See Incredible Footage of KISS Playing the KSHE Kite Fly in 1974 in St. Louis
You wanted the best, KSHE got you the best
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It’s not often that we get to see vintage St. Louis concert footage (with matching audio) in such high quality, so this footage from the KSHE Kite Fly is jaw-dropping.
The KSHE Kite Fly festivals are a huge part of St. Louis music history. St. Louis’ favorite classic rock station always brings the party and that was never more true than it was on March 29, 1974 when they introduced St. Louis to KISS.
KSHE is credited as one of the first radio stations in the country to play a KISS single and St. Louis music lovers licked it up. Fans showed out in droves to welcome these painted-face rockers to the stage in Forest Park, where KISS played a rare daytime show to their largest audience yet as a band.
John Neiman, author of In Concert: KSHE and 40+ Years of Rock in St. Louis, is quoted on the KSHE website as saying that in an attempt to get a better view, KISS fans climbed anything they could find including the backstops of the baseball diamonds, and that fans “bent the wooden soccer goal posts like twigs under their weight.”
The band, for their part, seemed to really enjoy the crowd response. The video includes scenes that feature a young, beaming Gene Simmons and a pogoing Paul Stanley who appears to be authentically energized by the adoration.
For more great stories about St. Louis’ big classic rock history, pick up Neiman’s book or visit KSHE95.com for a detailed history of the station.
And to see other big moments in Kisstory, visit Sam Loomis’s YouTube page for newly-uploaded clips of high-quality footage.
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