From: Bryan
It's been about 14 hours since the show, and I'm still experiencing temporary hearing damage. At least I hope it's temporary. My left ear just started popping about about a half hour ago...hopefully that's a good sign. When I got my tickets, I was a little disappointed that they were in row 28 considering I was second in line, but apparently that was close enough.

If you're one of those people who usually sits in the parking lot and slams beers during the opening act, don't do it for this show. Skid Row puts on a good show, and they'll appreciate it if you are there for their set, so figure out a way to sneak your shit in and catch them (we saw some chick hiking up her skirt and stuffing a bag of weed into her panties). I remembered a couple of their hits from the mid 80's, but they played a couple that I had forgotten about (Monkey Business and Youth Gone Wild) which was cool. Not the greatest rock 'n roll band of all time, but well worth it. They only had a half hour to "kick our ass" (their words), but they did a great job of getting us ready for Ted.

What can I say about Ted? If you've never seen him, you're in for a treat. And if you have, you're still in for a few surprises (Paralyzed and Dog Eat Dog). He also played his tribute to all the stupid motherfuckers in politics (Kiss My Ass). I've never heard that song before...great lyrics. He played for nearly an hour. Well, I take that back. He was on stage for nearly an hour...probably 10-15 minutes of that was him rapping about how fucked up the world is, but he did mention that the good old USA was less fucked up than everyone else. "Stranglehold" was awesome. He sounded great for only a three piece band, but vocally he apparently isn't able to sing "Wango Tango" anymore because he didn't play it. No big deal though...he makes up for it with an encore performance of "Great White Buffalo" sporting an indian head dress. He will not disappoint. After Ted was finished (he had to be carried off stage by his drummer and bass player...maybe to show that he didn't want to leave?), I had a hard time thinking that I would enjoy KISS more...not sure what I was thinking.

KISS rocked! I had never seen them before, so I really didn't know what to expect. From beginning to end, it was quite apparent that they were there for the fans. I've never seen so many guitar picks being flicked into the crowd. I heard previously that Ace steals the show, but I found myself watching Gene play with the front row. He spent most of the time on the very edge of the stage pointing at the females and sticking his tongue out. It didn't take long for Paul to strip off his shirt and start shaking his ass all over. He made an appearance out to the sound board via a cable. That was cool for all of the fans who were located back in row 40 and beyond. Ace's solo was great. I don't want to give it all away by explaining it in great detail, but I will say that he uses more than one guitar (hint). Peter sang "Beth" while handing out roses to women in the front row. Even though the music wasn't live, he sounded pretty good and the fans really got into it.

Overall, I don't think I'll see a better "show" ever. I have, and hopefully will again, hear better and tighter music, but as far as their showmanship, nothing will ever top it. If you have tickets to an upcoming show, you will enjoy it for sure.

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