From: Clif
I just got back last night from a 3 day trip from Maryland to Atlanta for the show at Philips Arena and it was the best mini-vacation of my life. I had been telling my friend about how great KISS shows are for a long, long time, especially when you see them up close. I saw an ad for two seats in the 3rd row for Atlanta on a ticket broker's website and called my friend and we knew we had to take them. Drove 12 hours down on Friday, saw some of the sites on Saturday. One thing I must tell you all about is something I found amazing: When we were touring the CNN Center, we discovered that Philips Arena is connected to it and you could walk around the concourse area during the day. We walked up to one of the windows on the concourse and could right into the arena and saw the road crew setting up the stage!!! Dozens of people running around, testing lights, setting up Peter's drums, raising the lighting rig, everything. I have been a hardcore fan since I was in 6th grade (I'm 33 now) and to see this was really an emotional thing for me, I can't explain it. So we went back to the arena at 6:30, got 6 shirts between the two of us and went to our seats, 3rd row on Gene's side. Skid Row did their 30 minute set and were really very good. Ted came on and just ruled the arena. I don't know why people are slamming him for his raps about America, values, politics, etc.., he was hilarious and had everyone on their feet cheering for him, particularly when he came out in his Indian headdress and Rebel flag shirt. Now, on to KISS! I won't re-hash the opening, the setlist and everything that is the same. These guys were absolutely on fire in Atlanta!!! Running around, jumping up and down, making eye contact with everyone. Paul's voice sounded great, Peter was really hitting the drums hard, and when they would walk past each other on the stage, you could see them looking in each other's eyes and they all smiled and laughed together. Like I said in a review of the Philadelphia show last year, half the fun for us hardcore fans is seeing the guys interact with each other and knowing that they are having a good time and not just going through the motions. The old video clips played during Do You Love Me really are touching and even though it's hard to keep your eyes on the screen because you want to watch the band, you really should try to see as much of the video clips as possible. Paul repeatedly thanked Atlanta for their support over all the years and you could tell that he really, really meant it. Right before Rock and Roll All Night, Paul said (I hope I get the words right) "Remember next time you come back here to see your next favorite band play, and it seems like they are standing up here doing you a favor by taking your hard earned money, you remember that you came here and saw a band that would do ANYTHING for you! We love you and we would do ANYTHING for you people!" He was holding his hands up in front of him for expression and it was very, very emotional, knowing that at the end of one more song, they would never, ever back to Atlanta. Rock and Roll All Night was great, great, great and the show was fantastic. I get to do it again in Chareleston, WV, Richmond, VA and Bristow, VA too!!!!

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