From: Ted Kniker
I traveled down from the Washington, DC area because at the time the tickets went on sale it wasn't evident that tickets for shows in our area would happen. The travel was definitely worth it! The other WPB reviews have accurately captured the merchandising nightmare--hope other venues are not this bad--the worst I've ever experienced at any concert! Anyway, on to the show:

Skid Row opened early (6:45pm) when the concert was promoted to start at 7pm. This may have been because they were scheduled to play a full set at a club in Ft. Lauderdale an hour away later that night. I'm a Skids fan, but I was majorly disappointed with their set. They did the big hits, but I've never seen a band stand so still on stage since I saw Journey in 1981 (despite Snake's broken foot). They didn't appear to have any energy (or maybe were saving it up for later?), and came off like a bad garage band, although not as bad as some of the opening acts from the Reunion and Psycho Circus tours. Bach's replacement: does a great imitation, but isn't the real thing.

Ted Nugent: much better than the VH1 concert. Ted rocked! Ted played the audience well. I was a bit disappointed that he didn't have a second guitarist with him, but he still performed better than I've seen him in a few years. The man can play! He was typical Ted--I won't comment on his political stances, when we start turning to rock stars and actors for in-depth political commentary (instead of as entertainment or concerned citizens), we have more serious problems to contend with as a nation.

KISS: The best show I've seen them do, from 1977 to present! I've been a fan since 75 and found this to be a touching parting of company. Kiss played better than they had on either the reunion or Psycho Circus tours. The set order helped keep the momentum of the show going well. When they got to the end of the set I couldn't believe it had been almost two hours. I thought the only snag was Psycho Circus, which just doesn't sound as good live as on cd. As with other concert-attenders there were songs I wished they had performed, but nothing I couldn't live without. For a group of near/slightly over 50 year men who are playing the same things they have for the last 20 years (and nearly the same effects) the concert seemed fresh. The outstanding items of the show were 1) the entrance; 2) excellent lighting, best Kiss stage lighting in years, 3) the video--best use of video I've seen at any concert, and 4) the RARAN confetti--absolutely everywhere in an outdoor ampitheater.

Do not under any circumstances miss the Farewell Tour!!! A very fitting end to the Greatest Show on Earth!

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