From: Andy Frueh
I actually JUST got back from the concert, so this show should be pretty fresh in my mind :-)

The KISS Farewell Tour was everything a fan could have hoped for, and then some. First, the band's choices of opening acts, Skid Row and Ted Nugent, were PHENOMENAL. I had never seen either act perform live before, and both gave one kick-ass show. Ted was especially great in that he mentioned KISS quite a lot - a nice tribute for this last hoorah. Both acts managed to whip up the crowd into a frenzy such as I have never seen from an opener before. Of course, look at the quality of the opening acts...

When KISS took the stage, you knew you were in for something particularly special. Even their entrance - being lowered onto the stage - was spectacular.

The sound guys deserved their own round of applause. I had never heard such a bone-crushing sound from KISS before. They've always had a heaviness, but NEVER like what I heard tonight. Only glitch was during God of Thunder. It was the best version (damn...I'm saying "best" a lot!) being very slow and crunching, but the sound was too low on Gene's "demon" voice during the last part of the song. I think they also screwed up how the stage was lit when Gene spat his blood. The didn't spotlight him until he had already started "vomitting" and the dark green and red lights on stage at the time meant no one could see what was happening on the big screen.

The pyrotechnics were all there, of course. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't more. It seemed on par with the Psycho Circus and Reunion tours. Of course, Freedom Hall is an indoor venue, so that has something to do with it. Note to the pyro guys - fix that fire! The left and right most plumes of fire didn't always work. The lighting itself was incredible. No lasers or 3D this time, but they more than made up for it in just the sheer number of lights they had going.

Ace's solo was great and, I think, different than the one we're used to hearing, and then he moved on to play the theme from 2001. Only problem here was that this particular song wasn't meant for electric guitar, and it showed. I could barely recognize it. Still, it was Ace being Ace, playing the theme to a great sci-fi movie.

Peter's solo was excellent in that I had never EVER heard Peter play as well as he did tonight. I reviewed the Psycho Circus tour and commented that he seemed a bit sloppy. I didn't hear that tonight. I wish he had done the "audience participation" bit that he did in the last tour (or two?) If anything, his solo was too short.

Paul seemed emotional and quite often mentioned how much he was going to miss it all.

If it's any indication, I'm SERIOUSLY considering going to another place to see this tour again. I generally only go to any particular show once, and that's only if the act comes to town. I rarely drive anywhere to see a band, and it's even MORE rare for me to see a show twice (actually...I've never done that, even with KISS).

The audience was as diverse as always, but I saw a large number of families and even a few people well over 50 years old. Neat!

The saddest part of the whole show was that there were people in the audience (mostly teenagers) who didn't know some KISS standards like Black Diamond. This was obviously their first show. It's a pity that it will be their last.

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