KISS Download gig review 2022

June 11, 2022June 11, 2022 rocknews 3253 Views 0 Comments Ace Frehley, Destroyer, End of The Road World Tour, Gene Simmons, Glam metal, Glam rock, Hard rock, Heavy metal, KISS, metal, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, Rock, Rock and roll, Shock rock, The Catman, The Demon, The Spaceman, The Starchild 4 min read

Well, this is it The End of the Road World Tour, the final ever UK performance, and you just know it’s going to be epic. I first saw KISS in my 20’s, I’m 56 now and thanks to the makeup they still look exactly the same. The black curtain is covering the entire stage, the music has been pumped and the crowd are getting excited. The video of the band backstage is playing on the screens, it’s the same video that has been used on a million gigs before, but that doesn’t matter this is KISS.

YOU WANTED THE BEST, YOU GOT THE BEST, THE HOTTEST BAND IN THE WORLD, KISS

Down come Gene, Paul, and Tommy on individual platforms, flames fly up from the front of the stage, these guys are one of the last bands that know how to put on a pyrotechnics-filled festival scale show.

They kick off with one of many classics Detroit Rock City. The screens show archive footage of the band in the early days which just adds to the atmosphere as they kick-out hit after hit. Paul reminds us that this is the 4th time they have played Donnington and that they love us.

All the elements are here, Gene breathing fire, The drum solo with rising drum kit, Paul flying over the audience.

It’s time for the last song and it has to be Rock and Roll all night, off goes the confetti cannons, the audience knows every word and sing it for them. Out of nowhere giant KISS beach balls get thrown around the audience. A perfect end to an amazing gig.

This is day one of three at Download and I can’t see any of the other headline acts coming anywhere near this. This may be it for the UK but you can still catch them in other countries, see below for a full list of tour dates.