On 21. February, 1977, Peter Criss nearly fell from his drum riser when it malfunctioned during “Black Diamond” at the end of the show at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York, during their “Rock and Roll Over” tour. As the riser levitated into the air, one side suddenly rose higher than the other, tilting the entire drum kit dangerously. His drums nearly slid off the platform, making it almost impossible to keep playing, but he somehow managed to continue.
Things got even worse on the way down. The riser malfunctioned again, forcing Peter to grab onto parts of the drum kit to stop them from flying off the platform.
Later that night Peter crashed his Camaro in his garage and was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Lydia Criss:
“Three days later, KISS performed at Nassau Coliseum, in Uniondale, Long Island. This was another big show for KISS, in front of about 14,000 fans, with Sammy Hagar as the opening act. The show went off and as usual and I was to leave the stage after “Beth” and before the third encore, “Black Diamond.” I never got to see “Black Diamond.” They all felt it was too dangerous for Jeanette or myself to be on stage with all of the explosives and the levitating stage. I would slowly make my way offstage, sometimes stopping in the dressing room or just talking to the roadies, throughout “Black Diamond.” As the bombs were going off, I would then go into the limousine, sit in the middle of the back seat and wait for Peter to get in on one side of me Gene on the other. I’d frequently wait several minutes as the band sometimes took off their makeup at the venue, but this particular time I was in the limo a lot longer than usual before the guys arrived. When Peter got into the limo he was furious. Apparently, when his drum riser levitated, it levitated unevenly, raising one side higher than the other. He said that his drums almost went sliding off one side and it was almost impossible to play, but he managed to anyway. He then said that when he was coming down his riser malfunctioned and he had to grab some of the drums so they wouldn’t go flying off the riser; he was scared shitless.”
– “Sealed With a Kiss” by Lydia Criss.
Peter Criss:
“Three days after the Garden show, we came back down to reality. We were finishing our show at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island when it was time for me to levitate. By then we were using a scissors lift to get me up. Those things were not balanced, so sure enough the platform tilted to the left and half of my drums were hanging off it.”
– “Makeup to Breakup: My Life in and out of Kiss” by Peter Criss.
Kiss at the Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon, 13. August, 1977.
On 21. February, 1977, Peter Criss nearly fell from his drum riser when it malfunctioned during “Black Diamond” at the end of the show at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York, during their “Rock and Roll Over” tour. As the riser levitated into the air, one side suddenly rose higher than the other, tilting the entire drum kit dangerously. His drums nearly slid off the platform, making it almost impossible to keep playing, but he somehow managed to continue.
Things got even worse on the way down. The riser malfunctioned again, forcing Peter to grab onto parts of the drum kit to stop them from flying off the platform.
Later that night Peter crashed his Camaro in his garage and was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Lydia Criss:
“Three days later, KISS performed at Nassau Coliseum, in Uniondale, Long Island. This was another big show for KISS, in front of about 14,000 fans, with Sammy Hagar as the opening act. The show went off and as usual and I was to leave the stage after “Beth” and before the third encore, “Black Diamond.” I never got to see “Black Diamond.” They all felt it was too dangerous for Jeanette or myself to be on stage with all of the explosives and the levitating stage. I would slowly make my way offstage, sometimes stopping in the dressing room or just talking to the roadies, throughout “Black Diamond.” As the bombs were going off, I would then go into the limousine, sit in the middle of the back seat and wait for Peter to get in on one side of me Gene on the other. I’d frequently wait several minutes as the band sometimes took off their makeup at the venue, but this particular time I was in the limo a lot longer than usual before the guys arrived. When Peter got into the limo he was furious. Apparently, when his drum riser levitated, it levitated unevenly, raising one side higher than the other. He said that his drums almost went sliding off one side and it was almost impossible to play, but he managed to anyway. He then said that when he was coming down his riser malfunctioned and he had to grab some of the drums so they wouldn’t go flying off the riser; he was scared shitless.”
– “Sealed With a Kiss” by Lydia Criss.
Peter Criss:
“Three days after the Garden show, we came back down to reality. We were finishing our show at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island when it was time for me to levitate. By then we were using a scissors lift to get me up. Those things were not balanced, so sure enough the platform tilted to the left and half of my drums were hanging off it.”
– “Makeup to Breakup: My Life in and out of Kiss” by Peter Criss.
Kiss at the Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon, 13. August, 1977.