Reviewed on Saturday October 10 (photo by Katrina Clarke)
They weren’t the type of guys that usually go out wearing make-up and spandex on a Saturday night. But outside Allphones Arena, they paraded proudly. Walking tall (literally, on four-inch platform boots) these everyday fellas and their families came dressed in accurate ode to their favourite KISS band member. The KISS Army had gathered – surely among the most dedicated and passionate in all of rock fandom.
There were lots of Genes, with demonic bat wings painted around their eyes and hair tied in a top knot. There were plenty of Pauls, in tight black and silver leotards and bright red lipstick. Foursomes of friends had come as the whole band. Everybody else – everybody – wore an official band tee. One group arrived in a KISS-emblazoned transit van.
All-star rock collective The Dead Daisies began proceedings inside with a crowd-pleasing set including covers of ‘Hush’ and ‘Helter Skelter’. Bassist Marco Mendoza in black leather cape and trousers flung picks into the audience while drummer Brian Tichy bounced his sticks so high off the tom they nearly hit the lights above.
And then: “You wanted the best, you got the best!” called the announcer. The curtain fell and the pyrotechnics blasted. Fireballs burst from the back of the stage on the beat. Lights, smoke and the mammoth riff of ‘Detroit Rock City’. And there they were, high above the crowd aboard a giant laser-eyed gantry spider – where else?
Critically snubbed and oft-mocked, it can never be denied that KISS put on a show. And not just any show: a theatrical, sparks flying from the end of the guitar, glitter and fireworks kind of show.
The hits were plentiful and each member got a spot to shine. Gene Simmons played a rumbling bass solo as he spat blood from his flapping tongue before he shot skyward on a wire. Paul Stanley rode a zip line to a stage at the back of the arena to play ‘Shandi’ under a huge disco ball.
That white make-up really hides their age, while their high-kicking onstage acrobatics don’t reveal it either. It was over-the-top. It was ridiculous. It was a true spectacle, signed off (how else?) with an encore, a “We love you, Sydney,” spinning wheels of fire and a confetti cannon.
See you next time KISS Army. I’ll be in leggings.
