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Feature image courtesy of Getty Images/KISSonline

By Dylan Peggin
recordspinner97@gmail.com

KISS fan circles are still buzzing over the astounding video discoveries of Largo and Detroit 1975 that made their way onto YouTube recently. It’s a complex story of lies and vengeance but the gratification from the KISS Army seems to be reigniting the spark for what made people fall in love with the band for the first time almost fifty years ago. For myself, as someone who never got to live during the glory years of KISS in the 1970s, this footage is as good as it gets to experiencing that excitement. We seem to have just scratched the surface of what is to come because more video gems have been unleashed.

On July 4th, the 3 pm Budokan show from Tokyo, Japan on April 2, 1977, during the Rock and Roll Over Tour was uploaded to YouTube. What many fans had been familiarized with for years was the 7 pm show that was featured in the KISSOLOGY Vol. 1 DVD. It has been well documented that both shows were filmed by Japanese television station NHK and footage from both shows was compiled for an hour-long special that was shown on Japan’s Young Music Show in late 1977, and subsequently aired in the USA on HBO in the summer of 1979. These two shows were also recorded by Eddie Kramer for a planned Japanese-only live album called Rock ‘n’ Roll Party in Tokyo, which was superseded in time with the release of Alive II. Since the 7 pm show is considered to be “better,” it is probably why that show was utilized more in the edited hour-long program. With that said, some shots and bits were lifted from the 3 pm show so for those that have viewed the edited hour-long program, some parts may look a bit familiar. For the most part, the same camera angles are used between both shows.

In hindsight, the color grading for the 7 pm show that appears on KISSOLOGY comes across as very dark, to the point of pitch black. The more natural color grading of the 3 pm show makes you appreciate the scale of the show much more, especially when the wide-angle/stage shots appear on screen. The only downside is that the encores are missing but it is safe to say that the setlist between both shows is exactly the same. Many will say that the 1977 Japanese tour is KISS at the peak of their powers, and this newly unleashed gem is a testament to that statement.

Setlist (partial): Detroit Rock City/Take Me/Let Me Go Rock ‘n’ Roll/Ladies Room/Firehouse/Makin’ Love/I Want You/Cold Gin/Do You Love Me/Nothin’ to Lose/God of Thunder/Rock and Roll All Nite

While KISS fans are drooling over what has dropped out of nowhere, the plot thickens. The YouTube channel that uploaded this fresh gem is NOT the “Sam Loomis” account that was responsible for uploading the Largo 1975 and Detroit 1975 footage, but instead, it is a channel called “RUE MORGUE RECORDS,” which has also reuploaded the aforementioned 1975 footage. Is this channel also run by the individual going under Sam Loomis? Or is this another individual in the circle of tape hoarders that is now following suit with what Sam did because the principle of “no one else has these” has been tarnished? 

On July 5th, the Sam Loomis YouTube account uploaded another pleasant surprise: two hours’ worth of 1976 tour rehearsals. The first twenty minutes are devoted to Destroyer tour rehearsals that were held at the Hanger E. Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, New York in June 1976. This was a full-scale production rehearsal with the band in full makeup and costume performing a few songs on the one-of-a-kind Destroyer stage in the presence of press officials and photographers. The black-and-white style of this footage doesn’t do serious justice to the theatricality behind the stage set but I was surprised to see a set of glowing lights illuminate around Paul’s extended platform at the front of the stage, something that I had never seen in footage that circulates from the tour such as Jersey City, Anaheim or Houston. It is also a real treat to hear the band rip through a soaring rendition of “Flaming Youth,” a song that disappeared early on in the live set. 

The rest of the footage is devoted to Rock and Roll Over tour rehearsals that were held at the Camp Curtis Guild Armory in Reading, Massachusetts in November 1976. Some of this footage has been seen in the occasional documentary and the KISS My Ass home video but at large, this footage has never been seen in its entirety. Once again shot in black-and-white, what we have here is perhaps one of the most intimate pieces of KISS footage in existence. The band appears without makeup in their own street clothes just working their way through the songs that comprised the Rock and Roll Over tour setlist. It really hones in on the power the original lineup had to offer, and that can easily be sensed without the presence of makeup, outfits, bombs, and theatrics. First, the band journies through a series of three songs that would be filmed as international promo videos and subsequently aired on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert in May 1977. Then, the band moves through several other songs and a run-through of an early rendering of the Rock and Roll Over tour setlist. The biggest highlight is the quartet performing live renderings of “Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em” and “Hard Luck Woman.” The former is reported to have been performed at only one show early on during the tour, with the latter dropped out of the setlist by December. Early classics such as “Deuce” and “Strutter” also did not survive in the setlist as the tour progressed. The closeup shot of Peter singing “Beth” (as seen in the A&E KISStory documentary) is such a treat to see. In between some songs, you can see manager Bill Aucoin appear on screen. This rehearsal is a time capsule for what could be the ultimate fly-on-the-wall experience.

Setlist (Newburgh rehearsals): Detroit Rock City/King of the Night Time World/Let Me Go Rock ‘n’ Roll/God of Thunder/Flaming Youth

Setlist (Reading rehearsals): Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em (lip-synched)/Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em (lip-synched)/Hard Luck Woman (lip-synched)/I Want You (lip-synched)/Hard Luck Woman/I Want You/I Want You/I Want You/Makin’ Love/Makin’ Love/Beth/Beth/Detroit Rock City/Take Me/Let Me Go Rock ‘n’ Roll/Strutter/Ladies Room/Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em/Firehouse/I Want You/Hard Luck Woman/Do You Love Me/Cold Gin/God of Thunder/Rock and Roll All Nite/Deuce/Black Diamond

Upon publishing my first article on the 1975 footage, a fellow reader had asked Three Sides of the Coin co-host Mark Cicchini (who is a massive KISS collector) his take on the videos that were uploaded, to which he responded he would be covering it during the next episode of the podcast. He briefly touched on the subject matter early on in the episode by saying, “There is a massive, massive – and I mean massive underlined three times – KISS media dump that I don’t know how it’s going to work out, but I’m betting you’re going to see a lot of stuff that you haven’t seen before here if the way things go the way I think they’re going to go. I’m not saying that’s good or bad, but there’s some nefarious stuff going on in the KISS world.” Does this pertain specifically to the collectors who have their hands on this precious cargo? 

One of Three Side’s go-to slogans is, “Forget the haters, we won,” referring to the demographic of fans who tend to have an extreme distaste for what KISS is today. A certain commenter takes the gold for the best comment by saying, “Forget the hoarders, we won!,” to which Three Sides host Michael Brandvold replied, “We have completely forgotten about that guy CG (Curt Gooch), as have MANY collectors. And because of that we the fans are winning again with all these amazing new releases!” It should be mentioned that roughly seven years ago, Curt Gooch was a guest on the podcast and discussed the KISS Alive Forever book, the canceled KISSOLOGY IV, and KISS videos in general, specifically in regards to what does exist, and what doesn’t exist. While it is an interesting listen, I don’t think he will be returning for another episode any time soon. Another reputable KISS-related YouTube channel under the username “Necramonium” had this to say in the comment section of the 1976 rehearsals: “He has a company who buys up KISS footage, copyrights them, and basically makes them his property. The owner of the footage is screwed for doing so. He supplied some tiny snippets for the A&E KISS documentary, and I had some in my own documentary, and he tried to make me pay $500 a minute for using them.” This Gooch is a real mooch!

As you read this new installment of this ongoing story, there will probably be another newly uncovered video gem waiting to be viewed on the Sam Loomis YouTube channel. One can only imagine what it could be, but you best believe I’ll be talking about it.

– Dylan Peggin (@Record_Spinner) is a columnist for www.vwmusicrocks.com and may be reached at recordspinner97@gmail.com