Watch: KISS Plays Last-Ever Australian Concert At Sydney's Accor Stadium

Legendary rockers KISS returned to Sydney for their last-ever show in Australia on Saturday, October 7 at Accor Stadium.

The farewell show was the result of a national petition which saw passionate KISS fans beg for the band to return to Australia one more time before they bring their lengthy touring career to an end at New York City's Madison Square Garden in December.

"You have made your voices loud enough that it was impossible for us not to hear you!" KISS frontman Paul Stanley said when the show was first announced in May. "We are overwhelmed by your petitions and calls for one last KISS so we are now announcing that the 'End Of The Road' will detour one last time to Sydney for a final bombastic farewell. As unexpected as this is for us, we will make it unforgettable for all who share the night with us."

Fan-filmed video of last night's entire concert can be viewed below (courtesy of the Vic's Music YouTube channel).

The setlist was as follows:

01. Detroit Rock City
02. Shout It Out Loud
03. Deuce
04. War Machine
05. Heaven's On Fire
06. I Love It Loud
07. Say Yeah
08. Cold Gin
09. Guitar Solo (Tommy Thayer)
10. Lick It Up
11. Calling Dr. Love
12. Makin' Love
13. Psycho Circus (Partial)
14. Drum Solo
15. 100,000 Years (Partial)
16. Bass Solo
17. God Of Thunder
18. Love Gun
19. Black Diamond

Encore:

20. Beth
21. Shandi
22. I Was Made For Lovin' You
23. Rock And Roll All Nite

KISS's final runs of shows will wrap up in early December with a massive concert in the city where it all began for the legendary rock act. New York City has been a part of the band's ethos and storyline for more than four decades, so they felt it fitting to culminate an iconic Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame-worthy career on stage at New York's famed Madison Square Garden.

KISS launched its farewell trek in January 2019 but was forced to put it on hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"End Of The Road" was originally scheduled to conclude on July 17, 2021 in New York City but has since been extended to late 2023. The trek was announced in September 2018 following a KISS performance of the band's classic song "Detroit Rock City" on "America's Got Talent".

Last month, KISS frontman Paul Stanley told Australia's "The Project" about "End Of The Road": "Well, it's interesting because we can see the end now. When we started to plan this, it was probably about five years ago and the pandemic came into play and we lost a few years. We've done 250 shows on this 'End Of The Road' tour, because it's a long road, and they kept paving more road. But this is it for us. And intellectually, yeah, we go, we can't continue doing this. We're in our 70s; hard to believe. But for us, it's just reached a point where we realize we can't do this indefinitely. We're really at the top of our game still. And now's the time to do a victory lap and go out there with our heads held high and say thank you to everybody and do a show that really encapsulates and really pays tribute not only to us but to the fans."

KISS's current lineup consists of original members Stanley (guitar, vocals) and Gene Simmons (bass, vocals),alongside later band additions, guitarist Tommy Thayer (since 2002) and drummer Eric Singer (on and off since 1991).

Formed in 1973 by Stanley, Simmons, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, KISS staged its first "farewell" tour in 2000, the last to feature the group's original lineup.

In a separate interview with Gulf News, Stanley addressed the fact that he and his bandmates have never allowed their concert theatrics to overshadow the music.

"I always say this: a crappy band with a big show is a crappy band," he explained. "We didn't start as a band with everything. We started as a band making music we listened to. When I was young, I saw LED ZEPPELIN, I saw Jimi Hendrix twice and I saw all the greats. They inspired me. And it was never about being a part of a band with make-up and [fireworks] … Our music doesn't need intellectualizing or philosophizing."

Stanley added: "I know there are entertainers right now who can draw bigger crowds, but I don't know if they are going to in the next 50 years. We have done that. Our devoted fan base is almost like a tribe … We don't make art that is intellectual; we make art that's emotional … That's why people remember their first KISS concert, their first KISS song, and they remember when KISS first came on the radio. It's a powerful connection."

Two years ago, Stanley told Classic Rock magazine that "one of the best things about early KISS songs is that they really were uninhibited and very much from the gut: we had nothing to live up to, except doing what turned us on."

"Over time you can learn too much: you might become a better songwriter, but sometimes it's the freedom of naivety that makes for the best result," he concluded.