete retaining wall in the Oakland Arena and died in the hospital.
- TECO Arena, Ft. Meyers, FL, April 9, 2000 -
Gene and Paul's flying rigs once again malfunctioned and a flamethrower scorched a piece of the lighting rig that left the lights smoldering.
- Bi-Lo - Center, Greenville, SC, April 21, 2000 -
After a show was over, the band would thank the city on the main screen with a (example) text: "Thank You Detroit!". Screen operator John Bestwick of Nocturne was in charge of changing the screen's text every night, as touring so much can make you forget in what town you are at that moment he accidentally put in the text "Thank You Greenfield!" This was only seen on the screen for a second, but the damage was already done and the media still noticed it and blew it out of proportion so much that the band decided to send a signed letter to the local newspaper:
"To our friends in Greenville: We want to apologize to our fans in Greenville for a mistake made by a video technician who erroneously referred to your city as 'Greenfield' at the end of our show Saturday night. It has always been KISS' mission to give you the greatest rock and roll show and to treat you with the respect you deserve."
- Gund Arena, Cleveland, OH, May 6, 2000 -
Ace added a third rocket to his guitar, the first two would be shot at bags of confetti hanging in the lighting rig and the third one was shot over the crowd.
- Allstate Arena, Chicago, IL, May 11, 2000 -
This concert at the Allstate Arena in Chicago was cyber-cast on the internet on Pepsi's website.
- Marcus Amphitheatre, Milwaukee, WI, May 19, 2000 -
The main video screen was plagued with electrical issues because of a bad power source in Milwaukee. This caused the main video screen to turn off and on during the first two songs and the crew eventually had to turn the screen off for the rest of the show. This in return angered Gene who was pissed that the crowd did not see him on the stage doing his Demon shtick. Bob Brigham of Nocturne who was in charge of the screen, happened to be sharing a ride with Gene from and to the hotel, Bob encountered a fan from the show at a gas station and asked if he was at the show, he replied with that he did and that it was the best KISS show he had ever seen, upon hearing this he asked to repeat that for Gene in the car, after the fan repeated the line and realized it was Gene, Gene ended up signing 10 autographs for the fan and his family. Hearing the fan's reaction perked up Gene's mood for the rest of the car ride! During the show Paul's flying rig once again malfunctioned.
Paul and Ace had a verbal disagreement on stage before '2,000 Man', when Ace returned to the stage after changing his guitar Ace said:
"That's why we love Paul! He's Mr. Friendly!"
- Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ, June 27, 2000 -
This show was professionally recorded in High Definition by NHK with six cameras for a special pay per view edition of the show. Skid Row bassist Dave Sabo had a Pro Tools System and seeing it was his system, he and John Bestwick of Nocturne would edit the show together for five weeks straight, the original cut was in widescreen but this was not accepted by Showtime who was to air the PPV and they had to convert the show to the 4:3 format.
- Skyreach Center, Edmonton, AB, Canada, July 20, 2000 -
Due to severe storms and flooding in the area, the Skyreach Centre was running on reserve power because of power outages in the area.
- Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA, August 11, 2000 -
Ace missed his airplane, according to Ace in his memoir "No Regrets", he had to deal with a dead deer in his pool. Paul's memoir "Face The Music" stated that the limo driver was waiting for hours in front of Ace's house and Ace refused to come outside making excuses to Tommy Thayer who managed to reach him by phone. Ace managed to catch a flight the next day, but now the plane had a delay! Ace had to be brought to the venue via helicopter after the plane landed. When Ace arrived, Tommy Thayer was already in makeup and costume ready to take the stage as they thought he would never make it. Gene and Ace had a custom fit Spaceman costume made for Tommy as a insurance policy if Ace did not make a show as he was a chronic late arriver. Ace arrived 20 minutes before showtime so the band had to delay the show for a hour so he could apply his makeup, when Ace walked into the locker room, he seemed surprised by Tommy in full makeup and costume but showed no remorse.
- Mississippi Coliseum, Jackson, MS, August 19, 2000 -
Ace was invited by his cousin Bill, to come over for a barbecue, Bill had a gun collection and Ace, Bill and friends ended up shooting guns on Bill's 10 acre property. For some reason Ace decided to use a Uzi of all weapons to have fun with. After shooting off many rounds with the weapon, the weapon jammed but Ace kept on pressing the trigger and the weapon blew up and send bullet shrapnel's right in his chest. Ace who was obviously already drunk did not even notice anything from the shrapnel embedded under his skin of his chest until his cousin Bill noted why there was blood all over his shirt. Even though Bill wanted to take him to a hospital, Ace wanted to go to his hotel and take a nap. Later he woke up feeling disoriented and nauseous, Ace called the front desk and probably should have picked better words as he stated he got shot! Before he knew it, Ace's room was flooded with emergency personnel and police. Doc McGhee, KISS's manager, called in for an ambulance to take Ace to the hospital to get treatment. Bullet fragments were removed but some were left behind as they could not get them removed and he was send home with antibiotics and painkillers and he played the show next night at Jackson, MS. When Ace showed up at the show, the rest of the band did not seem concerned at all on what happened with Ace. This was a clear rock star case of "Ace being Ace".
- Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, CT, October 3, 2000 -
Sal Governale, known as "Sal The Stockbroker" for his appearances at Howard Stern's radio show, was apparently doing "facial gestures" towards Gene from the front row, after being warned by security staff for a third time he was escorted out of the building and the entire event was played up on Howard Stern's show.
- New Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, NC, October 6, 2000 -
A fan threw blue roses on the stage while Peter was performing 'Beth', blue roses were the favorite of Peter's mother who passed away a few years prior. Peter was touched by the gesture and choked up when he thanked the fan while singing at the same time.
North Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, SC, October 7, 2000
This was the last show of the tour, a few shows earlier, Peter was told by Ace, that he was making more money than Peter and even got a cut from the merchandise. This pissed Peter off even more as he was negotiating for months to get a even cut with the rest of the band. Peter started adding a teardrop to his makeup because he felt screwed over. At the Charleston show, Peter destroyed his drum kit to send a statement or just to vent his anger. According to Peter in his memoir "Makeup to Breakup", Paul walked backstage and probably walked straight to a car waiting as Peter did not even see him, Gene or Ace when he walked backstage to remove his makeup. Oddly enough, this footage ended up on Kissology 3 as bonus footage after the credits of the Last KISS concert.
- Yokohama Arena, Yokohama, Japan, March 9, 2001 -
This was Eric Singer's first KISS show in the Catman makeup
Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia, April 5th, 2001
During the medley, Gene was clearly getting annoyed at Ace playing unrehearsed songs. Gene is well known to not remember his lyrics or the music and eventually after they played a piece of 'She', Gene getting annoyed said into the microphone "What does the Ace Frehley band wanna do next?" Ace instantly started playing into 'Rocket Ride'with an emotionless expression on his face pissing Gene off even more. A security guard stated that later on he heard Gene backstage asking Ace: "What the fuck was that man!?" Ace stood up out of his chair and said "Rock and roll baby!!"
- Carrara Stadium, Gold Coast, Australia, April 13, 2001 -
The last show with Ace Frehley as the Spaceman. According to Ace in "No Regrets", he brought a girlfriend into the dressing room and punched Tommy Thayer! A rule was set that no girlfriend or wife was allowed in the dressing room. Gene's girlfriend Shannon Tweed and Paul's back than wife Pam, were regulars in the dressing room and Ace never said anything about it, Ace's girlfriend asked if she could come inside and seeing everyone was already gone, Ace invited her in. Tommy Thayer apparently saw this and made him aware of the rule, Ace in return stated that everyone was already gone and it was the last show anyway. Tommy stood by the rule like some kind of locker room security guard, Ace walked over to him and punched him right on the jaw, Tommy got knocked on his ass more shocked than hurt. Later on in the jet, Ace apologized to Tommy but he seemed according to Ace, reluctant to accept his apology.