From: Dwayne Baron
All's well that ends well. I think that's from a Shakespeare play. I forget which one. It doesn't matter. I have a degree in English. I had an entire course in Shakespeare. Got a B in it. But I forget what play it's from. Who cares. You don't. I'm not sure I do. But you know what? It's funny. 18 years ago, I was a sophomore in college, and my classes for one semester were Shakespeare, 17th-Century Prose and Poetry, Tales of the Grotesque, Introduction to Film, and Fundamentals of Music. Classes ended in May, and the summer began with June. It was somewhere around the time that Ace had left KISS. Peter had long ago left. And 18 years later, I'm at my 17th KISS show, looking at all of those elements again, rolled up into one big KISS show. I saw my first KISS show in 1976, and in the year 2000, the show's as good as ever. It's been great to see the original lineup together again. I'm not on crack. (Never was.) It's been fun. Thought I'd write a show review. This was the first time that I've seen KISS in an outdoor arena. I prefer seeing them in an indoor arena. It was a humid night, and there was a breeze in the lawn area, which was good. But sometimes the sound was a little erratic. The arena is next to the Delaware River, so it's just a different environment. But it was a different way to see KISS. During the show, there was a view of the river, the Ben Franklin bridge, the city skyline. There were boats on the river and lights on the bridge. And of course the KISS light show and pyrotechnics and explosives and flames were spectacular. The view of the stage wasn't quite as good as in an indoor arena, but still plenty good. And the drum sound and vocals were good all night. It was the guitar and bass sound that was erratic at times. But Ace, Paul, Peter, and Gene played well all night. Seeing KISS from the lawn area of an outdoor arena made for a slightly more laidback night. The show itself was as good as usual. The setlist was good. I Love It Loud, Heaven's On Fire, and Lick It Up were done well. Paul did some of I Still Love You before beginning Black Diamond, and it was surprisingly good. Not that it would be surprising, but it was an unexpected highlight of the show. It's not even one of my favorite KISS songs, but he sang it very expressively. Of the rest of the setlist, Deuce, Let Me Go, Rock 'N' Roll, and 100,000 Years are always favorites of mine. And Rock And Roll All Nite was the spectacular closer. I may or may not see them again on the tour.

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