From: Tommy Rifai
Every damn thing I hoped it'd be! Don't get me wrong, there were the minimum requirement of KISS gaffes (eg Ace got a little, just a little, not enough for ALL of the Joe Blows and Blowettes to really notice like Toledo's Shock Me solo though, lost in his Black Diamond and Shock Me leads), but these guys rocked Detroit HARD on Wed!

Paul was on fire all night and gets the #1 slot for "performer of the evening". His voice was right on from DRC thru the set. He moved like there was no tomorrow. He sounded heartfelt when he thanked Detroit from the "bottom of his heart" too.

Ace's guitar solo was THE best live solo I've ever heard him play, bar NONE! He started with a SMOKIN' fast pick attack (basically minor pentatonic scale, but really fast and accurate) and he was just locked in with energy and his 2001 Theme. He played perfectly and really made it sound like a soundtrack to the choreographed video he played it too. I've got to say - and how IRONIC - that Ace's SOLO was THE highlight of the night! He was #2 on the nite just because of that, even with the aforementioned bare minimum gaffes. Even his bobbing up and down solo in Black Diamond sounded very good.

Peter and Gene get a respectable tie for 3rd. Gene let out just a bit too much "pre"-blood before really barfing it up prior to GoThunder, but he had some great little bass-fills that made him really sound like a musician too.

Peter was solid, but he wasn't quite right up to his Toledo performance (eg - no tom fills on 2000 Man, just snare mostly - sounded good anyway) drumming-wise. And his voice sounded just a bit dry or something. But still it sounded very good.

All the effects worked (though Ace's guitar smoke and one of his rockets was late) except that smoke only came out of the right side cat of Peter's hanging drum riser curtain at the end of BD. But Paul flew flawlessly as did Gene and all that jazz.

Can't wait to see 'em tonight! Praying for even one song different in the set!

Oh BTW, just saw Peter and Paul at the local hotel they were staying at. Paul was not wearing his stage hair. He looked like he was thinning a little on top and it was only somewhere around shoulder length (obviously he cut it off - whatever there was to cut anyway - for Phantom). But whoever the hell did his hair last night (extensions wig or whatEVER!) made it look AWESOME and real as could be. He was bobbing it in every damn dirction to without trepidation. Let's see which wig he pulls out for tonight ....hehehehehe

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