From: JakeBB333@aol.com

Hello fellow KISS ASYLUM freaks! Just came back from Puerto Rico where our Superheroes played on April 21,1999. My brother in Puerto Rico managed to score some front row tickets so i just had to go down there and have some fun in the sun with the hottest band in the world.....KISS!!!!

The Puerto Rican group, PUYA, opened the show. This group was discovered by Bob Ezrin and this surely led to the opening slot. They sound very heavy with some horn fusion in some of their music. The crowd welcomed them with open arms as they are local rockers. I didn't pay that much attention because i knew that in a short time Paul, Gene, Ace, and Peter would hit the stage.

The big red curtain with yellow stars, moons, and the KISS logo in the center covered the stage. A voice told the crowd when to put their 3D glasses on and when to take them off. It also told the crowd that if they used their laser pointers KISS would stop playing. Suddenly the lights went out and you could hear the loud hum that sounds like Gene's bass...ALRIGHT SAN JUAN..YOU WANTED THE BEST..YOU GOT THE BEST...THE HOTTEST BAND IN THE WORLD...KISS!!!

There they were..Gene,Ace,Peter,and Paul...so close you could see the duct tape used to repair some of Gene's costume. Paul was wearing a knee brace and wasn't moving around as much as we're used to seeing. Contrary to what you may have read elsewhere..Ace looks good...a little spaced out..like always ...but he looks good...Peter looks good too...Someone told me they had been in the island for about 4 days....so im sure they rested and it showed.

They started with Psycho Circus and it sounded freakin loud and great. All the local reporters were in front and Gene and Paul posed for some great pictures that appeared in the local newspapers a couple of days later. Im not too sure about the sequence of the songs but it was pretty much what other reviews have said. They played Deuce, King of the Nighttime World, Into the Void, Within, Let me Go, I was made for loving you, God of Thunder, Dr.Love, Firehouse, 100,000 years, Black Diamond, Beth,Rock and Roll all nite, and a few others...

It was incredible seeing KISS this close. Its a totally different experience.. During Firehouse when Gene breathes fire, i was so close to Gene that I could feel the heat of the flame. During Ace's solo after Into the Void......the guitar was smoking like crazy..and i could smell the smoke as it reached the first couple of rows..One thing i wasnt happy with is Ace's solo...The guy is obviously very talented..and sounds great during the show..but his solo is a joke...he definitely could come up with a better solo, but the crowd enjoyed seeing the old tricks like shooting the light can off the truss, and seeing Ace's Les Paul "fly" to the top of the truss. The solo was boring, but the cool computer graphics on the big screen were cool...It was Ace's Les Paul flying through space and entering what appeared to be a monster's mouth,all in 3D. One thing about being in the front row is that the 3D effects dont look as good from the front row..but thats a small price to pay.

During Gene's bass solo he did the usual blood spitting..and the crowd went completely nuts. And when he flew to the top of the truss, it was one of the loudest roars from the crowd the whole night..

During Love Gun Paul flew to the back of the arena. Of course the crowd loved every minute of it and sang the Love Gun chorus along with Paul.

Peter's drum solo was jazzy and cool.. but at this arena the drum riser went straight up and not to the front as in other arenas. Peter looks like he's in great shape and his arms are not bugging him like they did for the reunion tour.

At the end of Rock and Roll all night the coffetti dropped for what seemed an eternity...of course i kept some as a souvenir...I was hoping i'd get a piece of Paul's smashed guitar...but someone else got them....Damn it......so close yet so far away...rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

They came back for 3 encores: Beth, Detroit Rock City,and Black Diamond. The prerecorded beginning of Beth started and Peter was nowhere to be found....half the song went by and Peter finally showed up to the front of the stage. He seemed kinda pissed off about something and went backstage....Paul joked about it and said."we're gonna play a song for you ...as soon as Peter puts his shoes on" Peter took forever to come back onstage.....it was odd.

Right before Black Diamond started..somebody was pointing a laser pointer at Gene...he got pissed and sent a roadie to look for the guy with the pointer.

Finally..Paul started singing "La Bamba" and then went into "Guantanamera" and the crowd got a kick out of this and started singing right along. After Black Diamond they were gone...and the screen said.."GRACIAS SAN JUAN"

It was great for me to see the original line up from the front row...i managed to get a Gene guitar pick...and Paul threw one right at me ,,,,it hit me in the chest but it bounced off and somebody else got it.....

This is my 8th KISS show,,,,,4 with the original line up........If you get a chance to see KISS dont miss it......The show is still great fun even though the song list from the reunion tour was better. It seems like the show is second nature to the guys..and there are very few mistakes..compared with the reunion tour.......

After the show i asked people what they thought of the show....This was the first time the original KISS had played in Puerto Rico. They played in Puerto Rico in 1985 with the Kulick, Carr lineup. But these people were blown away.....they were saying it was the best show they had ever seen...Big props to KISS for taking most of the stage show they use in the states...The only thing missing was the ramps that take them up at the end of the show...All the other stuff was there.....Pyro..explosions..confetti.....humongous flames....2 KISS light logos....the works.....

Puerto Rico wanted the best and they got the best!!!!!!.....GREAT JOB GUYS....see you on the second leg of the American tour........KISS RULES.!!!

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