From: Preston B
"I feel uptight on a Saturday night", well I didn't as KISS took the stage (or more accurately was lowered to it). It was only my second KISS concert and unfortunately is likely to be my last. I've been a fan since the first Live album (I was 13 years old)and have followed their exploits with varying degrees of interest over the years.

I have many of the albums and CD's and have a few dozen video tapes of concerts, TV appearances, and behind the scenes, some official and some not. I would not be considered a "Superfan" by any means,(no tattos) but I enjoy their music and admire KISS' showmanship and staying power, (Gene and Paul must have some kind of record for the most large scale concert appearances) I had always wanted to see the group live in any of their incarnations but only had a couple of opportunities over the years and something was always going on to prevent me from going. Back in February I had to take a pass on buying into a trip to Birmingham Al for a KISS show in April. A week or so before the show my friend Robert(definitely a Superfan) asked me if I wanted a ticket that one of the group would not be using. I jumped at the chance knowing that this may be my last chance to see the original KISS live. It was a fun trip and the show was great. We were at the opposite end of the arena from the stage at the top of the first level about center stage. It was a pretty good view of the show and from that distance the large screen looked awesome, still I wished I was much closer, I was trying to take it all in and felt that what might be my only KISS concert was going by way too fast. Overall a great eperience but I wanted more. Sometime in June I believe the Jackson Aug 19 show was announced. Fantastic!!! the KISS farewell tour right here in our own backyards, in the same building I'd seen all of those crappy bands(White Lion three times!?!)

This show was General Admission so I was going to get a better view of this concert for sure. We entered the building just as Skid Row(Why?)started. Of course this is Skid Row without the Bachmeister, for all I know the other guys could be Mr. Mister with longer hair. I also noticed on the side screens that whoever this singer is bears a strong resemblance to Eddie Money, remember him kids, could this actually BE HIM, Hmmmm anyway that thought was the only thing that kept me involved in the show. Oh well, I guess 'Slaughter' was too busy to make this tour. Next up that fine example of American manhood Ted Nugent. Don't get me wrong I like Ted as much as the next xenophobic redneck, but a little bit of that goes a long way.By the way Ted what language did your ancestors speak when they came to this country, that feathered head dress you wear during 'Great White Buffalo'is a symbol of the true natives of this land and in case you didn't know this, they did not speak English either. Gene is an immigrant to this country from Isrel, why he allows this I don't know. Still, I'm all for free speech but it didn't come without a price and you have to be responsible for how you use it. I did enjoy that "Motown classic", 'Cat scratch Fever' and the "Buffalo" finale.

Finally, time for the Big Boys. I worked my way to the front on the left side and was able to get about twenty feet from the raised part of the stage on that side before the crush of the crowd was too close. Great, this would be a fine vantage point. The curtain didn't drop on cue and several stagehands had to pull from the bottom while another worked up top to get it to fall. I hoped this would not be the start of a lot of technical problems, and with the exception of a couple of small things it was not. The band was in fine form, all of the guys vocals were better than usual to my ear and they all seemed really into it. The sound was a little "muddy" at times, but that's par for the course in our Arena. The set list did not vary from the Birmingham show as I recall except for Paul singing several more lines of "I still love you" before 'Black Diamond'. Being that close on the side of the stage was a good view of Gene, Ace, and Paul as they in turn played on the riser and communicated with the fans in that area. Gene especially was in good humor as he stomped on water bottles with his considerable boots spraying it twenty and thirty feet into the crowd. Ace did a fine version of 'Shock me' one of my old favorites, I wore it out on my old vinyl copy of Alive2. Peter played and sang well throughout the show. Paul, what can I say? Has he found the fountain of youth and is keeping it to himself? The vocal training and actual performing of 'Phantom of the Opera' must be part of how terrific he sounds on this tour. After so many years it's easy to take for granted, but just listen to him. 'Let me go Rock n Roll' was a highlight for me, it's a great concert song and it was performed perfectly.

I hope this was not my last KISS show, but it might be. If so, I enjoyed the heck(PG folks) out of it. I hope when the tour is over the boys rest well, on a big ol' pile of cash.

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