From: Chris
Kiss Rocks Anaheim! I have seen Kiss perform six different times, including Anaheim in 1976, 1979 and 2000. I'll share my opinion on the Pond show from that perspective. I first saw Kiss in 1976 when they played at Anaheim Staium. I was 16 years old and took my best friend after buying tickets for around $11.00 each. It was a long day with numerous bands (Ted Nugent, Montrose, Bob Seger,and I think Blue Oyster Cult) playing before Kiss. The anticipation that was built up to see Kiss playing was tremendous. They finally came on stage and the crowd went into a frenzie. I remember watching the middle level of the stadium starting to shake up and down, from fans stomping their feet to the new Destroyer tracks. People started running up into the concession stand area because they thought the stadium was going to collapse, and I'm not exaggerating!The crowd was yelling so loud at first I could barely hear the music. The adrenaline from the crowd was sucked up by the band because they looked totally fired up and just kicked ass! I've seen a lot of concerts since then and that ranks amongst my top three concerts.

I saw Kiss again at the Anaheim Convention Center in 1979, and what a difference three years could make. The popularity of the band had decreased a great deal and the crowd was no longer full of hard core rock fans, but the majority of the audience looked like they were twelve years old and under. The lack of focus on the music, interpersonal problems, drug abuse, and heavy catering to "Tiger Beat" type magazines had turned this great band into a bubblegum fest. Ace Frehley looked extremely wasted during this show, and there was nothing that stands out in my mind about that concert. It was sad because I really loved this band, but at this point, it was starting to get embarrassing to walk into a record store and buy a new Kiss record.

My wife and I took our five year old son to see the Kiss Reunion tour in 1996. We went to Los Angeles to see the show on Gene's birthday and it was the best concert I had ever seen! The band looked like they were hungry to perform and hustled while playing some of their greatest music and all of my favorites. Damn good show! They were back. My son had a great time but was a little young to really take in the whole experience. His liking of the band started growing as he got his own stereo and started listening to the music while he played with the Kiss action figures, and slept at night with his Ace Frehely bear beside him.

Finally, the Pond Experience. As we drove and started nearing the Pond, we started seeing fans walking to the Pond as they wore their Kiss shirts and home made make up and outfits. The anticipation started pumping and my son's smile was from ear to ear. We parked in the Pond lot and slowly started walking up and down a few parking isles. Kiss music was blaring from the cars which had Kiss signs and stickers on a lot of them. The fans wearing make up and full Kiss regalia were fun to watch as they proudly strutted around. We bought two T-shirts that had super art work on them, and we went inside. My son had his face made up like Ace's while Skid Row played, and he looked awesome. He had all sorts of good looking ladies telling him how cute he was eating it up. He would give them that lazy eyed look of Ace and he thought he was the man.

I enjoyed Ted Nugents music but his comments like, "If you don't f..... speak English then get the f... out of the country!" made him sound like a moron. He didn't show much class with his ultra-conservative crap. He plays a mean guitar but when it comes to class and showmanship, he wouldn't make a pimple on Ace Frehley's ass. Ted Nugent can "kiss my ass" and I think kiss should drop him from the tour.

Kiss provided a strong show even with the mechanical problems. You get to see their real personalities come out when something unexpected happens like the cable problems or the fan rushing on stage. They played it cool and it was fun to see what appeared to be Ace laughing with Gene about Gene getting stuck in the air. If anyone was going to get pissed it was going to be Paul who was stuck for quite awhile above the audience. He handled it with class and came back and said what any reasonable person would, "Thats a bummer, that was really a bummer."

What made this concert a great one was the fact that all four band members appeared to be having fun and they were hustling. I differ from a previous fan that said Ace looked like he was drunk or loaded. I watched him carefully and he appeared sober he did a damn good job playing the guitar and with his singing. You have to remember, these guy are in their early fifties and their going to forget lyrics and rifts here and there. I'm 39 and I can't remember where I put my car keys half of the time much less remembering every lyric and note to every song while I'm being stared at by thousands of people.

Peter did a good job and I noticed some fun new drum patterns on some of the old songs. He looked like he was having a good time as he smiled and banged those drums with some conviction. His back up vocals were strong and he appeared to have his heart into the show. My favorite songs were 2000 Man (I could give a rats ass if he flubbed a few lyrics), Shout it out Loud, Duece and Black Diamond. Gene's little bad ass persona was a good blend with Paul's soft farewell banter between songs.

At the confetti bombarded end of the show, my son and I were walking to our car. I remember looking down at my son with his proudly displayed Ace face, and I told him this would be a day in his life that he would never forget. It would be a day that he would someday tell his own kids about. My son just smiled as he looked in awe at all the Kiss fans walking around us and talking about what a good show it was.

Kiss personifys the American dream. They are normal guys with average talent that worked their asses off to obtain greatness. They made mistakes, fell down, and got back up to win again. I'll always be a Kiss fan, and ten years from now when they do an acoustic reunion show in their 60's, I'll be watching!

I have an eightyear old son now and he knew of Kiss from some of the records and compact discs he sees laying around the stereo.The Pond Experience

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