From: Gary Montano
It's ironic that I would see Kiss on their Farewell Tour in Lubbock, where I saw them for the first time in 1977 during the Alive 2 tour. Lubbock holds special memories for me because that was also the first stop on the Hot In The Shade Tour and it was the last time I saw the great Eric Carr. Needless to say, I was very excited for this latest go 'round! The United Spirit Arena is a brand new building so it was cool to see Kiss "christen" it, so to speak. Before I get to Kiss, I must say that the Motor City Madman was superb. I never really realized it before, but he is an excellent guitarist and it's the first time I've ever seen an opening act give an encore. Ted was really good. Kiss, however, took it to another level. Showmanship -- pure showmanship. Their appearance emphasized for me why Kiss is such a special band. They are the quintessential entertainers and it is refreshing to see the costumes, the stage design, and everything else. The musicianship was solid. Gene's base lines were loud, distinct, and right on. Paul's rhythm guitar kept the spirit of the tunes alive. Ace's licks were Ace's licks. I love how he's taken the 80's tunes and added that touch that only Ace can do.

Peter was solid throughout. I know he's technically not the best drummer to play in Kiss, but for this band, in my opinion, he's the best. Detroit Rock City never sounded as good with Eric's (both of them) double bass drum going full blast. Outside a few burned out light bulbs on the staircase lighting, nothing was bad at all. The video screen behind Peter was crystal clear and really enhanced the concert and I loved how the band used the screen to showcase various points of Kisstory in some clips. The beginning of the Psycho Circus video, the Kiss webisodes -- really first class. One glitch did occur, however. When Gene flew to the top of the rafters for God of Thunder, I couldn't figure out why the hell he was stuffing the microphone into his mouth! At first I thought he was just being Gene but when I looked at him through my binoculars, I realized that the microphone stand was broken someway and so Gene put the mike in his mouth while he played bass and when it came time to sing, he'd play bass one-handed! He had trouble keeping it all going and Paul, I think realized this because he ran to the mike and began singing Gene's part, so for a while, Paul and Gene were singing the same lines! Gene handled it like a pro and other than that, nothing else seemed to go wrong.

A couple of other notable things -- before the show began, during the setup, Doc McGhee was on the arena floor in front of the stage talking with three absolutely beautiful Lubbockan women, scantily clad, one wearing the famous Texas cowboy hat. I was watching all this through my binoculars and Doc stayed there for a good ten minutes before walking along to the side of stage and disappearing behind a curtain. I can almost hear those women begging him to get them backstage. I wonder if they ever made it. The other thing that made this special was that I took my wife, my 9 year old daughter, and my 6 year old son, who were all seeing Kiss for the first time. I can't tell you how great it was to look over and see my son singing the lyrics to Rock and Roll All Nite. Only with Kiss could this happen. For all the negative reviews, and the Lubbock Avalance Journal gave a scathing review of the show, my only response is: Get A LIFE! There is no better band on the face of the earth and I'm proud to wear my Kiss colors. Thanks. I can hardly wait to see them in Boston on June 12!

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