Following up their all conquering headline performance at the 2008 Download festival, glam rock titans KISS were back on English soil for their first indoor arena tour in the country for 11 years. The KISS machine these days includes guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer, alongside original members Paul Stanley (guitar and vocals) and Gene Simmons (bass and vocals).

The MEN Arena was packed virtually to capacity tonight, and the excitement amongst the 10,000+ crowd was electrifying, especially as the huge curtain dropped, and KISS bombastically entered the stage to the tune of ‘Modern Day Delilah’. The title of the tour is ‘From the Beginning to the Boom’, and this was reflected in the setlist, with songs spanning the entire 35 year recording career of the band, from 1974′s ‘Kiss’, right up to 2009′s ‘Sonic Boom’.

The setlist was a real crowd pleaser, and seemed to be specifically catering to the UK audience, with the band’s only two UK top 10 hits ‘Crazy, Crazy Nights’ and ‘God Gave Rock ‘n’ Roll To You’ both performed for the first time in donkeys years. Despite the 35 year age gap between some of the songs, the set gelled well together and provided a treat for young and old, with vast age differences between members the crowd in attendance.

Behind all the props, piro and glitter, KISS are a simple rock and roll band, and unlike many aging rock bands, KISS are proud to confirm that they use no backing tapes and no additional instrumentalists or singers. This point was absolutely proven tonight, as Paul Stanley’s voice sounded extremely worn, and he particularly struggled on some of the higher notes on the likes of ‘Love Gun’ and ‘Detroit Rock City’. Still, I’d much rather here a live worn voice than a perfect voice from a backing tape, but let’s hope that Stanley’s voice will improve as the tour gathers momentum.

In terms of the props, piro and glitter – yes of course they were all there, and a KISS show wouldn’t be the same without them. Gene Simmons did his fire breathing, and blood-spitting, and at the age of 60, he still doesn’t mind flying to the top of the stage to perform ‘I Love it Loud’. Tommy Thayer did his very best impression of Ace Frehley (original guitarist) with a performance of ‘Shock Me’, before firing rockets from his guitar. The highlight of the show though had to be when Paul Stanley boarded the trip wire to perform ‘I Was Made For Loving You’ from on top of the mixing desk – always a magic moment.

Tonight’s set went on for over 2 hours, and there wasn’t a minute that you could turn your head away from the action on stage. The introduction to every KISS show is ‘You Wanted The Best You Got the Best’, and when it comes to a live spectacle, there really is no one better than KISS - a band that everybody has to see live before they die!

KISS Setlist: Modern Day Delilah / Cold Gin / Let Me Go, Rock And Roll / Firehouse / Say Yeah / Deuce / Crazy Crazy Nights / Calling Dr. Love / Shock Me / I’m An Animal / 100,000 Years / I Love It Loud / Love Gun / Black Diamond / Detroit Rock City / Lick It Up / Shout It Out Loud / I Was Made For Lovin’ You / God Gave Rock’n Roll To You / Rock And Roll All Nite

Review by James Allman