| Concert Tour Name: | Dynasty Tour |
| Artist: | Kiss |
| Album: | Dynasty |
| Start Date: | June 15, 1979 |
| End Date: | December 16, 1979 |
| Number Of Legs: | 2 |
| Number Of Shows: | 82 played, 8 cancelled |
| Last Tour: | Alive II Tour (1977–1978) |
| This Tour: | Dynasty Tour (1979) |
| Next Tour: | Unmasked Tour (1980) |
The Dynasty Tour was a concert tour by the rock band Kiss. It was also the final tour with original member Peter Criss until the Alive/Worldwide Tour in 1996.
The Dynasty Tour, also known as "The Return of Kiss", was the first tour to feature the famous flying stunt by Gene Simmons. This was also the first tour to feature Ace Frehley's "lighted guitar" and his rocket-shooting guitar, where after his smoke-spewing guitar solo, the still-smoking guitar would float up.[1] As it was floating upward, he would appear with another guitar, aim the neck at the floating guitar, shoot the rockets, and blow it up. John Elder Robison, who served as a technician for the band during the late 1970's, documented the lengths he went to create the elaborate effects for the tour.[2] A trick was designed for Paul Stanley that involved his putting on a headset and shooting a laser out of his left eye to mock the effect seen in Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park the year before. After several runthroughs, both Stanley and manager Bill Aucoin nixed the idea, citing the danger involved.
The tour, dubbed "The Return Of Kiss", also saw a decline in audience. Additional dates at the Pontiac Silverdome were cancelled. Reviews and recordings have confirmed the tour was also of poor musical quality. This was the last tour with Peter Criss on drums until 1996. He would later admit he would intentionally stop playing during shows just to upset the rest of the band.[3]
This tour is also famous for being the only tour to feature songs from all four members’ solo albums. Simmons performed "Radioactive", Criss performed "Tossin' and Turnin'", Frehley performed "New York Groove", and Stanley performed "Move On". Simmons' and Criss' songs were replaced with more familiar songs early in the tour. Criss' song "Dirty Livin" was reportedly rehearsed, but never performed.
Frehley stated in various interviews that Kiss was becoming a youth-oriented band. It was because kids were showing up dressed in costume and make-up for their shows along with their parents.[4]
In the tour program for the band's final tour, Stanley reflected on the tour:
Roman Kozak from Billboard opened his review, stating that there was nothing quite like a Kiss concert. He noted on the addition of audiences who were in their preteens and teens, adding that they were quite pleased by the extravagant performance. Kozak pointed out that while the band had done little to its basic formula, they played a "thunderous heavy metal music" and said they were as good as they needed to be, in which there was hardly a dull moment with the usage of special effects, as well as the new addition of Gene Simmons levitating 30feet to the top of the lighting truss, which had impressed the audience.[5]
Encore
Encore
| Date[6] | City | Country | Venue | Opening Act(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 15, 1979 | Lakeland | United States | Lakeland Civic Center | Nantucket |
| June 17, 1979 | Hollywood Sportatorium | |||
| June 19, 1979 | The Sweet | |||
| June 22, 1979 | Whiteface | |||
| June 24, 1979 | Nantucket | |||
| June 26, 1979 | Greenville Memorial Auditorium | |||
| June 28, 1979 | Asheville Civic Center | |||
| June 30, 1979 | The Omni Coliseum | New England | ||
| July 3, 1979 | Nantucket | |||
| July 5, 1979 | New England | |||
| July 7, 1979 | Capital Centre | |||
| July 8, 1979 | ||||
| July 10, 1979 | Roanoke Civic Center | |||
| July 13, 1979 | Cheap Trick New England | |||
| July 16, 1979 | Lexington | Rupp Arena | New England | |
| July 18, 1979 | Richfield Coliseum | |||
| July 19, 1979 | ||||
| July 21, 1979 | Pittsburgh Civic Arena | |||
| July 24, 1979 | Madison Square Garden | |||
| July 25, 1979 | ||||
| July 28, 1979 | Cumberland County Civic Center | |||
| July 31, 1979 | Providence Civic Center | |||
| August 1, 1979 | ||||
| August 4, 1979 | Maple Leaf Gardens | |||
| August 6, 1979 | Montreal Forum | |||
| August 8, 1979 | United States | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium | ||
| August 10, 1979 | The Michael Stanley Band | |||
| August 12, 1979 | New England | |||
| August 14, 1979 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium | |||
| August 16, 1979 | BJCC Coliseum | |||
| August 18, 1979 | Riverside Centroplex Arena | |||
| August 20, 1979 | Eli | |||
| September 1, 1979 | Judas Priest | |||
| September 3, 1979 | New Haven Coliseum | |||
| September 5, 1979 | Springfield Civic Center | |||
| September 7, 1979 | The Spectrum | |||
| September 10, 1979 | Huntington Civic Center | |||
| September 12, 1979 | Knoxville Civic Coliseum | |||
| September 14, 1979 | Riverfront Coliseum | |||
| September 16, 1979 | Freedom Hall | |||
| September 18, 1979 | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum | |||
| September 20, 1979 | Roberts Municipal Stadium | |||
| September 22, 1979 | International Amphitheatre | |||
| September 24, 1979 | MECCA Arena | |||
| September 26, 1979 | Dane County Expo Coliseum | |||
| September 28, 1979 | Metropolitan Sports Center | |||
| September 30, 1979 | Kansas City Municipal Auditorium | |||
| October 2, 1979 | John Cougar & The Zone | |||
| October 4, 1979 | Iowa Veterans Memorial Auditorium | |||
| October 6, 1979 | DECC Arena | |||
| October 8, 1979 | Omaha Civic Auditorium | |||
| October 10, 1979 | Five Seasons Center | |||
| October 12, 1979 | Britt Brown Arena | |||
| October 14, 1979 | Pine Bluff Convention Center | |||
| October 17, 1979 | Breathless | |||
| October 19, 1979 | HemisFair Arena | |||
| October 21, 1979 | ||||
| October 23, 1979 | ||||
| October 27, 1979 | Taylor County Expo Center | |||
| October 29, 1979 | Tulsa Assembly Center | |||
| October 31, 1979 | Lubbock Municipal Coliseum | |||
| November 4, 1979 | McNichols Sports Arena | |||
| November 6, 1979 | Anaheim Convention Center | |||
| November 7, 1979 | The Forum | |||
| November 10, 1979 | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | |||
| November 19, 1979 | Canada | Loverboy | ||
| November 21, 1979 | United States | The Rockets | ||
| November 25, 1979 | Cow Palace | |||
| November 27, 1979 | Selland Arena | |||
| November 29, 1979 | San Diego Sports Arena | |||
| December 1, 1979 | Tingley Coliseum | |||
| December 3, 1979 | Amarillo Civic Center | |||
| December 6, 1979 | Sudduth Coliseum | |||
| December 8, 1979 | Hirsch Memorial Coliseum | |||
| December 10, 1979 | Mississippi Coliseum | |||
| December 12, 1979 | Mississippi Coast Coliseum | |||
| December 14, 1979 | Von Braun Civic Center | |||
| December 16, 1979 | Toledo Sports Arena |
| Date | City | Venue | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 14, 1979 | Lakeland | Lakeland Civic Center | Criss injured his hand[7] | |
| June 20, 1979 | Savannah | Savannah Civic Center | Low ticket sales | |
| July 1, 1979 | Low ticket sales | |||
| July 14, 1979 | Pontiac | Pontiac Silverdome | Temp Hold Date | |
| July 22, 1979 | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh Civic Arena | Low ticket sales | |
| July 27, 1979 | New York City | Madison Square Garden | Temp Hold Date / rerouting of tour | |
| July 28, 1979 | ||||
| September 29, 1979 | Bloomington | Metropolitan Sports Center | Low ticket sales | |
| November 2, 1979 | Postponed due to illness to Paul Stanley, later cancelled due to venue unavailability | |||
| November 23, 1979 | Fire marshall refused to issue a permit |
| City | Venue | Attendance | Gross | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 16 | Lexington | Rupp Arena | 9,480 | $92,500 | [8] |
| July 21 | Pittsburgh | Civic Arena | 13,873 | $142,352 | |
| August 14 | Nashville | Municipal Auditorium | 9,900 | $113,148 | [9] |
| August 16 | Birmingham | Jefferson Coliseum | 12,213 | $112,341 | |
| November 19 | Vancouver, Canada | Pacific Coliseum | 14,271 | $145,399 | [10] |
| November 21 | Seattle | Seattle Center Coliseum | 14,000 | $133,000 | |