From: Frank
First of all, this is the same "Frank" that posted the review of the 3/28/00 Oakland show (No 136 above). http://www.kissasylum.com/views/tour2000/oakland1.shtml

I would like to thank the many people who have sent me messages expressing how much they liked my report. You have no idea how happy your e-mails made me. I am very proud that the KISS ARMY is made of such wonderful & nice people from all over.

By the way, please do not send to the e-mail address on review No 136 anymore as that is not my address anymore. However, please feel free to send me a note to the above.

Okay, here we go:

1) AMERICAN PEARL
My ticket & the ads for the concert stated the show time as 7:00pm. Well, I got inside the amphitheatre around 7:10pm & was at my seat by 7:15pm. AND TED STARTED PLAYING AT 7:15PM! Apparently, American Pearl had already finished their set by 7:00pm. I have no ideal how they were so I hope somebody else can post a review of them. Sorry. Some people were giving out free CD's of American Pearl after the concert so I guess I'll check it out later.

2) Ted Nugent - 55 min 7:15pm ~ 8:10pm Pretty much the same set as the Oakland show. Ted & his band was very tight and sounded pretty good but his banter can get pretty tiresome. Still, I love the song "Stranglehold". He still went through the usual bitching but I kind of felt like he had toned down a bit (maybe it was just tonight?).

3) KISS - 130 min 8:40pm ~ 10:50pm
- Detroit Rock City
- Deuce
- Shout It Out Loud
- I Love It Loud
- Shock Me
- Firehouse (Gene breathes fire)
- Do You Love Me? (retrospective video)
- Calling Dr Love
- Heaven's On Fire
- Let Me Go, Rock and Roll
- 2,000 Man (Ace guitar solo)
- Psycho Circus
- Lick It Up
- God Of Thunder (Gene blood spitting & flying)
- Cold Gin
- 100,000 years
- Love Gun (Paul flys to small platform in center of amphitheatre)
- I Still Love you (Paul only)
- Black Diamond
Encores
- Beth
- Rock and Roll All Nite

Some observations:
KISS was really having a good time.
The boys were near perfect, especially Peter.
The huge KISS stage just engulfed the Shoreline stage.
The sound was awesome & the lighting was right on.
I think there might have been a little less pyro than the Oakland show due to Shoreline restrictions but not by much.

Next to the Crazy Nights 1988 tour at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, Calif, this was only the 2nd time I've seen KISS in an outdoor setting. And the sky was still a little light for the first 15 minutes. That was weird. It was definetly a great show but I think I prefer an arena setting.

During "Shock Me", Ace stumbled trying to sing & grab a pick from the mic stand at the same time. As a result, he mangled the mic stand & wasn't able to sing a line. Paul looked over with a look like "what the hell is going on?". It was kind of funny.

During "Let Me Go, Rock And Roll", towards the end of the song where Peter is pounding on the drums while the guitars pause for a few beats, instead of starting back up with the guitar riffs as usual, KISS started back into the song with the same riff but by Gene on the bass instead. First time I've heard that version and it was pretty cool.

Ace was sparkling tonight. Actually, I was amazed that 5 months into this tour, all four guys didn't look the least bit tired. After "2,000 man" came Ace's guitar solo. It was not the same solo as during the Oakland gig but was a mixture of various past solos. During the rocket launch from his guitar head stock, there was the now standard fireball explosion up in the lighting rafters but this time, they also had a couple of balls full of confetti which exploded at the same time as well. I think this is a new effect.

I have never seen Ace's guitar smoke as much as tonight! And after he hooked up the guitar so it would gradually fly up into the lighting rafters, he pushed another button so it would smoke some more as it spiraled upwards.

Again, I think tonight was the best Peter Criss I had ever seen. He was having a blast & was dazzling with his jazzy riffs.

One of my favorite parts of the show is the attention Gene gets during his blood spitting before God of Thunder. The blood is cool but forget the blood. Its just amazing to see the demon on stage alone. Even during the Anamalize tour, Gene has a way of pumping up the crowd during his solo spot. The man really is the heart of KISS.

Still, I am always & was truly amazed at the Starchild. How the hell do you get an awesome voice like Mr Paul Stanley?

Okay, almost all die hard KISS fans want a little something extra each time they see their band. Sometimes there is but for the most part, KISS (must) perform their well rehearsed show due to many logistical & preparational requirements.

However, sometimes we get a little something special:
- special songs (Won't Get Fooled Again, White Christmas, La Bamba, etc...)
- events (members birthday)
- rare songs (Goin' Blind, Take Me, Forever, etc...)
- others ("I WAS THERE" pin, etc...)

I was really surprised when after Love Gun, Paul came out by himself and started playing low volume melodic chords on his guitar. I was expecting "Black Diamond" but it sure didn't sound like it. He played "I Still Love You" off of Creatures of The Night album (a concert staple song during the unmasked years) in its entirety alone. What a treat!

When the band took their bows before the final song "Rock and Roll All Nite", they really looked like they were having fun.

You never know, this maybe the farewell tour but this tour may never end. I guess one can only hope.

Thanks for reading.

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