From: Barry Brickey
I've been reading a lot of reviews of earlier Kiss concerts, trying to get a good vibe of what to expect. I've seen numerous shows, and basically there is little change, besides a few songs switched in order, and the addition of three new songs. I was in the fourth row for the Tiger stadium show, so it's hard to top that kind of classic performance. But going into this show, I was looking for a couple of things in particular that disturbed me from prior reviews: Ace's lack of concentration, Peter's stamina, and the quality and enthusiasm for the entire show. First, I'll give a brief summery of the opening acts.

Skid Row - Okay, lots of people have ripped them, and a few have come to their defense. The guys played very well. The sound was great, and the song selection was awesome for those who enjoy the band. Of course, the lead vocalist is no Bach, but he did sound like him. No, the highs weren't always on, in fact, he sounded a little horse at times; I'm sure the constant touring is catching up. But I seen plenty of worse warm-up bands put on dull, meaningless, non-rock and roll performances. So, to all you people belly-aching about wanting new bands to carry the torch and open up the show, forget it! I'd rather hear classic kick ass rock and roll and attitude, than some depressed-ridden, alternative band, stomp, stand around and play unforgettable one-hit wonder songs. That's just my take.

Ted Nugent - Uncle Ted, was pure Ted. Either you hate him or you love him; No middle ground. At least he stands for what he believes in. Maybe I'm biased because I live in Michigan, but Ted always plays full tilt, and gives the audience everything he has. This night he kept his opinions kinda' brief. He did make some hilarious comments (some people may take offense!). He played a lot of his hits, even some that Derek St. Holmes mastered, like Stranglehold and Stormtroopers. Wish he would have did little Ms. Dangerous, but time was short and he only played one encore; and no Fred Bear. Which didn't bother me, but really upset a friend who was waiting to hear it. Ted also shot a flaming arrow throw the back of one of his guitars, which was hung up in front of an amplifer. After he connected, a flash and explosion went off. That was pretty wild. Kiss - Great intro with the curtains dropping for "Won't Get Fooled Again." When they opened up with DRC, I was worried about Peter having a slow start, but fortunately, he was really on and kept great time. Savage Hall is a university auditorium, so you can imagine how small it is. Kiss had to leave out some of their equipment to fit into this place, also. The sound was excellent, though my view was stage left. No good shots of the drum riser from my angle were available. Below is a list of each member's performance.

Paul: Was old reliable as ususal. During the beginning of the show he was very active, toward the latter half he kind of shelled a little bit. I'll explain why soon. Once again Mr. Stanley's chariot ride during Love Gun failed. He had his foot in the harness, and waited, and waited, then gave up. He then walked back and tried it, was lifted a couple feet from the stage, and was stranded again. Security pushed him back to the stage, where he proclaimed on the mike, "I'd like to come out and see you, but they won't let me." Paul was always very complimentary toward the audience, which was really cool and seemed sincere. He also seems to have developed a new way to sing PC.

Gene: I was really floored by his vocals. They sounded incredible. I've seen them four times during the reunion period, and it was definitely the best he's ever sounded. His vocals were strong, clear, and his backups were right on. Great job, Gene! He wasn't overly energetic, but he hammed it up enough. He even had a squirt bottle on the floor, which he stepped on and squirted the crowd with. I love it Loud was one of the best songs of the night. Kudos to Peter and Gene on that. Gene did his ususal demon solo, but did it very well. Not many bass mistakes though the night, either. And, unlike Paul, his chariot ride worked. Gene was noticeable upset with one of the light technitions. After they ened a particular song, all the lights went off, except for one very bright white light directed on Gene at center stage. Gene put his hand over his eyes, and motioned to the guy. But the light stayed on. Finally, Gene began to walk away, and thus, the light tuned off. From my angle I could see Gene off stage yelling at some guy, pointing to the back of the small arena toward the light man. Right after that, Paul went to the mike and said, "How are you doing Toledo? You're not falling asleep, are you? You're not falling asleep like that light man back there, are you?" Very funny, but I'm sure he wasn't joking. Gene also seemed distracted and disturbed about someone on stage...I'll be getting to that real soon.

Peter: The cat came through. The mvp of the night. He drums were never lagging, and he kept the tempo chugging along. Especially when he played Black Diamond at a faster pace. It sounded a lot better and fresher that way. I can't even remember Peter making one mistake, which is astounishing. Normally, he's due for a few. Not this night. He was very upbeat through the whole show, smiling and joking around. A far cry from the VH1 concert where he looked dead, and at times, not even playing! One thing I don't understand is, why is Peter only singing two songs!! Beth and Black Diamond? What on earth is stopping the band from playing Hard Luck Woman? Can somebody explain that to me? I'm sure it would go over. Why not Nothing to Lose, it sounded great the last time they fooled with it. Two is not enough.

Ace: First of all, Ace is my favorite. He was my guitar hero, and I emmulated his style growing up. During the reunion shows, he was always on top of his leads (even if his main solo was ugly). So, what I have to say doesn't make me feel good, especially seeing them go out on "top". It's only my opinion, and I'm not trying to start rumors, but I'm almost positive Ace is off the wagon. I'd bet on it. He has to be drinking. Many reasons for it. First of all, what the hell happened to him?!? Like I said earlier, I was waiting to see if he was going to mentally screw up in Shock Me, like I kept hearing he did at different venues. How on earth do you go brain dead during a song that you've played for over twenty years? I could see if this was the first few weeks of the reunion tour. But it's not...it's unexcusable. Ace was by far the worst member of the night. He was mentally lost; his leads were horrible (so bad, that normally I'm humming every note he does perfectly in my head, and after the second song last night, I was expecting him to struggle through each solo). He was lifeless, and stumbled awkwardly, way more than usual. Yes, we all know about his balance problems with boots; this wasn't about boots. After almost every song he checked his tuning, stood next to his amp, or went to the side stage for a beverage in a cup. I'm telling you, his leads were scattered. I play, and I know he was really fumbling and off time on most the leads. Not a trait of Ace. The worst thing that happened was during the second song Deuce. Right after the first chorus comes a small lead break, and then the song goes into the second verse. Don't ask me how, but Ace went right into the main lead before the second verse. I could see Gene walking up to the mike to sing it, and Ace, oblivious to his mistake, kept jamming away. And, as expected, Gene sang...and Ace played. Then Ace looked around confused, and tried to get back into order - but couldn't! That was so dissapointing and irritating. He continued to slide off into wrong chords and butcher sloppy leads throughout. During this period the crowd was really into the show. We stood for every song, until Ace's main solo. The show kind of dragged. After that, it was hard for the band to get the crowd in sync again. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Shock Me? No shock, he messed it up again. The same stupid thing that others have been writing about on here. Screwed up the solo, playing licks too early. Paul looked at him, kinda' like what the hell. Gene was shaking his head, watching over his shoulder all night. At one point, Gene pumped both of his fist up and down to encourage or motivate Ace to get into it, and straighten up, but Ace looked at him briefly, then walked back across stage to his amp. Ace really looked miserable, tired and unmotivated. He threw out a lot of picks, and did his little bunny-hop, but that was it. Also, when he spoke on the mike, he was mumbling and unclear. Believe me, I'm not trying to bash Ace, I wanted him to kick some ass, but he was really, really bad. Towards the end of the show, the last few songs, he seemed to sober up (mentally or physically?) a little. Not the way I wanted to remember my hero. They did high-five each other, which showed some sort of unity. But, like many other things, it was probably just rehearsed. Oh well. They still rule. It was still a good show, and I'm not dissapointed about it. They used more explosions, flames and confetti then I've ever seen. They had confetti blowing out of some kind of leave blower things in front of the stage through out the entirety of R&R all nite, covering the arena in litter. Way cool! You could barely see Gene across the stage in the mist of papers. Song selections, though the same mostly, were done well. Lick It Up was a little weak, Heavens on Fire was pretty rockin', and I Love It Loud was excellent. What ever happened to Into the Void? One song from PC; kinda' shows what they think of the album. I hope somebody finds out what's troubling Ace. I sure hope he works out his problems. I'll really miss the greatest rock band in the world. Take care, KISS!

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