Kiss is ready for the End of the Road farewell tour. And it leads to Florida

UPDATE: Kiss performs its End of the Road World Tour Aug. 9 at Sunrise’s BB&T Center.

Critics have been trying to end the reign of Kiss since the Kabuki-costumed New Yorkers released their first album in 1973.

Forty-five years of derision, the departure of core members, and a Kiss Farewell Tour in 2000-2001 didn’t bring an end to the concert opening rallying cry: “You wanted the best, you got the best, the hottest band in the land, KISS!”

But age might finally do it.

On Monday, Kiss announced the first wave of concert dates for its End of the Road World Tour through promoter Live Nation. There are two Florida dates on this leg of the North American tour: April 11 at Tampa’s Amalie Arena and April 12 at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.

A Miami date is not listed — the last date listed is April 13 in Alabama, and the tour begins Jan. 31 in Vancouver, Canada. But Kiss almost always includes a South Florida stop and this is just the first wave of dates. So don’t worry, Kiss Army. You’ll likely get your chance at another round of hearing “Lick It Up,” “Detroit Rock City” and “Rock and Roll All Nite” before Kiss calls it a day.

And call it a day founding members Gene Simmons, 69, and Paul Stanley, 66, ensure. Kind of.

“One thing for sure is that this is the last tour,” Stanley told Billboard. “What goes beyond that is really hard to say. The tour may go three years, but once we play your city, it is done. That is our big thank you.”

The lineup features the current version of the band — Simmons, Stanley, Tommy Thayer, 57, and Eric Singer, 60. But Stanley has hinted that former members like Ace Frehley, 67, and Peter Criss, 72, could make appearances, but he isn’t promising anything beyond a longer set and newly designed band costumes.

Simmons recently co-wrote two songs for Frehley’s new album, “Spaceman,” playing bass on the opening track, “Without You I’m Nothing,” and toured with him in Australia. Stanley sang with Frehley on the former Kiss guitarist’s covers album, “Origins Vol. 1,” in 2016.

In January, Frehley was a surprise guest at Simmons’ in-store appearance at Wynwood’s Walt Grace Vintage cars and guitars emporium.

And Frehley (and Bruce Kulick, 64, who played lead guitar for Kiss in the mid-1980s on albums like “Asylum,” “Crazy Nights” and “Revenge”) is a part of the Kiss Kruise VIII that sailed out of Miami to Key West and Nassau on Halloween through Nov. 5.

(Kulick played Fort Lauderdale’s Revolution Tuesday night, Oct. 30.)

On Tuesday, Rolling Stone speculated on how Kiss could really make this End of the Road farewell tour special, with suggestions for the playing of full albums like “Love Gun” and “Destroyer,” and the inclusion of ‘80s members Kulick and Vinnie Vincent for a song or two to help honor all eras of the band. We’d agree.

Tickets to the general public will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 2, via LiveNation.com.

This story was originally published October 30, 2018 at 11:38 AM.