Destroyer Tour

The Destroyer Tour also known as The Spirit of '76 Tour was a concert tour by Kiss, in support of their fourth studio album Destroyer.

Destroyer Tour

Tour by Kiss
Associated album	Destroyer
Start date	April 11, 1976
End date	September 12, 1976
Legs	3
No. of shows	57
Kiss concert chronology

History

At the time of the European leg of the tour the Destroyer album was already released and the band performed songs from that album, but they wore the Alive! costumes and had the Alive! stage show.^[1] At the time, the tour was referred to under the headline "Kiss tour", not "Alive! Tour" or "Destroyer Tour".

The August 20 Anaheim, California show was the most famous show of the tour, the band played to over 42,000 people, the biggest US crowd the band had played to. Bob Seger, Ted Nugent and Montrose were the opening acts. The J. Geils Band, Point Blank and Seger opened for them at their July 10 show in New Jersey, which was recorded and released on DVD decades later as "The Lost Concert".

Opening act Bob Seger would back out of a few dates on the tour so that he could complete work on his next album, in which he did not perform in Toronto.^[2]

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

With the special effects and staging we use, whether it was the Kiss sign, the Tesla coil on the Destroyer tour, the columns of fire, the lighted stairs or the drum riser, we reacted intrinsically to what we thought was cool. We went back to all the stuff we react to, 4th of July fireworks shows and things exploding. We wanted to go where no band had gone before.^[3]

Setlist

1. "Detroit Rock City"
2. "King Of The Night Time World"
3. "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll"
4. "Strutter"
5. "Hotter Than Hell"
6. "Cold Gin" (Ace Frehley guitar solo)
7. "Nothin' to Lose"
8. "Shout It Out Loud"
9. "Do You Love Me?"
10. "God of Thunder" (Gene Simmons bloodspitting and bass solo, Peter Criss drum solo)
11. "Rock and Roll All Nite" (Paul Stanley destroys guitar after the song)

Encore

12. "Deuce"
13. "Firehouse" (Gene breathes fire)
14. "Black Diamond"

• "Flaming Youth" and "Watchin' You" played in some shows instead of "Strutter" and "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll".
• "Sweet Pain" was performed once in Norfolk on July 3, 1976.

Tour dates

List of tour dates with date, city, country, venue, and support act(s)

Date	City	Country	Venue	Support act(s)
North America[4]
April 11, 1976	Fort Wayne	United States	Allen County War Memorial Coliseum	Artful Dodger
April 13, 1976	Utica		Utica Memorial Auditorium	Ethos
April 14, 1976	Niagara Falls		Niagara Falls Convention and Civic Center	Brownsville Station
April 16, 1976	Bangor		Bangor Auditorium	Ethos
April 18, 1976	Moncton	Canada	Moncton Coliseum	Hammersmith
April 19, 1976	Halifax		Halifax Forum
April 21, 1976	Montreal		Montreal Forum
April 22, 1976	Ottawa		Ottawa Civic Centre
April 23, 1976	Kitchener		Kitchener Memorial Auditorium
April 24, 1976	London		London Gardens
April 26, 1976	Toronto		Maple Leaf Gardens
April 28, 1976	Winnipeg		Winnipeg Arena
May 4, 1976	Mount Prospect	United States	River Trails Middle School	—
Europe[4][5]
May 13, 1976	Manchester	England	Free Trade Hall	Stray
May 14, 1976	Birmingham		Birmingham Odeon
May 15, 1976	London		Hammersmith Odeon
May 16, 1976
May 18, 1976	Mannheim	West Germany	Mannheimer Rosengarten	Scorpions
May 19, 1976	Düsseldorf		Philips Halle
May 22, 1976	Paris	France	Olympia Theatre	—
May 23, 1976	Amsterdam	Netherlands	RAI Congrescentrum	Finch
May 24, 1976	Offenbach	West Germany	Stadthalle Offenbach	Scorpions
May 26, 1976	Gothenburg	Sweden	Scandinavium	—
May 28, 1976	Stockholm		Gröna Lund
May 29, 1976	Copenhagen	Denmark	Falkoner Center
May 30, 1976	Lund	Sweden	Olympen
June 2, 1976	Zürich	Switzerland	Volkshaus
June 3, 1976	Munich	West Germany	Circus Krone	Scorpions
June 4, 1976	Fürth		MTV Grundig-Halle
June 6, 1976	Harelbeke	Belgium	Ontmoetingscentrum	Hoa Bihn
North America[4]
July 3, 1976	Norfolk	United States	Norfolk Scope	Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
July 6, 1976	Columbia		Carolina Coliseum
July 8, 1976	Richmond		Richmond Coliseum
July 10, 1976	Jersey City		Roosevelt Stadium	The J. Geils Band Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band Point Blank
July 11, 1976	South Yarmouth		Cape Cod Coliseum	Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
July 13, 1976	Baltimore		Baltimore Civic Center
July 15, 1976	Knoxville		Knoxville Civic Coliseum
July 17, 1976	Charleston		Charleston Civic Center
July 19, 1976	Johnson City		Freedom Hall Civic Center
July 21, 1976	Nashville		Nashville Municipal Auditorium	Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band UFO
July 23, 1976	Birmingham		Rickwood Field	Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band Kansas
July 26, 1976	Kansas City		Kansas City Municipal Auditorium	Artful Dodger
July 28, 1976	St. Louis		Kiel Auditorium	Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
July 29, 1976
July 31, 1976	Toledo		Toledo Sports Arena	Starz
August 2, 1976	Indianapolis		Market Square Arena	Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band Artful Dodger
August 4, 1976	Little Rock		Barton Coliseum	Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
August 6, 1976	Evansville		Roberts Municipal Stadium	Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band Artful Dodger
August 8, 1976	Trotwood		Hara Arena
August 10, 1976	Shreveport		Hirsch Memorial Coliseum	Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
August 11, 1976	Fort Worth		Tarrant County Convention Center	Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band Artful Dodger
August 13, 1976	Houston		The Summit
August 15, 1976	El Paso		El Paso County Coliseum	Moon Pie
August 17, 1976	Tempe		Tempe Diablo Stadium	Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band Ted Nugent
August 20, 1976	Anaheim		Anaheim Stadium	Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band Ted Nugent Montrose
August 22, 1976	Oakland		Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena	Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band .38 Special
August 27, 1976	Greensboro		Greensboro Coliseum	Point Blank Artful Dodger
August 29, 1976	Atlanta		Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band Johnny Winter Edgar Winter Blue Öyster Cult .38 Special
September 1, 1976	South Bend		Athletic & Convocation Center	Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
September 3, 1976	Richfield		Richfield Coliseum	Artful Dodger
September 4, 1976	Pittsburgh		Civic Arena	Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band Artful Dodger
September 6, 1976	Toronto	Canada	Varsity Stadium	Blue Öyster Cult Artful Dodger
September 8, 1976	Louisville	United States	Freedom Hall	Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band Artful Dodger
September 10, 1976	Cincinnati		Riverfront Coliseum
September 12, 1976	Springfield		Springfield Civic Center	Artful Dodger

Box office score data

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

Date (1976)	City	Venue	Attendance	Gross	Ref(s)
April 11	Fort Wayne, United States	Allen County War Memorial Coliseum	9,650 / 9,650	$57,900	[6]
April 14	Niagara Falls, United States	Niagara Falls Convention and Civic Center	9,500	$56,000	[7]
April 16	Bangor, United States	Bangor Auditorium	6,932 / 6,932	$39,356	[7]
July 8	Richmond, United States	Richmond Coliseum	6,430	$41,332	[8]
July 10	Jersey City, United States	Roosevelt Stadium	13,867	$105,388	[8]
July 21	Nashville, United States	Nashville Municipal Auditorium	8,300	$51,800	[9]
August 2	Indianapolis, United States	Market Square Arena	19,000 / 19,000	$121,453	[10]
August 6	Evansville, United States	Roberts Municipal Stadium	11,480	$72,254	[10]
August 17	Tempe, United States	Tempe Diablo Stadium	15,913	$101,301	[10]
August 20	Anaheim, United States	Anaheim Stadium	42,987	$437,653	[10]
August 22	Oakland, United States	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena	9,897	$63,000	[10]
August 27	Greensboro, United States	Greensboro Coliseum	11,068	$71,130	[11]
August 29	Atlanta, United States	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	35,000	$300,000	[11]
September 1	South Bend, United States	Athletic & Convocation Center	7,677	$47,911	[12]
September 4	Pittsburgh, United States	Civic Arena	12,000	$73,436	[12]
September 8	Louisville, United States	Freedom Hall	17,051	$103,918	[13]
September 10	Cincinnati, United States	Riverfront Coliseum	13,391	$82,299	[13]

Personnel

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

References

1. Weiss, Brett (May 16, 2016). Encyclopedia of KISS: Music, Personnel, Events and Related Subjects. McFarland. ISBN 9780786498024 – via Google Books.
2. Laycock, John (September 9, 1976). "Rumor and scuttlebutt". The Windsor Star. p. 41. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
3. (2019). End of the Road World Tour Program, pg. 9.
4. Gooch, Curt; Suhs, Jeff (2002). Kiss Alive Forever: The Complete Touring History. New York: Billboard Books. ISBN 0-8230-8322-5.
5. "Hot Flashes". The Journal. March 20, 1976. p. A-7. Retrieved April 5, 2021. Kiss to embark on its first European tour beginning in early May
6. "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 17. April 24, 1976. p. 30. ISSN 0006-2510.
7. "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 18. May 1, 1976. p. 38. ISSN 0006-2510.
8. "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 30. July 24, 1976. p. 43. ISSN 0006-2510.
9. "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 32. August 7, 1976. p. 35. ISSN 0006-2510.
10. "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 34. August 21, 1976. p. 27. ISSN 0006-2510.
11. "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 37. September 11, 1976. p. 38. ISSN 0006-2510.
12. "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 38. September 18, 1976. p. 39. ISSN 0006-2510.
13. "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 39. September 25, 1976. p. 47. ISSN 0006-2510.

Bibliography

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