X JAPAN's YOSHIKI Joins KISS for Surprise Performances in Tokyo and Osaka

In something of a shock, YOSHIKI appeared as a surprise guest during last week's (Dec. 11) Tokyo Dome performance of KISS's "End of the Road World Tour."

YOSHIKI shocked the audience by performing piano and drums for two songs during the encore of KISS’s only Tokyo show on the band’s “Final Tour Ever.” YOSHIKI will also perform with KISS at their Osaka performance at the Kyocera Dome on December 17, 2019.

YOSHIKI – composer, classically trained pianist, rock drummer, and leader of the rock band X JAPAN – was welcomed to the stage by KISS vocalist and guitarist Paul Stanley. The two men embraced before YOSHIKI sat at the piano to perform “Beth,” KISS’s highest-charting single in the U.S., prompting screams of excitement from the audience that shook the stadium. After the performance of "Beth," the crowd was brought to their feet by YOSHIKI’s thundering drum performance of the night’s final song, “Rock and Roll All Nite.” Fans continued their cheers and applause for the historic co-performance of “KISS feat. YOSHIKI” long after the performers left the stage.

For YOSHIKI, KISS was a life-saving force in his childhood as he dealt with the despair caused by the sudden death of his father. “KISS saved my life… Tonight, my dream will come true!” YOSHIKI posted on Twitter just hours before the show. Through KISS’s music, YOSHIKI learned that the pain and sorrow that had accumulated in his heart could be cleansed through rock. YOSHIKI, who had studied classical piano throughout his youth, became attracted to drumming as a way of releasing his emotional pain.

“Instead of banging things, I started banging drums,” YOSHIKI said in the X JAPAN documentary We Are X. Gene Simmons appears in the film to praise the band which was in fact inspired by KISS. “If those guys were born in America,” Simmons said, “they might be the biggest band in the world.”

YOSHIKI connected with KISS to create a 72-piece orchestral cover of “Black Diamond” for the 1994 tribute album Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved, and Gene Simmons joined YOSHIKI on stage to perform “Rock and Roll All Nite” at the 2016 Visual Japan Summit in Tokyo. Stanley announced “We are so honored to have him play with us” before they began the final song. YOSHIKI gave his heartfelt thanks to the band: “I'm here today thanks to KISS.”

KISS - END OF THE ROAD WORLD TOUR
KISS @Tokyo Dome
Dec. 11, 2019: Set List
1. Detroit Rock City
2. Shout It Out Loud
3. Deuce
4. Say Yeah
5. I Love It Loud
6. Heaven’s on Fire
7. War Machine
8. Lick It Up
9. Calling Dr. Love
10. 100,000 Years
11. Cold Gin
12. God of Thunder
13. Psycho Circus
14. Let Me Go, Rock ‘n’ Roll
15. SUKIYAKI
16. Love Gun
17. I Was Made for Lovin ’You
18. Crazy Crazy Nights
19. Black Diamond
Encore
20. Beth * KISS feat. YOSHIKI
21. Rock and Roll All Nite * KISS feat. YOSHIKI
 
KISS Japanese Tour Website: https://endoftheroad.udo.jp
YOSHIKI Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yoshikiofficial/ 
YOSHIKI Official Site: http://www.yoshiki.net/