Dressed to Kill Tour (Kiss)

Dressed To Kill Tour

Tour by Kiss
Associated album	Dressed to Kill
Start date	March 19, 1975 (1975-03-19)
End date	August 28, 1975 (1975-08-28)
No. of shows	65
Kiss concert chronology
Hotter than Hell Tour (1974–1975) Dressed to Kill Tour (1975) Alive! Tour (1975–1976)

The Dressed to Kill Tour was the fourth tour of American hard rock band Kiss. The tour was in support of the album Dressed to Kill , and took place in 1975 throughout the United States.

In the tour program for the band's final tour, Stanley reflected on the tour:

Headlining at Cobo Hall in Detroit for the first time was a real eye opener. It was happening for us at that time. The roller coaster had gone over the top and we were on the ride. I could sense that we were really on our way. I don't think I ever doubted that I was going to succeed. Maybe the best way to succeed is to never doubt it. You may fail but I think the most important thing is having that determination and belief in yourself. ^[1]

Background

When Kiss was the opening act for Black Sabbath at their performances, Ozzy Osbourne recalled: "When the Kiss army was happening, they blew us to smithereens. Pyro? Jeezus Christ, they were unreal. It was frightening going on after them." ^[2]

Reception

A reviewer for the Oregonian who attended the May 24 performance in Portland gave the show a positive review, stating: "Kiss is certainly a Portland band. Not born in the city, but its appearances have been met with rollicking capacity houses at the Paramount Northwest theater. Well, Saturday night was no exception... There's something going on every minute onstage; not so much the dramatic outpourings of, say, an Alice Cooper, but in the continual interplay between the four members of the group as they utilize the entire stage for their monster-movie shenanigans. And it's all in fun; there's really very little to take seriously in this act. The theater rock effects are handled in a disciplined - if loose - manner while thunderous music practically blows your head away with decibels... Hair flies and bodies shake, and Kiss works to exhaustion. Musically, it's all rock and roll - and loud. Super loud. Extremely loud..." ^[3]

A Charleston Gazette reporter who had attended the June 22 performance in Charleston had given a mixed review however, and said: "Next to Kiss, Alice Cooper and the New York Dolls make sense. This group of four men, thinks the concert is a costume party and they come dressed to kill. Kiss is weird, but its music is solid rock 'n' roll... It's hard to know exactly what to make of Kiss, this group with the Halloween makeup and exaggerated motions. They sometimes act as if they're not quite sure what their instruments are for, but when they play them, it's obvious they do... They call Kiss the hottest band in America. I'm not sure about that, but they certainly are the weirdest. ^[4]

Setlist

Songs played overall "Deuce" "Strutter" "Got to Choose" "Hotter than Hell" "Firehouse" "She" Ace Frehley guitar solo "Nothin' to Lose" "Room Service" "Watchin' You" "Two Timer" "C'mon and Love Me" "Let Me Know" "Strange Ways" "Rock Bottom" "Parasite" Gene Simmons bass solo "100,000 Years" Peter Criss drum solo "Black Diamond" Encore "Cold Gin" "Rock and Roll All Nite" "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll"

Typical setlist "Deuce" "Strutter" "Got to Choose" "Hotter than Hell" "Firehouse" "She" and Ace Frehley guitar solo "Nothin' to Lose" "C'mon and Love Me" "Gene Simmons bass solo" "100,000 Years" Peter Criss drum solo "Black Diamond" Encore "Cold Gin" "Rock and Roll All Nite" "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll"

Tour dates

Date [5]	City	Country	Venue	Support Act(s)
March 19, 1975	Northampton	United States	Roxy Theater	Passport
March 21, 1975	New York City		Beacon Theatre	Jo Jo Gunne
March 27, 1975	Kenosha		Kenosha Ice Arena	Rush
March 28, 1975	Toledo		Toledo Sports Arena	ZZ Top
April 4, 1975	Hartland		Nordic Ice Arena	Mike Quatro Jam Band Smack Dab
April 6, 1975	Washington, D.C.		Lisner Auditorium	Rush Heavy Metal Kids
April 8, 1975	Akron		Akron Civic Theatre
April 9, 1975	Erie		Erie County Field House	Rush Vitale's Madmen
April 11, 1975	Dayton		Palace Theater	Heavy Metal Kids
April 12, 1975	Normal		ISU Union Auditorium	Rush
April 13, 1975	Kansas City		Memorial Hall	Golden Earring Vitale's Madmen
April 15, 1975	Pittsburgh		Stanley Theatre	Rush Heavy Metal Kids
April 17, 1975	Burlington		Burlington Memorial Auditorium
April 19, 1975	Palatine		William Fremd High School	Rush
April 21, 1975	Louisville		Memorial Auditorium
April 22, 1975	Indianapolis		Indiana Convention Center	Rush Status Quo
April 24, 1975	Johnson City		Freedom Hall Civic Center	Rush Heavy Metal Kids
April 25, 1975	Charlotte		Charlotte Park Center	Rush
April 26, 1975	Fayetteville		Cumberland County Memorial Arena	Rush Atlanta Rhythm Section
April 27, 1975	Richmond		Richmond Arena	Rush Oblivion Express M-S Funk
April 29, 1975	Lansing		Lansing Metro Theater	Salem Witchcraft
April 30, 1975	Columbus		Columbus Veterans Memorial Auditorium	Status Quo
May 3, 1975	Upper Darby		Tower Theater	Amboy Dukes Rush
May 6, 1975	Milwaukee		Riverside Theater	Rush
May 8, 1975	Romeoville		Lewis University
May 9, 1975	Ada		King Horn Center Gym	James Gang The Flock
May 10, 1975	Landover		Capital Centre	ZZ Top
May 11, 1975	Boston		Orpheum Theatre	Hunter-Ronson Journey
May 16, 1975	Detroit		Cobo Arena	Diamond Reo
May 17, 1975	Johnstown		Cambria County War Memorial Arena	Rush
May 19, 1975	St. Paul		Civic Center Theater	Hydra
May 23, 1975	Medford		Medford Armory	Rush
May 24, 1975	Portland		Paramount Theatre
May 25, 1975	Seattle		Paramount Theatre
May 26, 1975	Portland		Paramount Theatre
May 27, 1975	Spokane		Spokane Coliseum
May 29, 1975	Las Vegas		Sahara Space Center
May 31, 1975	Long Beach		Long Beach Arena	James Gang
June 1, 1975	San Francisco		Winterland Ballroom	Rush The Tubes
June 6, 1975	Fresno		Warnors Theatre	Rush
June 7, 1975	San Diego		San Diego Civic Theater
June 13, 1975	Tulsa		Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion	Rare Earth Point Blank
June 14, 1975	Austin		Austin Coliseum	Rare Earth
June 15, 1975	Corpus Christi		Memorial Coliseum
June 18, 1975	Jackson		Jackson Sports Arena	Salem Witchcraft
June 20, 1975	Salem		Salem Civic Center	Montrose
June 21, 1975	Cleveland		Cleveland Music Hall	Journey
June 22, 1975	Charleston		Charleston Civic Center	Montrose Journey
June 25, 1975	Asbury Park		Asbury Park Convention Hall	Skyscraper
June 27, 1975	Asheville		Asheville Civic Center	Montrose
June 28, 1975	Greenville		Greenville Memorial Auditorium
July 1, 1975	Port Chester		Capitol Theatre	—
July 5, 1975	Tampa		Tampa State Fairgrounds (Florida Jam)
July 20, 1975	Davenport		RKO Orpheum Theater	Journey
July 23, 1975	Wildwood		Wildwoods Convention Center	Mushroom
August 2, 1975	Baltimore		Baltimore Civic Center	Black Sabbath
August 3, 1975	Providence		Providence Civic Center
August 14, 1975	Boston		Orpheum Theater
August 15, 1975	Saginaw		Wendler Arena	The Flock
August 16, 1975	Muskegon		L. C. Walker Arena
August 17, 1975	Pekin		Pekin Memorial Stadium	REO Speedwagon Ted Nugent Smokehouse
August 23, 1975	Hempstead		Calderone Concert Hall	The Flock
August 25, 1975	Harrisburg		State Farm Arena	REO Speedwagon
August 27, 1975	Owensboro		Owensboro Sportscenter	Hydra
August 28, 1975	Indianapolis	Indiana Convention Center	Uriah Heep Alanta Rhythm Section

Personnel

• Paul Stanley – vocals, rhythm guitar
• Gene Simmons – vocals, bass
• Peter Criss – drums, vocals
• Ace Frehley – lead guitar, backing vocals

References

1. (2019). End of the Road World Tour Program, pg. 7.
2. Kerrang! #54
3. Oregonian, May 25, 1975
4. Charleston Gazette, June 23, 1975
5. Gooch, Curt; Suhs, Jeff (2002). Kiss Alive Forever: The Complete Touring History. New York: Billboard Books. ISBN   0-8230-8322-5.

Sources

• Gooch, Curt; Suhs, Jeff (2002). Kiss Alive Forever: The Complete Touring History. New York: Billboard Books. ISBN   0-8230-8322-5.