A month or so after officially becoming a band, KISS [ tickets ] hit the stage for the first time at a club in Queens, a performance that, according to lore, was only witnessed by three audience members.

Long gone are those days of obscurity. Despite the full regalia of costume and face paint, the members of the band have gone on to become famous--especially frontman Gene Simmons.

At first, the band's records were not big sellers, but as KISS
established a reputation as a must-see live act featuring pyrotechnics and antics like Simmons spitting "blood," its fan base began to grow. It's no wonder then, that the band's first breakthrough album was the 1975 release "Alive!," a double-live album. The set earned KISS its first Top 40 hit with the single "Rock And Roll All Nite," and the record later achieved gold status.

This fall, the band is trying something new, a
tour that invites fans to determine where they will perform. Last year, the group embarked on their "Alive 35" tour to celebrate the three-and-a-half decade mark, and LiveDaily's Tim Mosenfelder attended their show at Lake Tahoe, NV. Here are some of his photos.