KISS

Brisbane Entertainment Centre 

06.09.22

So here we are. A full house. The longest queue you’ve ever seen at a merch stand and Kiss are playing their final Brisbane show on their End of The Road World Tour. 

The tour began in January 2019 in Vancouver and the band have been weaving their way around the globe ever since. 

There’s been a few false starts getting to Australia. The first round of Covid put a spanner in the works, but tonight its a heaving full house and, clearly, there’s no other place this audience would rather be. 

The show feels like it starts from the minute you park your car. The venue is packed with fans of all ages, some in make-up and, in other cases, full costume. 

The band’s 1980 show at Lang Park burns bright as a pivotal moment in Brisbane’s cultural history. People who saw it still talk about it with a sense of awe. Judging by the audience tonight, there’s a mix of seasoned Kiss fans, the curious and the newly initiated. 

So how do you really get a crowd in the mood?

Well, Wolfmother kicked off proceedings with a 45 minute set. Frontman Andrew Stockdale was humbled to be there: in his home town and opening for Kiss. For a three-piece, the band pull a big stage sound. A highlight was the closer, ‘Joker and the Thief’. 

Before the main event the capacity room was rocking to the sounds of Van Halen, AC/DC and finally Led Zeppelin. 

Then comes the clarion call, ‘You want the best … you got the best’. 

The big curtain fell and Kiss descend from the rafters on pods. Fireworks and pyrotechnics set the place ablaze while Eric Singer is already on the kit pounding out a groove for ‘Detroit Rock City’. 

‘Shout It Out Loud’ provides the first sing-a-long, while ‘Deuce’ demonstrates that Kiss have lost none of their rock grunt. 

Paul Stanley remains the consulate rock frontman. He’s still lithe, has great stage patter and the energy to keep the whole shebang moving forward. Gene Simmons is in good voice and still spits blood and plays with fire. Guitarist Tommy Thayer – in Ace make-up – plays like a champion. 

After the opening gambit, the core of the setlist works its way through the back catalogue and if the songs don’t do it for you, the pizzaz will get you through. 

It’s here you’ll find ‘War Machine’, ‘I Love It Loud’, ‘Lick It Up’ and more. The show raises a notch after Gene’s ‘God of Thunder’ routine.  Paul takes to the air and sails over the seats to set himself up on a riser towards the back of the floor. 

‘Love Gun’ is epic. It’s followed by a killer version of ‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’. ‘Black Diamond’ brings the main set to a close. 

Eric delivers the most tender moment of the night with Peter Criss’s ‘Beth’. It’s a terrific reading and is the only discernible time that samples are used. In context, there isn’t one great band from the period doing houses this big that don’t bring a flotilla of backing singers and players. Kiss do all the heavy lifting – musically – themselves. If a bum note is hit – it’s an authentic bum note. 

‘Shandi’ gets an airing and then it’s ‘Rock And Roll All Night’ for the closer. 

Forty two years after they first touched down on Australian soil, Kiss have delivered a fantastic show. The theatre of it is incomparable – Kiss stand alone. 

As the giant balloons, the confetti canons and the streamers rained down, Paul Stanley smashed his guitar. Kiss … you came … you rocked and you freaking conquered. 

Sean Sennett/Time Off

Photo: Igor Vidyashaw (supplied)

(Kiss finish their Australian tour at Cbus Super Stadium Robina on September 10)