KISS, Arena, Sheffield

(GETTY IMAGES)

Hearing the distinctive entrance of "All right, Sheffield, you wanted the best, you got the best, the hottest band in the world, KISS!", the crowd went wild.

The opening riff of "Modern Day Delilah" resounded through the arena as the curtain fell to reveal the rockers in trademark tight costumes and make-up.

Paul Stanley got the crowd roaring to "Crazy Crazy Nights", which sounded as good as when it broke into the UK Top 10 back in 1987. The band continued to amaze fans with classics such as "Calling Dr Love", and when Tommy Thayer took on Ace Frehley's role as vocalist on "Shock Me", the song ended perfectly with a guitar and drum solo, and fireworks and explosions going off here, there and everywhere.

Every fan in the house was looking forward to the spectacle of Gene Simmons's fire-breathing display. It didn't disappoint, sending the crowd into a frenzy as he spat blood and flew to the top of the stage to sing "I Love It Loud" before being lowered back to perform the crowd-pleasing "Love Gun".

The band returned to do what Stanley described as "the longest encore ever", packed with Kiss tracks such as "Black Diamond", "Detroit Rock City" and "Lick It Up", making for an incredibly satisfying greatest-hits package. But even that didn't come close to the reaction that the band received when Stanley came swinging over the crowd to perform "I Was Made for Lovin' You" from a platform in the middle of the audience.

The band closed with the epic "God Gave Rock'n'Roll to You" and the rock national anthem "Rock and Roll All Nite", before Stanley smashed up his guitar. After nearly four decades of rock'n'roll, and a combined age of 218, Kiss show no signs of calling it a day – and hopefully we can expect many more years of great music and live shows.

Joseph Monks was the successful bidder to review a gig of their choice in The Independent's charity auction