Description
A massive box set with 4 picture discs in individual sleeves, a photo book, 2 posters, a press amp with 4 photos and a sticker and an impressive 76 page booklet.
This box featured three shows. The earliest is from the Dressed To Kill Tour warm up show at the Roxy in Northampton on the 19th of March. 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. The band, though, were still close to the bottom-rung on their ladder to stardom. Booked by WSAN’s Rick Mussleman, playing double-sets had become unusual for the band, but for these two dates they didn’t have much choice. Despite only boasting 1,000 seats, the venue had hosted many notable acts including Rush, Golden Earring, UFO, Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen, and Billy Joel, prior to Kiss’s appearance there on March 19, 1975. Most notable, from this first show of a new phase for the band, is their introduction, which has evolved into Ladies and gentlemen: The hottest band in the land… Kiss. 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. When the band returned to the stage for the last time, they ended their set with Cold Gin. It’s clear that even at that point the crowd didn’t want to go home. By mid-May they had reached a turning point, with their new costumes becoming available and plans for the live album having solidified. Cashbox reported in their May 17 edition that the band would record their May 16 concert at Cobo Hall in Detroit for their first live album. A month later, a show in Cleveland, OH would be recorded, and the following month shows in Davenport, IA and Wildwood, NJ would be captured. The Cashbox piece is interesting in that it suggests that Dressed To Kill had sold some 175,000 copies by that point — which would have been an impressive improvement on the band’s previous commercial efforts. However, a confidential royalty statement placed the sales at 111,766 through June 30, still an improvement on the previous two albums. The two other shows in this box is from Tower Theatre in Upper Darby on May 3rd and Orpheum Theatre in Boston on the 11th of May.
Track list:
Live at Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA, May 11, 1975
1. Deuce
2. Strutter
3. Hotten Than Hell
4. Firehouse
5. She
6. C’Mon And Love Me
7. 100.000 Years
8. Black Diamond
9. Rock And Roll All Nite
Live at Roxy Theater, Northhampton, PA March 19, 1975
1. 100.000 Years
2. Black Diamond
3. C’Mon And Love Me
4. Let Me Go, Rock And Roll
5. Cold Gin
6. Deuce
7. Strutter
8. Got To Choose
9. Hotter Than Hell
10. Firehouse
11. She
12. Solo Ace Frehley
13. Nothin To Loose
14. Parasite
Live at Tower Theatre, Upper Darby, PA, May 3, 1975
1. Deuce
2. Strutter
3. Got To Choose
4. Hotter Than Hell
5. Firehouse
6. Nothin To Loose
7. She
8. Room Service
9. 100.000 Years