KISS Alive! Tour at Cobo Hall Turns 50

The KISS Alive! tour at Cobo Hall was part of the tour supporting their breakthrough live album Alive! The album helped catapult the group into the rock mainstream. Cobo Hall was one of the locations where Alive! was recorded (May 1975). The KISS Alive! tour was KISS's triumphant return to Detroit after immortalizing their previous performance in the Motor City.

Cobo Hall saw many legendary rock concerts. At the top of the list of Motor City lore sit the big three: Bob Seger (Live Bullet), J. Geils (Blow Your Face Out), and KISS Alive! KISS brought The Alive! Tour to town in late January 1976. Over three nights, January 25th, 26th, and 27th, the band’s high-voltage hard rock spectacle lit up Detroit.

Fans packed Cobo Arena to see Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss deliver a blistering set packed with classics and fan favorites. According to setlists from the January 27th show, the band tore through tracks like “Deuce,” “Strutter,” “Hotter Than Hell,” and “Black Diamond.”

Their anthemic “Rock and Roll All Nite,” was saved for the encore. The performance captured the raw energy Detroit crowds are famous for and celebrated Detroit's role in the Alive! album.

The KISS Alive! Tour stops at Cobo Hall weren't just any tour stops. Alive!, released in 1975, had finally given KISS the commercial breakthrough they needed. The live album captured the band’s explosive stage persona. The live album helped songs like “Rock and Roll All Nite” become classic rock staples.

The last 30 minutes of the Cobo Hall show in May of 1975 recently surfaced!

Just two months after the 1976 Cobo shows, KISS released Destroyer. The third single from that album, "Detroit Rock City" was released in July of 1976 with "Beth" as the B-side.