From: Mark Sopko

Though I live in the Chicago area, I thought it'd be fun to see the original KISS in the land of the original KISS Army ‹ Terre Haute. I didn't write down the song list like I usually do, but it's probably pretty safe to say the set doesn't change much from city to city. Attendance Note: In a pretty small town like Terre Haute, where bands don't go through very often, I expected the Hulman Center to be packed. Not even close. The upper level seats in the back of the auditorium were embarrasingly empty for Kiss Army Land.

The Halloween special on FOX prepared me for my dissapointment with the band's performance of Psycho Circus. Or rather than the band's performance, maybe I should say the lack of special effects for the opening number. I guess I had it pretty clearly marked out in my head how I thought the song would have come off live. I pictured lots of psychedelic lights shining down on the stage, giving it a real frenzied ‹ or psycho ‹ feel. On the part of the song where Paul speaks the lyrics, I wanted to see those cool lasers they used on the Hot in the Shade and Revenge tour shooting out from Peter's drums. On the same part of the song where Paul gives that real dramatic "GET UP" I pictured a darkly lit stage with flames shooting up, not those pussy bottle rockets they've been shooting off lately. I always thought the opening number in a show should sum up the whole vibe to come. I just think they missed a really good opportunity to make Psycho Circus a really dramatic show starter.

Maybe I'm too critical, but I just think the band, though they were anything but unenthusiastic, just didn't look like they were having as much fun as they did when I saw them in Chicago in '96. I loved seeing Ace laughing while Gene was wagging his tongue at him. This time around, Ace seemed a little bored with the entire affair. Then again, his aloofness, his ambivelance, is such a great part of his character. As far as the 3-D goes, I'll have to agree with some of the other reviews I read that said, how many times can you shove your guitar in my face before it stops being fun? The 3-D, to me, was more of a distraction. If I'm at a KISS show, I want to watch the stage and not watch reruns of the Psycho Circus video in 3-D. Ace's new spinning thingy on the head of his guitar was pretty dang cool. I love that guy.

Within, one of my favorite songs on the album, was horrendous live. High Points: 100,000 Years, Deuce, Into the Void, Love Gun, Let Me Go Rock & Roll.

Missing: I Stole Your Love, C'mon & Love Me, and wouldn't Sweet Pain or Larger Than Life (one of the most underrated KISS songs) be great to hear?

Anyway, if it sounds like I'm finding more complaints than praise, I don't mean to. Believe me, a KISS show is an event for me. I guess '96 & '97 were so exciting for KISS fans and the band that the feeling was just so much more magical. Funny, that's what we always said about the Love Gun days, too.

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