From: Miles Rucker
Time for another perspective I have been looking back at other reviews to see if ANYONE saw the show as I did.

First, Skid Row: Was just plain loud. Bass Drum was all I heard.

Ted: Weak sound as a trio. Guitar sounded mushy-like he was making up for a missing Rhythm guitar player.

Want to say this: Tommy Aldridge is one badass drummer I have not seen anyone play as hard for so long a time (Even thought my wife thought he looked like an 80 year old woman).

Was not sure what to make of what Ted praised as a "Greasy Attitude."

What I COULD have done without is his political burping I could care less about Theodore things about anything I have an ass for Ted to kiss.

Onward

The things that KISS does *well* need not be discussed at length: The ALIVE I /II oldies got the crowd moving (Firehouse, Cold Gin, Deuce, Love Gun,) with the best crowd responses to Calling DR. Love, God of Thunder and I Love it Loud.

The band seemed slightly ho-humish. Not something I would have expected this early in the tour. I swear Ace was buzzed at the start (he seemed to forget the "guitar swing choreography"). He did make it through Shock Me so I suspect I was wrong. J I don't agree with others who say his playing was in top form I feel sorry for him that he is forced to play every solo the same way each time. So, when it DOESN'T sound the same, it stands out.

If no one hits a drum harder than Tommy A., then no one hits one *softer* than Peter. You can see that hit set is miked so loud, he barely has to play. I did notice Gene looking over and giving tempo cues in the middle Psycho Circus.

I mentioned to my wife it's a good thing they got Paul in the band, otherwise *no one* would ever talk to the audience. Did anyone else notice that the show has become KISS at the Opera? He started singing all his introductions….

In the start of God of Thunder, watching the Demon do the routine he had done countless times, I looked at a 50-year-old man receive the thunderous accolades from the crowd. I thought to myself, "HOW can he possibly give this up?" He looked like he could stand there all night just staring at the audience… I swear I wasn't hearing things but in Shout IT Out Loud at the follow point:

Don't let 'em tell you that there's too much noise.
They're too old to really understand.

I really thought I heard Gene sing, " They're too DEAF to really understand."

No one has so far mentioned the lulls in the set-point in which either there were no sing-along chouses or nothing on stage to see. Such as:

2000 Man: A lame Stones cut when it was first released I understand the Y2KISS connotation not many people remember much from Dynasty (other than track one). The cartoon displayed on the video overhead was more appealing to the crowd (Rocket Ride would have been a better choice).

Do You Love Me: Again, obscure choice that again made the flashback video more interesting.

Psycho Circus: Just not enough people know the song video again.

Shock Me: Ace is the Ringo of the Band-just could not sing, but to be fair, never could.

100,000 Years: One of my personal favs. again one that most don't remember or like (my theory is that because of it's length on Alive I, most people skipped over the cut [unless you had it on 8-track, like some of us])

Solos: Other than Gene's, most of the people around me sat down during the solos. I guess we are not as young as we used to be.

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I just can't help but compare it to '96 where the show transported me back in time… when all the routines were new and novel.

Just because I am not gushing over the show does not mean I was sorry I went. During the last song, amongst the hoopla and celebration over the show's climax, I could not help but feel melancholy-that in around 5 minutes, I was going to be force to grow up and grow old. The remaining droplets of my youth were falling as quickly as the last piece of confetti fell to the arena floor.

ON the drive home, a S.A. radio station played Alive as midnight album show-I then remembered what KISS meant to me when I was young.

And always will

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