Review: KISS deliver a rocking good time as they take their final bows
KISS | RAC Arena | Friday 2 September | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
KISS made a huge entrance as they took to the stage of the RAC Arena for the Perth stop of their End of the Road World Tour. The tour began in 2019 but had been delayed several times due to Covid-19, but that only made their loyal fans more excited as they finally took to the stage.
Launching into Detroit Rock City, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and Tommy Thayer descended to the stage on circular platforms, while drummer Eric Singer was surrounded by the flames and loud explosions that the band’s live shows are famous for.
Soon the band were launching into their many hits including staring off with Shout It Out Loud from their Destroyer album of 1976. As they played Deuce, the trio of guitarists perfectly recreated their synchronised guitar moves, as video played the band making the same moves throughout the decades played behind them.
After five decades on the road, this was the band’s last hurrah, a celebration for the fans, and a showcase of flawless stagecraft and showmanship. Lead singer Paul Stanley greeted the crowd promising they were going to play “old stuff, older stuff and the oldest stuff.”
With their roots in the glam rock scene of the early 1970’s, the band’s heyday came in the late 1970’s when their posters adorned the bedroom walls of teenagers around the world. Their characters of a demon, a starchild, a cat and a spaceman held appeal for rebellious teenagers, while also appealing to a younger audience, parents scratched their heads and wondered if the band were a bad influence.
The early 1980’s saw them unmask and abandon their make up in the early 1980’s, around the same time The Village People stopped dressing as characters. The band continued on delivering album after album of hard rock tunes, but they eventually returned to their costumes and make up, probably realising the power and payday of nostalgia.
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