Supports: The Delta Riggs, Regurgitator, and Weezer.
Accor Stadium, Homebush Sydney
Saturday, the 7th of October, 2023.
Kiss are a rock music staple; the formula and product delivered is never going to change and the aim was always global domination. To some extent, they achieved that aim, as when it comes to gigantic concert experiences, they are virtually incomparable to any other international act that can potentially fill outdoor stadiums. In 2001, after reuniting the original lineup in 2006 that raked in eyewatering ticket sales, the face painted four-piece, embarked on what was to be their Farewell Tour. Many more tours resulted, with numerous co-headlines but it wasn’t until their End of the Road Tour, postponed by the pandemic, that the remaining original lineup and long serving character embracing hired guns, appeared true to their word. Inevitably financial incentives allowed for a final dual hit of the Australian east coast with three songs of huge staging production at the AFL Grand Final as a precursor to their final full set outdoor show in Sydney, a week later. Interestingly, the first time Kiss visited Australia in 1980, when their touring pull in the States was beginning to wane, saw them play outdoor venues, and each subsequent visit was played to arena sized venues. So, with this final show in Sydney titled The Final Curtain, being an outdoor, full pyrotechnic filled, stadium extravaganza, had an air of authenticity to final proceedings for the diehard fans. Given the advancing age of remaining core members, bassist Gene Simmons and front man, Paul Stanley, and with an American leg left to complete for this tour, the last tour moniker looks plausible.
Three support acts were in line to be ignored by fans, sometimes adorned with varying qualities of face makeup, gradually filling up the grounds. To start things off, with the afternoon sun still in effect, Queensland’s The Delta Riggs put in a solid effort. But their bouncing pop, indie rock vibe wasn’t really going to capture rock fans brought up on Kiss and ABC Countdown specials. If anything, a cover of The Romantic’s “Talking in Your Sleep” merely reminded fans of the AM radio days, and Molly’s era of playing various tracks as Kiss fans waited patiently to hear new material from Unmasked. The echo around the venue was not overly friendly to The Delta Riggs style of jangly pop either, as “Never Seen this Before” seemed to suffer slightly from slap back delay. Final song of the set, “Bright as the Sun”, had a better rock rhythm section swagger feel to it, and the band ploughed through with suitable attitude, knowing full well that rabid Kiss fans were there early simply to get a prize position.
A similar scenario applied to the strange billing of Regurgitator, who inexplicably started their set dressed with nun habits, and launched into “I Sucked a Lot of Cock to Get Where I Am”, followed by “I Will Lick Your Arsehole”, both of which may have given parents bringing their kids to see the Kiss spectacle a moment of regret. It was typically immature but overall, their set was decent, with the bulk of the set comprising of Unit tracks, not surprisingly since their recent run of shows celebrating the 25th anniversary of that release, and a fair smattering of tracks from their first official album, Tu-Plang. But Kiss is pure escapism, whereas Regurgitator have no qualms about pushing social agendas, which Kiss fans were not having a bar of as the sun began to set.
The cavernous size of the stadium meant many seated audience members saw the bulk of the set via large video screens that both bookended the stage and provided a unique central backdrop. The result being that the defiant facial expressions of vocalist and guitarist Quan Yeomans, and bassist Ben Ely added a touch of wry humour to the set. Adding in the antics of touring keyboardist Shane Rudken, dressed in some sort of glam attire as a typically provocative act from Regurgitator, which saw some interesting responses from audience members, losing patience with the band on stage not being Kiss. Drummer Peter Kostic ignored the friction with a laugh, as the band continued on delivering known indie pop gems such as “Polyester Girl” and “I Like Your Old Stuff Better Than Your New Stuff”, after a tongue in cheek rendition of a portion of Metallica’s hit “Enter Sandman”. Things picked up by the end of the set, with some classic crossover tracks in “Kong Foo Sing”, “Fat Cop” and “! (The Song Formerly Known As)” to round out the strangest support slot ever seen for Kiss.
The stage backdrop now sporting various animation segments, and with natural light almost gone, and a perfect clear sky, the Van Halen inspired Van Weezer album moniker [a large letter W with wings] shone in bright gold and was interspersed with other clips depending on the song aired. Kicking off with “My Name is Jonas” from their debut album Weezer (Blue Album), the next few tracks came from various parts of their vast discography, with tracks such “Beverly Hills” from Make Believe and “Return to Ithaka” from Everything will be Alright in the End, and then “Pork and Beans”, the only track played from Weezer (Red Album), before settling into a set that consisted primarily of material from Weezer (Blue Album). Front man and co-guitarist Rivers Cuomo played a variety of different guitars ranging from more vintage Stratocaster models to heavy metal inspired Jackson flying V guitars, and even an initially unaccompanied acoustic during “Only in Dreams”, whilst generally co-guitarist Brian Bell stuck with black Les Paul workhorse, and bassist Scott Shriner briefly took to a dual necked bass. Weezer did make an effort to get some interesting tones for their set.
Weezer fans did get familiar cuts from their third album, imaginatively titled Weezer (Green Album), with hits “Island in the Sun” and a heavier version of “Hash Pipe”. Both “Undone – The Sweater Song” and set closer “Buddy Holly” went down a treat. Their ambitious mid set cover of Kiss’ “Strutter”, at a Kiss concert, was met with mixed applause but overall, it was a decent effort that pleased the old school Kiss fans. Those following the band into their ongoing career were rewarded with “Thank You and Good Night” from on their SZNZ: Summer EP which is one of four seasonally named EP projects, and an introduction of “1 More Hit” from their recent Van Weezer album, added to “Pork and Beans”. Weezer was indeed another strange Kiss support choice but with Cuomo’s obvious appreciation of the hard rock genre, their selection made more sense. To be fair, they put in a reputable performance on a slowly expanding stage, as road crew were busy in the background.
The stage curtain dropped over the main stage as local and tour entourage road crew ran about preparing the gigantic stage set minutiae for the arrival of Kiss. On either side of stage, large inflatable effigies of Kiss band members rose to survey the crowd from the stage sides. As the venue floor heaved with a cross generational audience, “Rock and Roll” by Led Zeppelin played over the PA. Soon after, the moment arrived when the ubiquitous spoken introduction of Kiss over the PA was bolstered with some video of the band approaching the ‘stage door’, no doubt already in position high above the stage, standing atop the lighting rig platforms.
A sudden burst of pyro as the curtain dropped and three equidistant rigs lowered to the stage floor, each commandeered by Gene Simmons, lead guitarist Tommy Thayer and Paul Stanley, playing opening track “Detroit Rock City”. An elevated drum riser, adorned with fearsome looking cat statues, had drummer Eric Singer in full hammering mode, as more precision timed pyro flash pots and fireworks were let off, commencing the theatrical, over the top stage production to come. The lowered rigs were then retracted to the stage ceiling lighting rigs, with the main stage embellished by smoke and dry ice. Whilst the songs themselves are not remotely complex, the sensory overload from the theatrics from a Kiss show would be overwhelming for the uninitiated. The song completed with literal explosive effects accents.
Band members move to certain choreographed positions, wearing heavy platformed boots, and costumes that redefine flamboyance, with the added character face paints that provides and almost otherworldly atmosphere, as intended. Their skill is to create a feeling of spontaneity with the audience despite it being clearly evident that everything is rehearsed with discipline, primarily for safety reasons of being in proximity of endless pyrotechnics. Walls of amplifier cabinets are almost dwarfed by the mounted lighting and pyrotechnics rigs that cover the entirety of the stage. During “Shout It Out Loud”, Stanley shimmied with some level of swagger and added guitar neck poses such as playing his sparkly Destroyer modelled guitars under his leg, whilst stabilising on a front of stage wedge, as Simmons vocals soared clearly across the venue. As “Deuce” was played, the backdrop displayed a variety of band logos and videos of different notable line-ups, swaying to the riffs. Adding to the effects, a raft of coloured lasers panned out, circling to the back of the stadium.
“War Machine”, ironically looks dated visually with the animation since that field has improved in leaps and bounds since the song and associated video was released. The inclusion of “Heaven’s on Fire” provided some recognition of the magic of the Bruce Kulick lead guitar era, but Stanley’s vocals, whether assisted or not, were delivered at an understandably lower register than audiences from the 80’s might recall. But Kiss’ showmanship and playing skills are perfectly intact, as were Stanley’s exaggerated hand gestures, albeit it being slightly odd how Stanley continues with fluctuating, gospel inspired between song stage banter that seemed to almost warble, as witnessed introducing “Cold Gin” in his inimitable style, although the vibrato and projection is still present. By contrast, Simmon’s fronted material such as “I Love It Loud” poses little problems given he wisely wrote the bulk of the back catalogue songs at an almost speech level pitch. It also sees Gene breathing fire, completing the task with a swift knifing thrust of the apparatus into the stage, to be quickly removed by stagehand. “Say Yeah” remains a generic call and response live track from the Sonic Boom album.
The aforementioned “Cold Gin” saw Simmons and Thayer alongside, playing guitar parts together before moving around the stage, followed by Thayer soloing away, whilst the stage was immersed in green lighting. The overtly suggestive 80’s track “Lick it Up” was vastly improved with a fingerpicked guitar interlude section that ushered in a portion of The Who’s classic “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, which probably went over the heads of half the audience. Fortunately for Kiss, most of their material is at a pace that coincides with the timing of any stadium slap back and the vocals are sustained, making sure the melodies hit most audience members’ ears. Kiss don’t do anything by half measures and know the mechanics of live production.
Gene fronted track “Calling Dr Love” was preceded with Stanley offering up crowd affirmation, and some odd pandemic discussion back and forth between Simmons and Stanley, as the crowd seemingly hung on every word. Gene took the microphone in his mouth after singing duties were completed. Thayer’s solos had a variety of wide bends, adding interest to the usual trills and riffs. The duo of Stanley and Thayer then played the classic old school introduction riff of “Makin’ Love” as strobe lighting kicked in. As always, Thayer’s renditions of Ace Frehley’s classic solos were precisely executed and Singer’s drum techniques included a variety of flurries across the tom-tom drums, and with the stage blue lit a guitar duel followed between Stanley and Thayer commenced. They stood at the stage ends and with each passage played, highly reminiscent stylistically of Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin, they both met up at centre stage to end the duel with a harmonised guitar section.
A good chunk of Psycho Circus’ title track, the last album to include all original members, was aired, with Thayer sporting a very tasty bright blue Les Paul guitar, and the backdrop screen given a circus framing as Paul sang, the stage was red lit, and some explosions added emphasis. It was soon Singer’s time to shine, with a solo chock full of unbeatable technique, attitude and typical cheekiness. He got a groove happening with plentiful fills and double kick drum work as the stage was lit green and blue, ending each phrase with a pointed finger to the camera beaming his image across the mammoth stage screens. The kit artwork became prominent as the hydraulics elevated the kit up high. Singer, unperturbed, twirled drumsticks, added flams galore across tom-toms and then proceeded to jam with Simmons, who by this point was sporting his signature literal axe modelled bass guitar. A partial opening part of “100,000 Years” was then given some love in the setlist but it felt more like a jam.
Thunder and lightning was next up visually, and sonically, as Simmons pushed sub-frequencies, low pitch notes from his bass as he was elevated on a platform, high above the stage, to engage in his signature, blood capsule bursting pre-digestive tract expulsion antics, seemingly less gratuitous than previous tours, before performing “God of Thunder”, signing the song from the substantially raised platform, as laser beams again hit the back of the stadium.
“Love Gun” was next. Coaxing people to yell his name, Stanley set up taking the foot held flying fox the over audience to the small stage near the front of house mixing desk, as circular lighting kicked in, with blue and green stage colours as Thayer played the Ace revered guitar parts on a blue Les Paul guitar. The crowd sang along with the chorus of “Love Gun” as Stanley faced the band from his small stage, singing back to the audience.
One of the show highlights was the next track of “Black Diamond”. It wasn’t just the nod to classic debut album material but the introductory delivery. Stanley rolled back the volume on the guitar to play the chordal arpeggios and then, turning up the guitar, to get the tube amplifier warmth and thump, launched into pedalling the riff properly. It was just a single guitar playing a classic riff through a huge wattage PA, showing that Stanley is a very capable guitarist. He then led the song itself, to return to the stage via the flying fox. The audience sang along to the vocal harmonies as black and white live visuals mixed with the stage being purple lit, backed vocally by Thayer and Singer. A Catherine wheel spiral firework was added, as was a slew of pyrotechnics across the stage. After the main set, the band gave their bows to huge applause after a suitably bombastic ending.
Of course, there was an encore to follow, and it commenced with Singer solo on piano, providing a perfect version of “Beth”, as the entire stadium lit up with smart phone lights. The country guitar tinged “Shandi” was also included, not surprisingly given the success of the song during Kiss’ first tour here in 1980. As balloons were let out onto the crowd, the disco era hit of “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” had the audience singing along, probably surprised that Stanley wasn’t attempting the octave jump high notes this time around. The Gene fronted “Rock and Roll All Nite” closed off the show properly, as the stage was lit red, and a ridiculous quantity of confetti was catapulted into the audience.
Kiss then said their farewells, leaving the stage as the strains of “God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll to You II” rang out over the PA and a ‘Kiss Loves You Sydney’ message was illuminated across the screens. Kiss delivered the biggest farewell show that has even been seen in a stadium. If that is indeed the end of Kiss’ live ear, as far as Australia is concerned, they truly went out with one dirty great, almighty bang. It was a show to tell the grand kids about.
Rock and Roll [Led Zeppelin – PA]
Detroit Rock City
Shout It Out Loud
Deuce
War Machine
Heaven’s on Fire
I Love It Loud
Say Yeah
Cold Gin
Guitar Solo – Tommy Thayer
Lick It Up / Won’t Get Fooled Again [The Who]
Calling Dr. Love
Makin’ Love
Paul Stanley and Tommy Thayer guitar duel.
Psycho Circus [partial]
Drum Solo
100,000 Years [intro]
Bass Solo
God of Thunder
Love Gun
Black Diamond
Encore:
Beth
Shandi
I Was Made for Lovin’ You
Rock and Roll All Nite
God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll to You II [PA].