By Fallon Hudson
Photo by Lee Constable

THEY descended like gods from above.

Surrounded by a cloudy orange hue, KISS landed in Mackay at Virgin Australia Stadium.

Their nostalgic supernova outfits glistened in the lights as they stood on a metal platform with guitars and drumsticks in hand.

On Saturday night American rock legends KISS left thousands of audience members in awe of their showmanship and theatrical pyrotechnic performance.

The highly anticipated concert proved that Mackay is more than capable and worthy of hosting a concert of international calibre.

While on stage lead singer Paul Stanley told the audience they had played all over Australia during their Monster Tour.

"We have played the big cities and we were asked why on earth would you play Mackay?

"I said Mackay is going to show you that size doesn't matter."

The crowd erupted in whistles and applause as KISS began to Shout it Out Loud.

Here's Gene spitting blood and flying before KISS performs "I Love It Loud" at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.

Filmed by Keith Leroux for KISSONLINE.

This custom KISS MONSTER Hoodie is now available for pre-order in KISSONLINE's store! The KISS zip-up hooded sweatshirt features full size color MONSTER album cover artwork on the front. The left sleeve has the band logo and the lower back has the MONSTER logo artwork. The zipper features a metal KISS logo pull tab and the inside of the hood has the KISS logo in an all over pattern.

Please note that orders will ship on or around the 2nd or 3rd week of May.

CLICK HERE to order the Custom KISS MONSTER Hoodie now.

Sir,

This is a photo of myself (on the right) with Qahar Behzad, a young Afghan artist. I met him while I am in Afghanistan assisting with the training of police officers. Such a talented young man capable of many styles of painting.

I commissioned a work of art that I knew Qahar could do, but hadn't done before. After providing a photo of what I wanted and discussing what style of painting for him to do, it turned into a KISStory lesson with more photos and music played!

Pictured here is what your classic boots look through this artist's eyes and I am quite impressed! It might be possible that I have planted a KISS seed that could develop into another branch of the KISS Army!

Sincerely,

Randy Duke

On this day in KISStory - March 18, 1977, KISS arrived in Japan for the first time for their 'Sneak Attack' Tour. The band flew into Narita International airport in Tokyo on Pan Am flight #801, christened the "KISS Clipper," which was actually painted on the side of the Boeing 747.

"KISS Faces Japan" from Sixteen Magazine:

"When KISS flew into Japan for their first tour there, they spent two hours on the plane before it landed putting on their make-up for the fans(KISS never appears without make-up in public). Trouble was, when they got to immigration, the officials wouldn't let them into the country until they'd taken it all off so that they could compare their real faces with the photos on their passports."

They had to go into a bathroom, take the makeup off to clear customs and then re-apply it back on. And they allowed a sketch artist to draw them sans make-up.

Pictured is the 'Sneak Attack' Tour book.




Here's KISS performing "Detroit Rock City" at Budokan Hall in Tokyo, Japan (April 2, 1977) during the 'Sneak Attack' Tour:

Here's KISS rockin' Virgin Stadium in Mackay, Australia last night.

Pictures by Daryl Wright.

CLICK HERE to view the Courier Mail's KISS Concert Photo Gallery

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.