From: Randy Manyak

I wanted the best and I almost got it. I was at last night's opening show in Boston and while I was certainly entertained in true KISS style, the show had it's moments of first night glitches. After having read the reviews of the Halloween show, there were no surprises at the opening. Psycho Circus sounded great, Ace and Gene were right on with the harmonies (which were not audible on the 10/31 FOX special). The sound system was great. All vocals and instruments were clear with the exception of Pauls guitar which was mushy at times. They kicked right into Shout It Out Loud with all the pyro you coud ask for. Some explosions miscued thoughout the night but this wasn't all that distracting. Ace's solo was crisp and crystal clear as they were for most of the night.

The set list was pretty similar to 10/31 with a few minor exceptions. Nothin To Lose and She were not played and Makin' Love was played. Paul introduced it as a song that they don't normally play but would tonight because they wanted to do something special for the opening night. The 3 PC songs were the same and Within was probably the only weak song of the night. Highlights of the set list included King of the Night Time World with great dual solos at the end and Shock Me which is just a personal favorite.

Some of the glitches - God of Thunder contained Peter's drum solo and at the end he forgot to kick back into the song, leaving the rest of the band looking pretty confused. Paul, in good humor, remarked to the crowd that they never ended the song that way before, looking up at Peter while he said it. Cold Gin started off fine but when it came time for someone to sing, no one was at a microphone. Gene moved toward his and started to sing part of the second line and then Ace took over and sang the rest of the song. My biggest disappointment was when Paul flew out to the small stage at the back of the floor seating. I was fortunate to be right there and it was like being in the front row for the song (LOVE GUN). But it would have been great if he threw out some picks to the people around him. He had a guitar full and threw them from the main stage all night. This would have sealed the deal for his small stage performance for those of us lucky enough to be close up. Also, the 3--D was a little flawed by a screen that ended behind the drum set, cutting off some of the effects that were near the bottom. This was probably only a problem for the people on the floor.

All in all though it was great to be alive last night. The music stood tall as always and I'm sure the glitches will be gone after a few shows. It will be interesting to see how much they vary their set list as the tour goes on. I will go again when they come back around and it would be good to see a little bit different in the show next time.

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