We hope you have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day! Don't forget to wear green!

By Fallon Hudson

IN the world of showbiz there are high expectations.

And last night Mackay met them when American rock gods KISS rocked the socks off Mackay fans.

In a concert that was pure showmanship, the rockers from the 70s, worked the stage and played up to the audience like it was their first time.

They belted out their hits Rock and Roll All Night and Lick it Up.

While on stage the crowd saw Gene Simmons tongue in the flesh and watched Paul Stanley fly across the fans on a flying fox.

Not only that, you could feel the heat from the stage as balls of fire shot up through the air.

Along with fire there were fireworks and confetti guns.

MECC manager Mark Fawcett said he was proud of what they achieved at the Virgin Australia Stadium

"What we did last night was a dream come true. We put on a capital city concert.

"There was 99 percent of Mackay behind this concert," he said.

CROWD brought to tears after singing along with rock superstars KISS to remember murdered girl Shandee Blackburn, who was named after one of their songs.

By Kate Kyriacou, John O'Brien / The Courier-Mail

MURDERED Mackay woman Shandee Blackburn would have been front and centre when international rock superstars KISS - the band that gave her her name - took to the stage in her hometown.

Instead, her family watched in delight as lead singer Paul Stanley last night did an acoustic version of the band's song Shandi for Shandee.

Ms Blackburn was stabbed to death early last month as she walked home from work.

She was less than a block from home when her attacker struck.



"I think everyone knows about a girl called Shandee Blackburn," Stanley told the Mackay crowd last night.

"We lost her and we wish she could be here with us, so why don't we sing a song for her, all of us."

Shandee's mother Vicki said she had no idea the band had agreed to their request to play the song she'd named her daughter for.

Here's a fan-filmed clip of KISS performing "Cold Gin" at the Meet & Greet in Mackay, Australia yesterday.

Here's KISS with the Mackay KISS Army at the packed Virgin Australia Stadium in Mackay, Australia last night.


Photo by Dean Snowden for KISSONLINE.

Here are a few photos of KISS filming promo TV clips for the Arena Football League. The session took place at Etihad Satdium in Melbourne, Australia during the band's two night stand at the venue.

KISS TO HEADLINE ARENABOWL XXVI WEEKEND in Orlando

Legendary Rockers 40th Anniversary Celebrates with Champions of AFL

CBS Sports Network and the CBS Network partner in success

BIG NEWS with BIG PARTNERS. AFL, CBS and KISS Unite for major Entertainment Weekend

Legendary rock band KISS will perform during ArenaBowl XXVI weekend this August 16th in Orlando, Florida, as this unprecedented partnership with The Arena Football League and CBS Sports was proudly announced on Tuesday.

ArenaBowl XXVI is set to be played at the Amway Center in Orlando on Saturday, August 17. The game will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network at 1 p.m. as part of the 3 day weekend celebration.


Photos by Keith Leroux for KISSONLINE.

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

By Justin Edwards

The best & most kickass horror t-shirt company around, Fright-Rags, is paying tribute to some horror & rock icons with their new Limited Edition t-shirts. Inspired by KISS’ platinum selling album Destroyer, KILL has Freddy, Chucky, Jason, & Leatherface striking a killer pose thank to Jason Edmiston’s equally killer art!

ONE lucky KISS fan has scored a meet and greet with the band at Saturday's concert.

SeaFM's Jay and Dave walked into a meeting and surprised Dean Dobson with the prize earlier this afternoon.

The surprise came after a supportive friend wrote a letter to the radio station, asking if the meet-and-greet could be set-up for Mackay's biggest KISS fan.

Mr Dobson, who has several KISS tattoos and has been wearing KISST-shirts ever since their Mackay concert was announced, will now be able to meet the band on Saturday night.

Story by Pam frost
Photo by Lee Constable

MACKAY residents and businesses are getting into the KISS spirit as the town prepares for this weekend's concert.

Ticket sales were on track to break the record for the biggest concert held in Mackay, MECC manager Mark Fawcett said.

A couple of hundred tickets are still available but Mr Fawcett is urging people not to leave their ticket purchases to the last minute to avoid long line-ups at the gate.

"We'd like it to be easier for people to get into the stadium on the night," he said. "If we have to sell tickets as well as get people in, it really gets congested."

Residents and businesses are making the most out of the concert that will rock Mackay.

Caneland Central's JB Hi Fi has embraced the KISS spirit with a display of posters, KISS CDs and even some old vinyl records, which sold out.

Check out out this cool shot of Paul and Gene from KISS' Brisbane show on March 12th.

Thanks to our friend Andrew Treadwell for sharing his great photo with us!

CLICK here to view more of Andrew's KISS Brisbane photos.

Myrtle Beach has dinosaurs, pirates and jungles on its many mini-golf courses, but only Las Vegas has KISS® By Monster Mini Golf®, a playable tribute to America's favorite costumed rock n' roll band. The standalone fun center includes 18-holes of indoor glow-in-the-dark mini golf, with a pervasive KISS theme that includes giant guitars, an animated replica of the band, and even a 12-foot high Gene Simmons head that you putt into! You can take souvenir photos in KISS concert regalia, and the facility also features arcade games, a large Gallery/Museum devoted to, you guessed it, KISS, a KISS gift shop, KISS-themed event/private party rooms, and the "Hotter Than Hell" Wedding Chapel for ultimate fan nuptials! Open 10AM-Midnight daily.

Slated for release in September, "Nothing to Lose: The Making of KISS (1972-1975)"

Nothin’ to Lose: the Making of KISS (1972-1975) chronicles the crucial formative years of the legendary rock band KISS, culminating with the groundbreaking success of their classic 1975 album Alive! and the smash single “Rock and Roll All Nite,” a song that nearly four decades later remains one of the band’s most enduring anthems. Drawing on more than 200 new interviews,, the 544 page hardback book offers a captivating and intimate fly-on-the-wall account of their launch, charting the struggles and ultimate victories that led them to the threshold of superstardom. Constructed as an oral history, the book, includes original interviews with Paul, Gene, Ace, and Peter, as well as producers, engineers, management, record company personnel, roadies, club owners, booking agents, concert promoters, costume, stage and art designers, rock photographers, publicists, and key music journalists. Many of KISS's musical contemporaries from the time, most of whom shared concert bills with the band on their early tours, also lend their perspective via new interviews including Bob Seger, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, Rush, Slade, Blue Oyster Cult, Mott the Hoople, Journey, REO Speedwagon, Styx, Raspberries, James Gang, Montrose, Black Oak Arkansas, Ted Nugent, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, New York Dolls, Iggy & the Stooges, The Ramones, Suzi Quatro, Savoy Brown, Argent, Nazareth, Uriah Heep, Suzi Quatro, Leslie West, Status Quo, Jo Jo Gunne, The Rockets and Wishbone Ash among others. Profusely illustrated with over 150 photos, the end result is an indelible and irresistible portrait of a band on the rise and the music scene they changed forever.

www.Amazon.com.

www.Barnesandnoble.com.

www.indiebound.org.

www.booksamillion.com.

Cover Photo by Len Delessio

Here's the Sydney KISS Army at Allphones Arena.


_{Photos by Soni Giles and Keith Leroux for KISSONLINE.}

Here's Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons rocking Allphones Arena in Sydney on March 10, 2013.

All Images by Cameron Edney © Wicked Pix.

CLICK HERE to view Wicked Pix KISS Photo Gallery.

Here's Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer rocking Allphones Arena in Sydney on March 10, 2013.

All Images by Cameron Edney © Wicked Pix.

CLICK HERE to view Wicked Pix KISS Photo Gallery.