From: Doug Factor
Let me start by saying that this was my FIRST Kiss concert ever. As a fan for over 20 years, my schedule finally allowed me to attend one of their concerts.

Second, since it was a St. Patricks Day concert, my wife did an OUTSTANDING job of painting my face like Paul's with one exception...YES, I WAS THE ONE WITH THE SHAMROCK OVER MY RIGHT EYE!

Before I even entered the arena, the guys from KISS ONLINE pulled me aside and commented on my makeup, they took some pictures, and I should be appearing on the KISS ONLINE website soon...but on with the concert review:

The Mandalay Bay Events Center was a great place to see them. It is much smaller than most arenas and there is not a bad seat in the place.

I thought the song selection was good. I could have done without Let Me Go Rock and Roll and Black Diamond. I was happy to see Into The Void removed, and the rest of the songs were great. I would have liked to have heard Strutter, Hard Luck Woman, and Hotter Than Hell.

I've read all of the great comments on Peter, but he really seemed disinterested in the whole thing. He proved this by screwing up the lyrics to Beth, singing the final verse as the second verse.

Some of the high points: The Video montage during Do You Love Me, Gene singing God of Thunder from the ceiling, and Paul out in the middle of the crowd during Love Gun.

Some of the low points: The car crash at the end of Detroit Rock City was cheesy: A cartoonish car doing donuts and crashed into by a truck. No Peter solo (even though at one point Paul said "We're just gonna let Peter play now"...and then they continued with Black Diamond -and no Drum solo!), Beth being sung with pre-recorded music from the album. They should have done acoustic or acapella or something -anything- but pre recorded music. What is this the Backstreet Boys? Speaking of Backstreet Boys, the confetti at the end during Rock and Roll all Nite was ridiculous -pastel colors, and I couldn't even see the stage (I was on the floor about halfway back). Last, an encore shouldn't be a given. You play all your music, leave the stage and then play something unexpected as an encore. Did anyone REALLY think that the concert was over without Rock and Roll All Nite?

Despite all of the negative, this was a fantastic experience, and it was a huge thrill to see them live after waiting all of these years. After seeing all of the concert videos, there really was nothing fresh, new and unexpected. Paul, Gene, and Ace did all sound great, and I was happy for that after the Phoenix VH1 show where they sounded less than spectacular. Hopefully they will continue to change the show and the FINAL show will be spectacular.

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