I wasn't even four years old yet, but this concert is Owensboro legend.  Yes!  KISS played the Owensboro Sportscenter in the 70s.  It was Wednesday, August 27th, 1975 and the concert has gone down in Owensboro history as "the show that set the roof on fire a little."  Here's the vintage poster from the event!

Owensboro Sportscenter
Owensboro Sportscenter
loading...

The Owensboro Sportscenter shared that poster last Friday as a fun #FlashbackFriday tribute.

At the time of the concert, KISS was a relatively new band.  They burst onto the scene in early 1974 and didn't have much chart success with their first two albums, KISS and Hotter than Hell.  However, a year later, they released Dressed to Kill, which featured "Rock and Roll All Nite", a song which would later become their defining anthem!  A live version of that song (from their album Alive!) peaked at #12 on the Billboard chart in October of that year, about six weeks after their show in Owensboro.

If you look closely at the bottom of the concert poster, tickets for the show were just $5 in advance and $6 at the door.  I mean, seriously?  Just five bucks???  That's awesome!

And, yes!  The show really left a mark on the folks in town and a mark on the ceiling too.  As you can imagine, KISS's show was full of pyrotechnics and apparently some of those fiery special effects set the roof on fire a little bit.  But there was no significant damage and, of course, the show rolled on- right into Owensboro history.

Though KISS only ever scored two Top Ten hits on the Billboard chart ("Beth"- #7 in 1976; "Forever"- #8 in 1990), the band has reached iconic status and has enjoyed a career spanning nearly six decades.

Do you remember when KISS played the Owensboro Sportscenter?

Enter your number to get our free mobile app

 

Vintage Showroom Lounge Tickets

More From WGBF-FM