Psycho Circus World Tour

The Psycho Circus World Tour was a concert tour by the American rock band Kiss that started on October 31, 1998 and concluded on April 24, 1999.

Psycho Circus World Tour

Tour by Kiss
Associated album	Psycho Circus
Start date	October 31, 1998
End date	April 24, 1999
Legs	3
No. of shows	68 scheduled, 6 cancelled
Kiss concert chronology
Alive/Worldwide Tour (1996–1997) Psycho Circus World Tour (1998–1999) The Farewell Tour (2000–2001)

Background

This concert tour was the first to implement 3-D imagery and effects with glasses included, as well as a big video screen.^[1][2]

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

The Psycho Circus tour was far and above anything that people have ever seen. It started with a concept called "Psycho Circus" our manager Doc McGhee was talking about. He goes, "Wouldn't it be great if the tour was like a 'Psycho Circus' thing and anything was possible?" On that tour we utilized spectacular 3-D technology. There were certain parts of the show where the fans put on their 3D glasses to experience the full spectrum of the visual effects. With that tour, we wanted to bring back the fun to rock and roll with a kick-ass rock and roll show.^[3]

Reception

 

Kiss performing in Paris on March 21, 1999

A local reporter from the Los Angeles Times, gave the first show at Dodger Stadium a mixed review. The reporter noted on the wrinkles of the aging superstars 'creasing their Kabuki-style makeup' and the attraction of the over-the-top, 70s-vintage rock sound. Concluding the review, the reporter stated that what mattered the most to the band and the fans was 'preserving the sweetest essence of rock 'n' roll: attitude'.^[4]

A reviewer from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, gave the December 20, 1998 performance a positive review, stating: "The Kiss Army was treated to more than two hours of fireworks, 30-foot-high columns of flame, lascivious tongue-wriggling, pelvic gyrations, confetti blizzards, levitating drum risers, fake blood spitting, synchronized high-kicking, fire-breathing, and 3-D imagery splashed across several jumbo screens. There was music too, of course: fuzzy monster chords, throbbing bass, and anthem after anthem in praise of rocking all night and partying every day... the 3-D gimmick was a one-trick pony and not nearly as entertaining as the band's other shenanigans."^[5]

One reporter from Nashville, reported on Frehley during the show at the Nashville Arena on January 2, 1999, stating that the lead guitarist was smoking, noting on the special effects that his guitar's body had with the white smoke and Roman candle blasts fired to the arena's roof. The reporter concluded their review, stating on how every song was about how neato it is to rock and roll all night and party every day.^[6]

Setlist

1. "Psycho Circus"
2. "Shout It Out Loud"
3. "Deuce"
4. "Do You Love Me?"
5. "Firehouse"
6. "Shock Me"
7. "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll"
8. "Calling Dr. Love"
9. "Into the Void"
10. "King of the Night Time World"
11. "God of Thunder"
12. "Within"
13. "Cold Gin"
14. "Love Gun"
15. "100,000 Years"
16. "Rock and Roll All Nite"

Encore

17. "Beth"
18. "Detroit Rock City"
19. "Black Diamond"

• "She" and "Nothin' to Lose" only played in Dodger Stadium of Los Angeles.
• "Makin' Love" was added from the second show onwards but was dropped after a few performances.
• "Cold Gin" was dropped after Gothenburg show on March 5.
• "I Was Made for Lovin' You" was played early in the tour but was dropped after a few performances. It was played again on the European and Latin American tour.

Tour dates

List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, and opening acts

Date	City	Country	Venue	Opening Act(s)
North America^[7]
October 31, 1998	Los Angeles	United States	Dodger Stadium^1	The Smashing Pumpkins
November 12, 1998	Boston		FleetCenter	Econoline Crush
November 13, 1998
November 15, 1998	Albany		Pepsi Arena
November 16, 1998	Portland		Cumberland County Civic Center
November 18, 1998	University Park		Bryce Jordan Center
November 19, 1998	Washington, D.C.		MCI Center
November 21, 1998	Philadelphia		First Union Center
November 22, 1998	East Rutherford		Continental Airlines Arena	Ozone Monday
November 23, 1998	New York City		Madison Square Garden	Econoline Crush
November 25, 1998	Hartford		Hartford Civic Center
November 27, 1998	Uniondale		Nassau Coliseum
November 28, 1998	Rochester		War Memorial Arena
November 29, 1998	Buffalo		Marine Midland Arena
December 1, 1998	Montreal	Canada	Molson Centre
December 2, 1998	Toronto		SkyDome
December 4, 1998	Pittsburgh	United States	Civic Arena
December 5, 1998	Columbus		Value City Arena
December 6, 1998	Cleveland		Gund Arena
December 8, 1998	Charleston		Charleston Civic Center
December 9, 1998	Lexington		Rupp Arena
December 11, 1998	Fairborn		Ervin J. Nutter Center
December 12, 1998	Terre Haute		Hulman Center^2
December 13, 1998	Indianapolis		Market Square Arena^2
December 15, 1998	Minneapolis		Target Center
December 16, 1998	Omaha		Omaha Civic Auditorium
December 18, 1998	Rockford		Rockford MetroCentre
December 19, 1998	Cedar Rapids		Five Seasons Center
December 20, 1998	Milwaukee		Bradley Center
December 27, 1998	Madison		Dane County Expo Coliseum	Caroline's Spine
December 29, 1998	Rosemont		Rosemont Horizon
December 30, 1998	Grand Rapids		Van Andel Arena
December 31, 1998	Auburn Hills		The Palace of Auburn Hills
January 2, 1999	Nashville		Nashville Arena	Ozone Monday
January 31, 1999	Miami Gardens		Pro Player Stadium (Super Bowl XXXIII)^[8]	—
Europe^[7]
February 26, 1999	Helsinki	Finland	Hartwall Areena	Buckcherry
February 28, 1999	Oslo	Norway	Oslo Spektrum
March 2, 1999	Stockholm	Sweden	Globen Arena
March 3, 1999
March 4, 1999	Gothenburg		Scandinavium
March 5, 1999
March 7, 1999	Berlin	Germany	Berlin Velodrom
March 8, 1999	Cologne		Kölnarena
March 9, 1999	Frankfurt		Festhalle Frankfurt
March 11, 1999	Erfurt		Messehalle
March 12, 1999	Bremen		Bremen Stadthalle^3
March 13, 1999	Utrecht	Netherlands	Prins Van Oranjehal
March 15, 1999	Milan	Italy	Filaforum
March 17, 1999	Vienna	Austria	Wiener Stadthalle
March 18, 1999	Prague	Czech Republic	Prague Sports Hall
March 19, 1999	Munich	Germany	Olympiahalle
March 20, 1999	Stuttgart		Schleyerhalle
March 22, 1999	Paris	France	Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
March 23, 1999	Brussels	Belgium	Forest National
March 25, 1999	London	England	Wembley Arena
March 27, 1999	Dortmund	Germany	Westfalenhalle	Justice
March 28, 1999	Kiel		Ostseehalle	Natural Born Hippies
Latin America^[7]
April 10, 1999	Buenos Aires	Argentina	River Plate Stadium	Rammstein
April 15, 1999	Porto Alegre	Brazil	Hipodromo do Cristal
April 17, 1999	São Paulo		Autodromo de Interlagos
April 21, 1999	San Juan	Puerto Rico	Roberto Clemente Coliseum	Puya
April 24, 1999	Mexico City	Mexico	Foro Sol Stadium	Rammstein

• ^Note 1 The first show of the tour was broadcast on Fox TV's Halloween special and on the radio.
• ^Note 2 These shows were recorded and released as a live bonus EP, which was in support of the European leg.
• ^Note 3 Kiss was banned from performing from the venue, after setting off the pyrotechnics despite the warnings of the local fire marshal.^[9]

Postponed and cancelled dates

Date	City	Country	Venue	Reasoning
January 29, 1999	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	United States	National Car Rental Center	Poor ticket sales due to the Super Bowl
March 1, 1999	Copenhagen	Denmark	Forum Copenhagen	Low ticket sales / added dates in Sweden which would have forced the band to play 6 days in a row
April 1, 1999	Moscow	Russia	Olympic Arena	Russian political and security issues
April 2, 1999
April 4, 1999	St. Petersburg		SKK Peterburgskiy
April 13, 1999	Santiago	Chile	Velodrome Estadio Nacional	Logistical issues

Box office score data

List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, references

Date	City	Venue	Attendance	Gross	Ref(s)
November 21, 1998	Philadelphia	First Union Center	12,927 / 15,690	$566,130	^[10]
November 22, 1998	East Rutherford	Continental Airlines Arena	14,858 / 14,858	$748,945
November 23, 1998	New York City	Madison Square Garden	15,173 / 15,173	$797,900
November 25, 1998	Hartford	Civic Center	7,715 / 11,809	$300,820	^[11]
November 27, 1998	Uniondale	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum	12,773 / 14,007	$626,730	^[10]
December 11, 1998	Fairborn	Ervin J. Nutter Center	8,877 / 11,754	$337,457	^[11]
December 31, 1998	Auburn Hills	The Palace of Auburn Hills	14,431 / 14,431	$936,625	^[12]

Personnel

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

References

1. "20 YEARS AGO: KISS' 3-D 'PSYCHO CIRCUS' WORLD TOUR OPENS". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
2. Plain Dealer, 10/10/98
3. (2019). End of the Road World Tour Program, pg. 30.
4. Los Angeles Times, 11/2/1998
5. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12/21/1998
6. Tennessean, 1/2/1999
7. Gooch, Curt; Suhs, Jeff (2002). Kiss Alive Forever: The Complete Touring History. New York: Billboard Books. ISBN 0-8230-8322-5.
8. "Flashback To Kiss And Their Explosive, Over The Top Super Bowl XXXIII Pre-Game Show". Society of Rock. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
9. Wilkening, Matthew (March 12, 2017). "When Kiss Defied a Ban by Shooting All Their Pyro in 30 Seconds". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
10. "Amusement Business". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 12, 1998. p. 15. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
11. "Amusement Business". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 2. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. January 9, 1999. p. 10. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
12. "Amusement Business". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 4. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. January 23, 1999. p. 18. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 11, 2021.

Sources

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