The biggest treat, of course, was Kiss. The original lineup of Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss served up a thunderous helping of hits and fan favorites to the adoring throng. The best trick was the concert's much-publicized 3-D effects ‹ when viewed through the cardboard spectacles handed out at the door, the three large screens to the rear and sides of the stage seemed to burst forth with the band members' guitars, hands, tongues and codpieces.

Though the concert also featured the Smashing Pumpkins, circus sideshow performers and enough explosives to arouse the suspicion of U.N. arms inspectors, the true star of the evening was Stanley. Belting out songs like I Was Made for Lovin' You and Detroit Rock City with passion and urgency, he gyrated from one end of the immense stage to the other for nearly two hours, swinging by a wire over the audience during Love Gun.

Unfortunately, the excitement generated by Stanley's Tarzan act was quickly dispelled by Simmons' lumbering Within, one of the three songs included from Psycho Circus.

But during Deuce, Firehouse, Cold Gin and Black Diamond, all from the band's 1974 debut, the instrumental chemistry was actually as impressive as the pyrotechnical displays they were punctuated with.

While sentiments like "We couldn't have done it without you" might have seemed slightly cynical in light of the overpriced Kiss merchandise on sale (including $40 "commemorative" coins and $50 bottles of Kiss wine), the costumed crowd ‹ many in full Kiss regalia ‹ seemed to feel it received more than its money's worth from the show. As the final notes of the closing Rock and Roll All Nite rang out, the stage exploded in an impressive fireworks display that was promptly echoed by an even larger one in the skies above Dodger Stadium.

In honor of Halloween, openers Smashing Pumpkins took the stage dressed as the Ed Sullivan Show-era Beatles: moptop wigs, black suits and vintage guitars. Though older hits Today and Bullet With Butterfly Wings went over well, the dense, keyboard-heavy selections from the band's recent Adore CD failed to inspire more than tepid applause. And Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan's dour musings were simply not designed to connect with a crowd that had come to rock and roll all night. -- By Dan Epstein, Special for USA TODAY

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