Rocksimus Maximus Tour/World Domination Tour

The Rocksimus Maximus Tour/World Domination Tour was a North American concert tour co-headlined by Aerosmith and Kiss. The tour was referred to as the World Domination Tour by Kiss and was called the Rocksimus Maximus Tour by Aerosmith. It is sometimes referred to informally as the "AeroKiss Tour", incorporating the names of both headlining bands, as well as "Lips 'n' Tongue Tour", emphasizing on the fact that Gene Simmons has a long tongue and Steven Tyler has full pouting lips. The tour occurred in the latter half of 2003 and took both bands to amphitheaters across the United States in late summer and early fall, and to arenas in late fall and early winter.

AeroKiss Tour

Tour by Aerosmith & Kiss
Start date	August 2, 2003 (2003-08-02)
End date	December 20, 2003 (2003-12-20)
Legs	2
No. of shows	59 Played (1 Rescheduled, 1 Cancelled)
Aerosmith tour chronology Girls of Summer Tour (2002) Rocksimus Maximus Tour (2003) Honkin' on Bobo Tour (2004) Kiss tour chronology Kiss Farewell Tour (2000–2001) World Domination Tour (2003) Rock the Nation World Tour (2004)

It was the first tour in Kiss history with Tommy Thayer replacing Ace Frehley. Peter Criss returned yet again after having been replaced by Eric Singer on the 2001 leg of the Farewell Tour.

In the tour program for the Kiss' final tour, Thayer reflected on the tour:

When we were touring in 2003 with Aerosmith, I remember standing onstage at Madison Square Garden and thinking, Man, how did this happen? This is mindblowing that I'm in this position. But it's gratifying to think somehow this came together and somehow I'm here.[1]

Ticket prices

On this tour Kiss introduced the "Platinum" tickets package, with the most expensive packages costing USD $1,000.[2] This package included a seat in the first five rows, a meet-and-greet with Kiss after their performance, and a photograph with the band. Although this price point caused outrage among some fans, Simmons, in a 2003 interview with Classic Rock magazine stated, "we're in our 30th year and still taking $2 million a night on the gate."

Additionally, due to the high price commanded by both bands, regular pavilion seats cost $125 or more. Seats on the lawn, while lower than $100, were still above average in price.

The tour earned more than US$64 million in 2003, which ranked #7 for the year.

Performances

Considered a co-headlining tour, each band played about 16 songs each, with Kiss playing first and Aerosmith closing the show. Up-and-coming hard rock band Saliva opened the concert, with a set running about 30 minutes.

Kiss put on an over-the-top stage spectacle—complete with sophisticated pyrotechnics and their trademark outfits and make-up—including steep-heeled boots. Three original members remained, as Ace Frehley, who had chosen not to return after the Farewell Tour, was replaced with Tommy Thayer.

Aerosmith's show consisted of a mix of old and newer material, including a 3-song blues set during the middle of the show, debuting blues tracks to be featured on their then-upcoming album Honkin' on Bobo. The stage design also changed for this section of the show. Aerosmith also played several classic "deep cuts" from the 1970s that they hadn't played in years, including "Adam's Apple" and "Nobody's Fault", among others.

At a number of performances, including Oklahoma City and Houston, fans got a special treat when Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry joined Kiss onstage for the song "Strutter"; he even donned high-heeled boots, borrowed from Paul Stanley for the song. This was the first time Kiss had had someone outside the band play on stage with them (if not counting "Unplugged" and "Symphony" concerts, which were special events and not part of any tour). Ted Nugent was added to the lineup for the show of September 7 in Detroit.

Setlists

Kiss setlist

1. "Detroit Rock City"
2. "Deuce"
3. "Shout It Out Loud"
4. "Do You Love Me?"
5. "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll"
6. "Firehouse"
7. "I Love It Loud"
8. "I Want You"
9. "God of Thunder"
10. "100,000 Years"
11. "Black Diamond"
12. "Beth"
13. "Love Gun"
14. "Rock And Roll All Nite"

Other music was played during the tour: "Strutter" "Hotter Than Hell" "King Of The Night Time World" "Lick It Up" and "Heaven's On Fire".

This was also the setlist used in the latter half of 2003.

1. "Detroit Rock City"
2. "Deuce"
3. "Do You Love Me"
4. "I Love It Loud"
5. "Hotter than Hell"
6. "Firehouse"
7. "Let Me Go Rock 'n' Roll"
8. "I Want You"
9. "Shout It Out Loud"
10. "God of Thunder"
11. "Calling Dr. Love"
12. "Love Gun"
13. "Psycho Circus"
14. "I Was Made For Lovin' You"
15. "Black Diamond"

Encores:

1. "Heaven's On Fire"
2. "Beth"
3. "Rock and Roll All Nite"

Aerosmith Setlist

1. "Let the Music Do the Talking"
2. "Walk This Way"
3. "Love in an Elevator"
4. "Jaded"
5. "Rag Doll"
6. "Cryin'"
7. "What it Takes"
8. "Temperature"
9. "Never Loved A Girl"
10. "Baby, Please Don't Go"
11. "Dream On"
12. "The Other Side"
13. "Back in the Saddle"
14. "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"
15. "Sweet Emotion"

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue	Attendance
Kiss pre-tour shows
February 28, 2003	Melbourne	Australia	Telstra Dome Tommy Thayer's first show, also the Recording of Kiss Alive IV, known as "Kiss Symphony" with the MSO at the then "Telstra Dome" now Etihad Stadium	59,958
March 11, 2003	Tokyo	Japan	Budokan	12,000
March 12, 2003				12,000
March 13, 2003				12,000
March 15, 2003	Yokohama		Yokohama Arena	16,000
March 16, 2003	Las Vegas	United States	Pearl Concert Theater	2,000
Pre-tour show Santana as opening act
May 17, 2003	Pasadena	United States	Rose Bowl Stadium	50,000
Aerosmith/Kiss tour dates[3][4]
August 2, 2003	Hartford	United States	ctnow.com Meadows Music Theater	18,000
August 4, 2003	Wantagh		Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach Theater	15,000
August 6, 2003				15,000
August 9, 2003	Bristow		Nissan Pavilion	21,000
August 11, 2003	Holmdel		PNC Bank Arts Center	16,000
August 13, 2003	Cincinnati		Riverbend Music Center	17,000
August 17, 2003	Noblesville		Verizon Wireless Music Center	21,000
August 19, 2003	Columbus		Germain Amphitheater	18,000
August 21, 2003	Burgettstown		Post-Gazette Pavilion	20,000
August 23, 2003	Darien		Darien Lake Performing Arts Center	19,000
August 25, 2003	Mansfield		Tweeter Center	19,000
August 27, 2003				19,000
August 29, 2003	Camden		Tweeter Waterfront Center	21,000
August 31, 2003	Hershey		Hersheypark Stadium	28,000
September 3, 2003	Cuyahoga Falls		Blossom Music Center	18,000
September 6, 2003	East Troy		Alpine Valley Music Theatre	19,000
September 7, 2003	Detroit		Comerica Park	41,000
September 12, 2003	West Palm Beach		Sound Advice Amphitheater	18,000
September 14, 2003	Atlanta		HiFi Buys Amphitheatre	13,000
September 19, 2003	Charlotte		Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre	16,000
September 20, 2003	Raleigh		Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek	18,000
September 22, 2003	Antioch		AmSouth Amphitheatre	15,000
September 24, 2003	Bonner Springs		Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	16,000
September 26, 2003	Tinley Park		Tweeter Center	17,000
September 28, 2003	Maryland Heights		UMB Bank Pavilion	16,000
September 30, 2003	Greenwood Village		Coors Amphitheatre	16,000
October 2, 2003	Dallas		Smirnoff Music Centre	17,000
October 4, 2003	Selma		Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	15,000
October 5, 2003	The Woodlands		Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion	15,000
October 8, 2003	Phoenix		Cricket Pavilion	14,000
October 10, 2003	Mountain View		Shoreline Amphitheatre	14,000
October 12, 2003	Auburn		White River Amphitheatre	15,000
October 14, 2003	Wheatland		Sleep Train Amphitheatre	13,000
October 16, 2003	Chula Vista		Coors Amphitheatre	14,000
October 18, 2003	Devore		Hyundai Pavilion	20,000
October 20, 2003	Albuquerque		Journal Pavilion	14,000
October 22, 2003	Salt Lake City		Delta Center	12,000
October 24, 2003	Las Vegas		MGM Grand Garden Arena	13,000
October 25, 2003				10,000
2nd "indoor" leg
November 6, 2003	Omaha	United States	Qwest Events Center	14,000
November 8, 2003	Grand Forks		Alerus Center	11,000
November 10, 2003	Minneapolis		Target Center	14,000
November 12, 2003	Grand Rapids		Van Andel Arena	8,000
November 14, 2003	Bridgeport		Arena at Harbor Yard	6,000
November 16, 2003	New York City		Madison Square Garden	15,000
November 18, 2003	Portland		Cumberland County Civic Center	5,000
November 20, 2003	Washington, D.C.		MCI Center	12,000
November 22, 2003	Greensboro		Greensboro Coliseum	12,000
November 24, 2003	Manchester		Verizon Wireless Arena	8,000
November 26, 2003	Boston		FleetCenter	12,000
November 28, 2003	Albany		Pepsi Arena	10,000
November 30, 2003	Auburn Hills		The Palace of Auburn Hills	11,000
December 3, 2003	Tampa		St. Pete Times Forum	13,000
December 5, 2003	Jacksonville		Veterans Memorial Arena	9,000
December 8, 2003	Louisville		Freedom Hall	11,000
December 10, 2003	Knoxville		Thompson–Boling Arena	12,000
December 12, 2003	Moline		MARK of the Quad Cities	7,000
December 14, 2003	Oklahoma City		Ford Center	15,000
December 18, 2003	Inglewood		The Forum	13,000
December 20, 2003	Fresno		Save Mart Center Peter Criss' last show	13,000

References

1. (2019). End of the Road World Tour Program, pg. 34.
2. "KISSONLINE.COM | Archive". March 17, 2004. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
3. "AeroForceOne | Aerosmith – Rocksimus Maximus Tour". Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
4. "KISSMONSTER – KISS Tourdates Archive – 2003". www.kissmonster.com. Retrieved June 19, 2018.