From: Duncan Koerber

Wednesday's show was my first KISS show, but it certainly won't be my last. It was much more theatrical than I imagined. First off, the negatives: 1) The 45 minute wait after the opening act was excruciatingly long. What a waste of time--if I'd known better, I would have skipped the opening act and come at 8:30, which was about 15 minutes before KISS opened. They should just dump the opening act--they'll never live up to KISS anyway. 2) The show dragged a bit during the period of time after the excitement of the first two songs and before God of Thunder. 3) There wasn't enough pyro in the first half of the show (they made up that deficiency later!). 4) The crowd seemed kinda lame at times.

Now the positives: 1) Ace was my highlight. He was THE MAN tonight.. he smoked. I was entranced by his solo bit, which culminated in the rocket firings. He gave the band a biting edge all nite. 2) Paul led the way unlike any front man I've seen. He really knows how to get the crowd going. Even when he says stuff differently, like the intro to Cold Gin, he finds a way to make it seem cool. As concert-goers know, the "Who likes Tequila/Southern Comfort?" part is now "Don't drink and drive" (an important message, but not as "cool" I guess). But it was cool when Paul added "Let me drive *you* home tonight!" 3) Gene flying to the top of the stage was entertaining. 4) Paul's flight across the crowd to the mini-stage was entertaining, and a great idea for those poor souls near the back. 5) Rock'n'roll all nite--they used every trick in the book on this song--pyro, flames, blowing confetti, which added to the music and made this my highlight song. They should have ended with this one.

I've seen three big classic rock acts this summer--Page/Plant, Van Halen, and now KISS. KISS' show was, overall, the best of the three. Definitely worth the $52 I paid.

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