KISS End of the Road Australian Tour Kicks Off In Melbourne #REVIEW

The KISS End of the Road tour has finally reached Australia after three delays due to the pandemic and they are literally going out with a bang.

KISS founding members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley with Eric Singer (1991-1996, 2001 and 2002 and 2004 to present) and Tommy Thayer (since 2002) are not going quietly.

A KISS show is all the fun of the fair with pyrotechnics, Gene spewing blood, Paul soaring through the crowd, Eric’s floating drumkit and Tommy’s exploding guitar. Every trick of the trade has been compiled into this show.

Photo by Mary Boukouvalas with thanks to What’s My Scene

As the stage explodes with fireworks of the opening song ‘Detroit Rock City’ and the members of KISS beam down from the heavens onto the Rod Laver Arena stage you are transported to a carefree space with 14000 other minds all focused on nothing but a good time.

KISS don’t fuck with the formula. You get the anthems you expect. ‘I Was Made For Loving You’, ‘Rock and Roll All Nite’, ‘Love Gun’, ‘Deuce’, it wouldn’t be a KISS show without them.

Photo by Mary Boukouvalas with thanks to What’s My Scene

Australia and New Zealand also get the added song ‘Shandi’. The Paul Stanley song from 1980’s ‘Unmasked’ reached number five in Australia and number six in New Zealand but it didn’t impact in many other places. ‘Shandi’ was number one in Argentina and number four in Norway. It fell just about the Top 20 in The Netherlands and Germany but wasn’t a hit anywhere else in the world. KISS rarely perform ‘Shandi’ outside of Australia, New Zealand and occasional Europe.

The setlist itself is a trip through time, hopping the eras of the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s to showcase a rock and roll reminder of musical era dangerously close to its end. That in itself creates an urgency to see these legacy acts while you still can. This may very well be it for KISS and Australia, but hey, never say never.

Photo by Mary Boukouvalas with thanks to What’s My Scene

KISS Setlist Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena 20 August 2022

Detroit Rock City (from Destroyer, 1976)
Shout It Out Loud (from Destroyer, 1976)
Deuce (from Kiss, 1974)
War Machine (from Lick It Up, 1983)
Heaven’s on Fire (from Animalize, 1984)
I Love It Loud (from Creatures of the Night, 1982)
Say Yeah (from Sonic Boom, 2009)
Cold Gin (from Kiss, 1974)
Lick It Up (from Lick It Up, 1983)
Calling Dr. Love (from Rock and Roll Over, 1976)
Do You Love Me (from Destroyer, 1976)
Psycho Circus (from Psycho Circus, 1998)
Drum Solo
100,000 Years (from Kiss, 1974)
Bass Solo
God of Thunder (from Destroyer, 1976)
Love Gun (from Love Gun, 1976)
I Was Made for Lovin’ You (from Dynasty, 1979)
Black Diamond (from Kiss, 1974)

Encore:
Beth (from Destroyer, 1976)
Shandi (from Unmasked, 1980)
Rock and Roll All Nite (from Dressed To Kill, 1974)

Kiss

August 21 and 23, Melbourne Rod Laver Arena
August 26 and 27, Sydney, QUDOS Arena
August 30, Adelaide, Entertainment Centre
September 2, Perth, RAC Arena
September 6, Brisbane, Entertainment Centre
September 10, Gold Coast, CBUS Stadium

Get remaining tickets here https://www.teglive.com.au/events/kiss-tour-2021/

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