Description

A beautiful box set with two picture-discs and two regular vinyls (same concert), big folded poster and envelope with five black and white cards all housed in a full colour box. Release limited to 200 copies worldwide, 100 in black vinyl and 100 in red vinyl. Six-miles north of Allentown and around 100-miles from New York City, The Roxy Theatre in Northampton was a must-play venue in the early 1970s. Despite only boasting 1,000 seats, the venue had hosted acts such as Rush, Golden Earing, UFO, Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen, and Billy Joel, prior to KISS appearance there on March 19, 1975. In fact, during one such visit, the latter of those performers, had been inspired to write a song titled Allentown. Kiss Hotter Than Hell tour abruptly ended in Santa Monica, CA on February 1, 1975 after which the band returned to New York to complete work on their next studio album. Before the start of the Dressed To Kill tour (Kenosha, WI, March 27), the band played two clusters of shows. The first, Feb. 20-22, encompassed three shows in the mid-west: St. Louis, Chicago (a review of this show with Man & James Gang appears in Rolling Stone Magazine #184, Apr. 1975), and Schererville. The second group, a month later, included double-shows at both the Roxy (Northampton, PA) and Beacon Theatre in New York. One of the sets from the latter of these shows has long circulated for fans and was the band's first major headlining concert in their hometown, one that promoter Ron Delsener initially didn't think was going to be a success! In fact, as had been the case with Blue Oyster Cult, there was a role-reversal that took place between the Feb. 1 and Mar. 27 shows. Jo Jo Gunne had headlined the former, but opened for Kiss at the latter, as the bands respected each other territories and Kiss label/management were on the hook for the show anyway having offered the promoter a guarantee to ensure he'd not lose anything if the show was a failure (there was no sure thing for the band at this stage). The band used that event to invite press and friends to see the new stage show, a critical part of press for the new album. It is the newly surfaced Northampton show, from the 19th of March 1975, that is more historically important since it was a warm-up for the Beacon show and saw the band coming off a near month break. The master tape for this show was offered on eBay in July 2013 with the seller/taper noting, Me and my friends saw Kiss for the first time a religious experience just before the Dressed To Kill album was released. Awesome Show. After the show I went behind the theater and waited. Then it happened Kiss came out the back to leave. with NO MAKEUP! I turned on my cassette tape recorder and we started talking. This fan also taped that second show that night. Starting with the intro, Ladies and gentlemen: The hottest band in the land… KISS, the first half of the band's signature stage announcement is present. One thing is immediately apparent: The freight train rhythm section drives the band onwards with a controlled ferocity that travels through 40 years on a highly oxidized tape media (having been stored near salt-water). For the first five songs the set is the same as on the previous tour: Deuce, Strutter, Got To Choose, Hotter Than Hell, and Firehouse. It's a business-like performance, and any cob-webs seem to have been dusted off by the band's earlier set. Following Strutter Paul exclaims, We thought we had a rowdy bunch for the first show, but I think all the rowdy people are here right now! Even the small location can't mask the foot-stomping and clapping that seasons this rock and roll party. Paul introduces She as being a song from the new album, this is something I know you haven't heard, even though it had been performed on tours from the clubs into the early stages of Hotter Than Hell tour (with few recordings/reviews it was present 10/21/74 but not on 1/31/75). He takes the opportunity to tell the crowd that Dressed to Kil" is being released the following week. Ace's guitar solo spot returns to the end of this song, where it had been located on those above noted recordings. At less than two minutes it remains a highly-condensed guitar attack. The center piece of the set remains the pulsating Nothin To Lose while a similar set order to January continues with Parasite, 100,000 Years (with drum solo and Paul in full rock n roll preacher mode), and Black Diamond following. With the band leaving the stage the audience retains an undiminished high-level of energy stomping and cheering for the return of the band who soon comply. Paul announces, And some people just think city people know how to rock 'n' roll… Bullshit!" In what was possibly the first ever live performance of the song C'mon And Love Me follows, though Paul doesn't specifically allude to anything in its introduction other than it being a song from the new album. Regardless, the band deliver a powerful and competent performance. Standard encore Let Me Go, Rock 'N Roll follows with a pulsating rendition stretching nearly six minutes with the extended jams. Following another two-minute break the band return to the stage for the last time. Concluding the set is Cold Gin, but it's clear that even at that point the crowd didn't want to go home. There would have been no levitating drum-riser for Peter at these shows since the venue wasn't tall enough to host that gimmick. This is a huge piece of Kiss history and before the Alive album was recorded and the huge blast of popularity would start Track listing: 1. Deuce 2. Strutter 3. Got To Choose 4. Hotter Than Hell 5. Firehouse 6. She 7. Guitar Solo – Ace Frehley 8. Nothing To Lose 9. Parasite 10. 100000 Years 11. Black Diamond 12. C’mon And Love Me 13. Let Me Go, Rock And Roll 14. Cold Gin