Students, alumni celebrate 50th anniversary of KISS concert in SAIT gymnasium
By Mark Villani / CTV News Calgary
KISS take a bow during the final night of the "End Of The Road Tour," Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) students, instructors and alumni are celebrating the 50th anniversary of a concert held in the school's gymnasium by one of the most iconic rock bands ever.
On Feb. 6, 1974, the post-secondary institution played host to a little-known band from New York City called KISS.
This was the second show of their very first North American tour, which began with three stops in Canada.
Frank Shufletoski remembers the performance like it was yesterday.
A SAIT journalism student at the time, Shufletoski was working toward a career in photography and was among the very first to snap pictures of the band.
"It started out with just this very little crowd in the corner of the gymnasium and then these guys came out with their painted faces and their six-inch platform heels. It was kind of intimidating," he said.
"First, it was quiet – real quiet – and then the wall of sound just hit you. Wow. They just cranked it right up."
