Live Review: KISS, The Dead Daisies

The KISS army has heeded tonight's call to arms in vast numbers, a multitude of painted faces can be seen upon arrival at Boondall. Also present is one of the biggest merch ranges to be ever witnessed in this building - well it is KISS after all.

Support comes courtesy of The Dead Daisies, a collective of hard rockin', tattooed gun flashin' musos with former links to everyone from Motley Crue to Guns N Roses and even Barnesy, the Cold Chisel frontman name-dropped by singer John Corabi as having helped co-write their latest release. They prove an astute choice as support band tonight, loud brash '80s-style cock rock the order of the day. It's a solid performance that goes down well with an already pretty massive crowd.

Glam metal legends KISS are pioneers of the big loud rock show, no spectacle too gimmicky, no firework too large. It's incredible to think that they will celebrate their 40^th anniversary next year and are still going strong, the very nearly sold out B.E.C. testament to their enduring popularity. A massive roar greets their arrival onstage as they proceed to rip into opener Detroit Rock City, followed shortly after by energetic versions of Psycho Circus and Creatures Of The Night. Singer, guitarist and major songwriter Paul Stanley (the Starchild) entertains with shamelessly cliche-ridden in-between song banter sounding like a grandmother hosting a kids TV show, his piercing "Hey BRISBANE!!"'s getting more hilarious each time he tells us how much they love our town.

Bassist Gene Simmons (the Demon) takes over vocals on I Love It Loud, the only other original member apart from Stanley onstage. Tommy Thayer (the Spaceman) and Eric Singer (the Catman) complete the still incredibly tight sounding unit on lead guitar and insanely massive drum kit respectively. Highlights come thick and fast via their vast back catalogue - Stanley flying foxing his way out over the audience onto a pontoon towards the back of the floor for an epic Love Gun, mobile phone torchlights replacing lighters for ballad Shandi, Simmons going full gonzo primal for his blood-dripping-from-mouth bass dirgey section plus also his standard fire-breathing routine, all good stuff.

The night is finished off in true style with the epic triple-play of Shout It Out Loud, I Was Made For Loving You and closer I Wanna Rock And Roll All Night (And Party Every Day). These timeless classics unite the room even more as the fireworks get ramped up, band members wire fly all over the place and mount the giant spider stage lighting rig and giant confetti guns temporarily turn everything into a winter wonderland. One hilariously cartoonish evening of maximum entertainment.