Last night, KISS kicked off their 2008 World Tour in Australia, with a huge concert after the first Formula 1 Grand Prix race of this year’s season, taking place at Albert Park in Melbourne. The hectic race – only 7 of the 22 racers made it to the finish – was won by Lewis Hamilton (pictured below with KISS). The Englishman from the McLaren team commented on his fifth GP win that it was his best race so far.

Support act Vanessa Amorosi opened the show directly after the conclusion of the GP podium, with KISS taking the stage around 7 p.m. The concert was staged at the rear of the Prost Grandstand. Before the performance, Paul Stanley claimed: “There’s all this incredible horsepower, incredible noise and speed – and then there’ll also be the car race! We’ll be firing on all cylinders and the audience will need their seatbelts.” In related news, KISS is filming the Australian tour for an hour-long TV special called KISSteria.