Boycott The "Farewell" Tour
By: Ash Bowen

Let me begin this Sound Off by saying that I truly hope that this is Kissž last time out. I doubt that anyone wants to see a farewell tour a la Ozzy Osbourne, The Who, and whoever else has claimed that "This is our last time out, man." Frankly, I never wanted to see anything beyond the Reunion tourãno album, no movie, and especially no merchandise (Kisstory II was a good idea, but I donžt consider that on the same level as race cars, dolls, etc.).

Psycho Circus proved to be exactly what it was: an attempt to cash-in on the whoopla (i.e. renewed interest) in the band. The album was lame, and we would all do well to admit it. We all know that Ace and Peter barely played on the album, and that more than likely "Within" was recorded for Carnival of Souls and was left off and regurgitated for Circus. The Psycho Circus "tour" was, even at the time, very telling: the band sounded like shit; Ace looked like he didnžt know what song they were playing when it came time to do something off Circus, and Peteržs drumming was barely audible throughout most of the Reunion tour and the Circus tour dates.

Which leads me to the boycott that I am hoping will catch on among the true fans, the only ones whožll probably be buying tickets for this tour. Listed below are the reasons I feel the "farewell" tour should be avoided:

Opening acts: What? Ted Nugent and Skid Row? Why two acts? And why those two. I canžt explain the choices for the acts, but what two openers boils down to is less Kiss time. I know that in Little Rock, Arkansas (where I live and will be seeing Kiss again) and in Memphis (where I first saw them on the Reunion tour), they have city ordinances that dictate all concerts and sporting events and festivals end by midnight. So letžs break it down. No concert ever, ever starts at the time stated on the ticket. We know wežre going to anticipate a ten to twenty minute delay. Okay. The show starts at 8 p.m. That means Skid Row comes out and plays from 8:10 to 8:50 to 9 p.m. Their roadies pull their equipment off the stage, taking a good ten minutes. For brevityžs sake, wežll say that Ted comes on at 9:10. He plays until 10. Hežll probably come out and play "Cat Scratch Fever" or "Hey, Baby" for an encore. Thatžs 10:05. Tedžs stuff has to be taken off the stage, and Kissž much more-elaborate show will have to go through checks, make sure all the bells and whistles will go off. That puts Kiss getting on between 10:30 and 10:45. That leaves Kiss about one hour and 15 minutes to play. Thatžs less time than they played on the Reunion tour. Can anyone say rip-off? Ticket prices are a lot cheaper than they were for the Reunion Tour (or they are for the L.R. show), and Ižm sure Gene is justifying the less play time because of the reduced ticket prices.

The Set List. We all know going in exactly what the band is going to play. Ižve been listening to Alive II since I was a kid. I know those songs, and I love them, but I want to hear something different. Ižm not one of the people who go around screaming that Kiss should play "Mainline" off HTH or "Love Her All I Can" off DTK. Ižd love to hear those songs, but it just ainžt going to happen. Those songs, while true gems, wonžt ever be played during a big Kiss show.

What I propose is a modified Kiss set list that would satisfy, as Gene and Paul say, the most number of people, but still offer some variety. Knowing that there are certain songs Kiss cannot do their show without, Ižve included a couple of the tried and true songs. The songs are in no order.

Deuce * Rocket Ride * 100,000 Years * Sure Know Something * Strutter * 2000 Man * Black Diamond * Shandi * Got To Choose * Talk To Me * Hotter Than Hell * I Love It Loud * Parasite * Lick It Up * Watching You * Heavenžs On Fire * Rock And Roll All Nite * Hide Your Heart * She * Take It Off * Cžmon and Love Me * Domino * Detroit, Rock City * I Just Wanna * God of Thunder * Psycho Circus * Take Me * I Want You * Hard Luck Woman Makinž Love * Tomorrow and Tonight * Plaster Caster * I Stole Your Love * Christine 16

The problem, of course, with this set is that itžs too long. Kiss, we have to remember, are old guys, and Peter, due to his wrist problems, would have trouble playing a set this long. There would have to be an intermission.

The second problem is Ace. Whether we want to admit it or not, Ace doesnžt have the chops he once had. He was once a great and imaginative player, but he is burned out or something. I know that he bought one of Play It Like It Is books with Kissž greatest hits to relearn his old material. I noticed that he doesnžt play the solo for "Deuce" in the same position he originally did, but as it is transcribed in that book. Thatžs fine, but I only point that out to say that Ace would probably have a hard time playing some of the old stuff and have a much harder time duplicating some of Brucežs stuff. We all know from the Unplugged album that Bruce can play circles around Ace, but Ace definitely has more style. Take a listen to the solos on "Nothing To Lose," and we can hear the difference between style and technique.

For these reasons, I think the farewell tour should be boycotted. We can spend that money on buying a remastered CD, something we donžt haveãhell, a pizza and a six pack. Something with a little variety.

I know that the night Kiss comes to Little Rock, Ižll be sitting at home watching my boot of the ž77 Houston show. Ižll know what is going to happen, and itžll be the real Kiss, in their prime, and without the distraction of being pissed off because Ižm hearing the same songs I heard two years ago, and I didnžt plop down $50 to hear it. My boot only cost me $20 and with no offense intended, Ižll probably have better company in my wife, daughter and son.

Support the boycott.

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