From: Deborah & Andrew

In a nutshell, it was an absolutely outstanding show from top to bottom. With a dozen searchlights criss-crossing the sky, the spotlight-shining helicopter, and a blimp overhead (advertising Russell Stover Candies, of all things), the atmosphere was incredible. The 56,000-seat stadium was filled to about 80% capacity with most of the empty seats in areas that weren't on sale (I don't know why--any seat would've been worth at least $15). Quite a few people were in costume for the occasion, aside from the usual Kiss lookalikes, and this made it all the better.

For those who care, the Smashing Pumpkins did a pretty good show, opening with a Beatles song and dressed as the (60s') Fab Four. But they played too many of their new songs, not enough of their classics, and tampered quite a bit with those they did play. For example, "Bullets" got an industrial/techno treatment it could've done without.

Then, there was a "halftime" show, which was a continuation of the "pregame" show: The Psycho Circus. It was a collection of bonafide circus acts that played out on the field behind the "floor" seats. For me, I guess it was better than nothing, but it didn't add much value to the whole show. The emcee/ringleader was annoying and while the acts were amazing, we see that sort of stuff all over the TV these days on shows such as "Guinness Book" (not coincidentally on Fox).

Kiss started the night with the stage cloaked behind a red curtain with gold stars and moons on it (circus theme or Russian/Turkish theme?). The curtain dropped and they opened with Psycho Circus. No one could've been surprised by that. It is a great opener as Detroit Rock City and Deuce have been for years. The stage, set in the outfield, was backed by a jumbo screen flanked by *two* Kiss logo light signs; outside the amps to the left and right were two more jumbo screens. The first two songs, PC and Shout It Out Loud, were played to a 3-D show on the screens and quite a bit of fireworks, both onstage and overhead (think of their New Year's Show at the Brooklyn Bridge in '97). And lastly, there was the occasional green laser display.

The strangest thing was that Kiss was quieter than Smashing Pumpkins. In fact, when they started playing PC I thought for a second, "Holy shit, this could be a recording." Thankfully, the close-ups on the big screen quickly showed Peter's hands and Ace's fingers moving too perfectly in sync to be doing a Karaoke gig.

Now about the much-talked-about 3-D show... It was good, came off without a hitch, and lived up to expectation, but could've been better. Basically, there were two uses of 3-D: prerecorded, computer-enhanced video clips of the guys (mostly sticking guitars or drumsticks in your face) and live shots. I say it could've been better because (a) the video clips could've been more interesting and (b) they could've had more 3-D live shots. From what I could see where I was on the floor, they had one 3-D camera to go with the ordinary ones. Why not all of them? Why not all 3-D live shots? I have to guess either money or to be fair to people not wearing the 3-D glasses (although the 3-D is not that annoying without them). The bottom line here is that this is a minor, very minor, complaint and overall the 3-D thing was still excellent (and the glasses a cool souvenir). It will be a real treat for anyone not sitting close enough to the stage. It should also be said that there was a really cool, spacey 3-D video played during Ace's solo. Now, back to the rest of the show....

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the evening would be the song list: there were 9 pre-Destroyer songs played, including 5 from their first album! (Let Me Go Rock & Roll, 100000 Years, Nothin to Lose, Deuce, Firehouse, She, Cold Gin, Black Diamond, and Rock & Roll All Nite); there were 6 from Destroyer (Shout It Out Loud, Detroit Rock City, King of the Nighttime World, God of Thunder, Do You Love Me, and Beth); and there were four other oldies (Dr. Love, Love Gun, Shock Me, and I Was Made For Loving You). The only songs from the new album were Psycho Circus, Within, and Into The Void. All in all, I'd say this was about the best song list they could've played. The only song I'd say most people will miss hearing is the new You Wanted The Best. I was fully expecting to hear it and it seems tailor-made for a live performance. I hope they add it.

As for the performance(s), they guys were all in top form. Being the first show, and given how big it was, there was plenty of room for errors that mostly didn't happen. I keep looking for their ages to show, but they really don't. Gene probably doesn't prowl around the stage as much, Paul doesn't prance and dance around as much, Ace always acted old, and Peter is a bit restrained. But in the grand scheme of things if you don't look for it you can't tell. There's no doubt they've still got it. As for Ace's solo, it was surprisingly not in Shock Me, but moved not surprisingly to Into The Void. He did a pretty good job of updating it while maintaining a lot of the familiar elements of his famous Alive II solo. His guitar had a little trouble smoking at first, which he later joked was because "it was too young." That was a great moment. Peter's solo kinda fit the same mold--it was very much in his marching beat style of old, but with a few little twists thrown in. Unfortunately, it's hard to completely assess his solo because it was plagued with mic/sound problems. The steady bass beat (played through a double-deep bass drum) was way too loud for the toms, and one whole side of his kit couldn't even be heard. He was playing for at least a minute (as seen in close-up on the big screen) with total silence, except for the bass drum. That would have to be the biggest noticeable glitch of the night. Lastly, Gene and Paul did their solo things; both have done better, especially in the mid 80s. I remember back then Gene had a cool bass solo and Paul did a very unique rhythm guitar solo. Last night, Gene was back to basically providing an intro to God of Thunder, and Paul just kinda made some noise for a minute or two.

Now to confirm some things for the curious... (don't read this paragraph if you want to "wait and see" if Kiss is up to their old tricks!) Peter's drum set does levitate and the other three do use risers; the set is not a re-creation of any old set; they're wearing Destroyer outfits; Gene does spit blood and fire and does God of Thunder from the rafters; Ace's guitar shoots rockets during the solo and levitates into the rafters; they do use confetti at the end; Paul smashes his guitar at the end; and they do use the "pillars of fire" once or twice.

What else can I say? At 22 songs and over 2 hours, it was an absolutely incredible show. And, after the Beth/Black Diamond/Rock & Roll All Nite encore, it ended with an excellent five or ten minute fireworks show over the stadium. If they keep it up, it won't be anything less than great (just add You Wanted The Best, guys!). Even without the extra stuff we got because it was a stadium/Halloween/opening show, it should be well worth it, and I look forward to their return to southern California next year. They're definitely giving the fans what we want.

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