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KISS ASYLUM has arranged for five exclusive sneak previews of KISS Alive Forever: The Complete Touring History and here is the fifth and final preview.

From Chapter 13 Unmasked



August 29, 1980
Roma, Italy
Castel Sant'Angelo
Opening Act: Iron Maiden
Attendance: 15,500
Promoters: Francesco Sanavo, David Zard
Archived: Audio

Set list:
Detroit Rock City
Cold Gin
Strutter
Calling Dr. Love
Is That You?
Firehouse
Talk to Me
You're All That I Want
2,000 Man
Ace Frehley Guitar Solo
I Was Made for Lovin' You
New York Groove
Love Gun
Gene Simmons Bass Solo
God of Thunder
Eric Carr Drum Solo - reprise
Rock and Roll All Nite
Shout It Out Loud
King of the Night Time World
Black Diamond

Bill McManus of McManus Enterprises: "When we did the outdoor show at Castel Sant'Angelo, we were testing the sound system and the pyro during "God of Thunder." I remember a figure in white robes coming out on a third floor balcony about 150 yards away and looking at us and listening, seeing the columns of flames and shaking his head before finally going inside. Later that night, I mentioned this to one of the local interpreters, and he said that it was the Pope's residence and that it was probably the Pope looking at our rehearsal. I thought that was pretty heavy."

Wardrobe Manger Pixie Esmonde: "There is an escape route from the Vatican to Castel Sant'Angelo so if the Vatican was ever stormed, the Pope could escape through an underground route. There is a giant stone wall behind the stage, and the way the lights were set up, it projected KISS's figures in giant shadow on the wall. The shadow effect was dramatic because it was dark, it was outdoors, and it was stark with the only lights being whatever little lights the audience might have had. When Gene went up to do his blood routine, his figure was cast upon the wall, and it looked like the devil was reflected on the walls of Castel Sant'Angelo and the surrounding rock. In the background, you could see the Vatican and it was as if 'the devil takes the Vatican.' You can't buy that kind of effect; it was the coolest thing I've ever seen. The show was just electric."

The beginning of "New York Groove" was extended much longer than usual, due to difficulties with Ace's guitar.



August 31, 1980
Genova, Italy
Palasport
Opening Act: Iron Maiden
Promoters: Francesco Sanavo, David Zard
Archived: Audio

Set list: See August 29, 1980.

For the second time in as many shows, the opening bars of "New York Groove" were extended due to a guitar malfunction. Ace was forced to restart the song four times.

KISS flew to Munchen on September 1 to lip-synch "She's So European" and "Talk To Me" for the TV show RockPop. AMI paperwork dated August 21 indicated that the above two songs would air in September, and that two additional songs, "Is That You?" and "Tomorrow," would be recorded for a back-up promotion to air later.



September 2, 1980
Milano, Italy
Motovelodromo Vigorelli
Opening Act: Iron Maiden
Attendance: 30,000 Capacity: 30,000
Promoters: Francesco Sanavo, David Zard
Archived: Audio

Set list: See August 29, 1980.

The show was stopped for 30 minutes when a left-wing political group took control of the stage.

Bill McManus: "In Milano, we had a Molotov cocktail thrown at the stage and one thrown at the generator, too. We found out that in Italy, the political parties are basically older teenagers that we'd call gangs here in the U.S. The promoters, when they announce that they're going to do a concert, align themselves with one of these political parties as a cosponsor or beneficiary of the concert, and they do that in order to be politically correct and acceptable. The promoters try to pick the political party that they think will be in power by the time the concert happens. And the promoter that did this tour picked the wrong party. The one that was in power took it as an affront that they weren't the one chosen and they felt very passionate about that and decided to attack the concert.

"I had my hand on the dry-ice machine about to do a cue that would suddenly blanket the stage in CO2 gas, and I looked up I saw this flame twirling towards the stage. When I realized what it was, it was probably 35 feet out from the stage on its way in on a big arc. I dropped the basket right then and there which released all the dry ice, and by the time the Molotov cocktail hit the deck, the dry ice fog was two to three feet deep. The CO2 helped extinguish the flame before it turned into a bigger problem. The bottle actually never broke because our deck had a soft, grippy surface so the boys would be able to move around in their platform shoes without slipping. When the bottle hit, it bounced and the flame was extinguished so that most people never realized what it was.

Pixie Esmonde continues: "George Sewitt and several bodyguards rushed the band off the stage. They were terrified as they ran into the dressing room, which were literally in catacombs with electrical wire strung around them and bare lightbulbs hanging from the wire. The bathrooms were holes in the floor with little handles. Mirrors were broken shards from larger mirrors. As they ran into the dressing room, someone gave me a stick and said, 'Here, Pixie!' and I got pushed out into the hallway, and they shut the door on me! They were terrified they were going to be killed. When they were running down the hallway, you have never seen anything as funny in your life: these big guys in these huge boots, running and ducking, hitting their heads on the lights because the catacombs were low."

From KISS ALIVE FOREVER: THE COMPLETE TOURING HISTORY by Curt Gooch and Jeff Suhs. (c) 2002 by Curt Gooch and Jeff Suhs. Published by Billboard Books, an imprint of Watson-Guptill Publications, New York.