From: Pete Sanfacon
The Setlist:

Detroit Rock City
Shout It Out Loud
Deuce
Heaven's On Fire
Calling Dr. Love
Shock Me
Psycho Circus
Firehouse
Do You Love Me
Let Me Go, Rock 'N Roll
2000 Man
Cold Gin
God Of Thunder
Lick It Up
I Love It Loud
100,000 Years
Love Gun
(I Still Love You)/Black Diamond
Beth
Rock And Roll All Nite

This was my 24th KISS concert, spanning nearly 23 years. The thought that this show was my last show is rather sobering. At age 41 and losing interest in camping out for tickets (even online), I may not attend another concert unless I'm accompanying my 7-year-old son, PJ, to Britney Spears or the Backstreet Boys. How's that for sobering?

We attended the show as a group of seven: My brother, his fiance, a friend, a co-worker, my wife, my son PJ, and me. I had originally attempted to purchase tickets through TicketMaster's website on the "on sale" date in April, but when I didn't receive my tickets after four weeks I had to reorder by phone, getting last row seats. Great. Just great. The Tweeter Center is an outdoor, roof-covered, pavilion style amphitheater, with 10,000 seats under the roof (or "shed" as it's called) and a large festival area on the lawn in the rear. At least our seats were better than lawn seats but not by much.

The afternoon of the 7PM show my brother got his hands on seven newly released tickets in the middle of the hall. This was great news. Now the problem was getting rid of the seven $80 tickets we already had. I quickly sold two at work but my brother and I were ultimately forced to sell the rest to a "reseller" at the venue at a substantial discount. Hey, it's only money. I'd just be spending it on something else anyway.

My son PJ is 7 years old and has now attended four KISS shows: Two in '96 at the age of 3!; one in '98; and now one in 2000. In the past 12 months or so PJ's musical taste has been redirected towards Britney Spears, Will Smith, 'NSync, and the Backstreet Boys. This fourth show--more so than the previous three--was really a matter of Dad dragging Son along. He just wanted to be where Dad was.

We all grabbed a bite to eat during Skid Row's set, and PJ and I got his earplugs in and managed to get just inside the arena seating area at the precise moment the roadies were lowering the Ted Nugent logo. So we missed Ted too. I can't remember the last KISS opener I saw. Probably Slaughter in 1990, at this same venue. Had every intention of watching both this time but it just didn't work out.

I was giving PJ a piggyback ride on our way to our seats and happened to walk right past our "old" seats in the back, saying hello to the co-worker to whom I had sold two of the original tickets, thinking out loud to PJ afterwards, "Wow, they're awfully far away." We made our way to our new seats and I managed to tuck away my new T-shirt and tourbook. I'd rather not have to worry about stowing the stuff during the show but the thought of a merchandise sellout during the show (something I've never actually heard of happening, incidentally) precludes me from waiting until the show's over.

When the PA began blasting the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" at 8:30, I thought KISS would be hitting the stage as soon as it was done. The volume was a great deal higher than any of the other songs they'd been playing. Alas, it was just a tease. At 8:45, however, the house lights dimmed and the spotlights circled the arena, focusing on the large silver KISS logo emblazoned upon the black curtain covering the entire front side of the stage.

With the opening salvo of "Detroit Rock City," I grabbed PJ and put him up on my back, the first of many piggyback rides during this show. Since our new seats were a great deal closer, the sound was a great deal LOUDER. I was singing right from the start, like I was 18 again, back in '77. PJ chimed in too, the songs that he still knew (thanks, Britney!).

It's cool hearing "Shout It Out Loud" as the second tune because for so many years it was done later in the show and often it was part of the encore. "Deuce" followed and PJ loves the first line here ("Get up and get your grandma outta here"). Gene was looking great in his armor and scales. The radio made a comment earlier in the day that at the previous night's show (also at the Tweeter Center) the application of Gene's makeup appeared to be rushed and uneven. I don't know what he was talking about except that so many people take every opportunity to take swipes at these guys. I had my binoculars (if you were in the front rows and didn't need visual assistance, bite me!) and could easily see that Gene's makeup was applied as professionally as ever. Don't mess with my boy.

PJ was funny during "Heaven's On Fire," the next song. At the beginning of the song, and then each time the song's title came up in the chorus, two columns of flame would go up beside Peter's drum kit. Well PJ noticed that from our vantage point we could feel the heat from the flames. So each time they shot up, while riding piggyback of course, PJ held his hands out in front of him like he was warming himself in front of a fireplace.

I was belting out the words to "Calling Dr. Love" like it was me on stage. I was working on my strained-voice-the-day-after effect. This is a good song for that but one must wait until the next day for verification. You only get one chance. Well, there are many tunes on the current setlist that fit the bill. You got maybe 6 chances, easy, and if you scream through them all, people at work will think you've got the flu or something. "Oh, what happened to your voice?"

"Shock Me," once PJ's favorite KISS song, was next. (Don't worry. PJ hasn't abandoned KISS completely. His favorite KISS song now is "Raise Your Glasses.") This was the first time in a long time that this song did not feature an Ace Frehley solo. That would come a bit later in the show. PJ sang wholeheartedly during the chorus of "Psycho Circus," much to the amusement of PJ's Uncle Marc.

Another highlight of any KISS show, of course, is the sight of Gene breathing fire. This came, as it has for years, at the end of "Firehouse." The one thing I say to myself as Gene's standing there, poised to spew flame, is "I hope he doesn't set his hair on fire." After thousands of shows he's done it probably dozens of times. It's just the law of averages. There was no incident this night. Still a pretty cool stunt. I've now seen it 24 times and it never gets old.

One of the many stand-out occurrences at this show, and during this tour, were the visuals on the big screens. At the Tweeter Center there were three screens; one behind Peter and one on either side of the stage. During "Do You Love Me" we were presented with a video KISStory lesson, with tour footage dating back to the very early days. We've all seen the still photos by now but seeing film (and later video) footage was quite exhilarating. 20,000 pairs of eyes were fixed on those screens.

One of my favorite moments during 1975's klassic "ALIVE!" is the jam at the end of "Let Me Go, Rock 'N Roll." KISS recreated that jam, in its entirety, on this night. Some of the guests of fans in the audience may have been overwhelmed by the sheer sonic bombast of this song, but for those of us who have been quite familiar with it's style were loving it.

What KISS tour during 2000 would be complete without a performance of DYNASTY's "2000 Man?" During the song we were treated to an amazing bit of computer animation, featuring the members of KISS dealing with several unsavory characters. It was one of the many highlights of the show. It is my hope that the video will be made available to the public one of these days.

Ace's solo was inserted at the end here, featuring the '79 raising-of-the-guitar stunt. I've always enjoyed the rocket-shooting guitar trick too, another flashback to '79. Both of these maneuvers were also featured on the Reunion and Psycho Circus tours.

I love it when "2000 Man" is referred to as either a Rolling Stones song or a Jagger-Richards written song. Both of those descriptions are true, of course, but KISS is performing it because they did the cover back in 1979. Read the bio!

These are the same geniuses who continue to say that KISS hasn't performed in 20 years. The original KISS, together as a band, yes. But it seemed to me that Gene and Paul were pretty busy from 1980 to 1996. KISS was not invisible during those years. They were constantly touring and doing interviews. I think it would've been pretty hard to miss. Do your bloody homework or get a job you're qualified for!

During the Reunion and Psycho Circus tours Ace sang the second verse of "Cold Gin," a song he had written for KISS' debut LP. That was again the case on this night. I say, it's Ace's song. Let him sing the whole thing. But I really enjoy hearing Gene bang that one out. I guess sharing the lead vocal is the best solution.

Gene's solo. The recipe for Gene's blood has really improved since the Creatures Tour in '82/'83. Since the '96 Reunion Tour it has truly looked like real blood. Dark and thick. Really disgusting. At the Tweeter Center it appeared that Gene managed to actually blow a thick blood bubble. Just a big "gurge" at the end; a mouthful of red. Man!

Pretty cool intro to "Lick it Up," the next song. Paul invited the crowd to sing the chorus occapella, which we did, before the band joined in at full volume. It was great to see Peter and Ace jamming to a song they hadn't been involved with when it was created. This was also the case with "I Love It Loud," the song that followed. I thought they pulled it off without a hitch.

If you're not transported back to 1975 (even if you weren't even born yet) while watching KISS perform "100,000 Years," then you're missing part of the KISS experience. Hearing Ace's classic solo and seeing the boys jam to this song was like a trip back in time. Much like these tours have been since they began in 1996.

The song culminated in a mid-length solo by Peter, still one of the best, most underrated rock drummers ever. Paul returned to the stage sans guitar to do his long-classic "100,000 Years" rap, asking the crowd if we "feel alright." Tall, hot columns of flame joined us in our roars of approval.

Paul wasn't done yet. No, not at all. He strapped in for the ride to the middle of the arena, ending up behind us to the right, to sing "Love Gun." If you looked at the stage during the song, watching Gene, Ace, and Peter, and forgetting for a second that Paul was elsewhere, you'd say "Hey, where's that voice coming from?" But why you'd be asking yourself questions during a loud KISS show is beyond me.

At the conclusion of that song Paul next stood alone on a darkened stage, with a single spotlight. He then began to sing the chorus to "I Still Love You." He didn't start at the beginning and the rest of the band was nowhere to be seen, so I was skeptical that this would last throughout the entire song. Paul soon began to play the familiar notes to the opening of "Black Diamond." This performance resulted in an all-out, visual and sonic onslaught, one that KISS fans have come to expect and even revere. The flashes and lights were blinding, causing me to squint and shout "Whoa!" several times.

After a short break where the house lights dimmed and the crowd stomped and chanted "We want KISS," a single spot followed Peter to centerstage where he took his place on a drum stool and sang "Beth." He was in good voice this night, as he always has been. I challenge anyone to find a more classic ballad from the 70's than Peter's "Beth."

Another break followed. Most of us knew that only one song remained. The anthem of the greatest rock and roll band of all time: "Rock And Roll All Nite." Ace's sparkling pinwheel guitar was in perfect tune and there was confetti everywhere. We managed to snag several bits of it as they wafted our way.

Paul thanked us all for our support over the years and the band left the stage for the final time, leaving our ears hissing with the sounds of rock & roll. I'm not sure if this will be my last opportunity to see KISS on this tour, but if it is, it certainly was a fitting send-off for KISS and their fans. I've seen KISS 24 times now and this show was right up there with the best shows I've ever seen.

Those of us who saw the 70's tours, especially in 1977, have really been spoiled by the legendary onslaught of pyro from those days. Back then there were columns of flame and bombs going off during every song. That's the way we remember it. The facts may not match the fantasy. To this day, I consider the '85/'86 ASYLUM Tour one of KISS' best because of that huge multi-colored logo and the Who song (mentioned earlier) KISS performed during the encore. The Farewell Tour will go down in history in the same manner. Many more people than were present will have claimed to have been there; the show will have been flawless; the sound will have been loud and clear; everyone's favorite song will have been played.

After reading some of the reviews of the Farewell Tour, I have no doubt that some folks' experiences could benefit from a little "revisionist history." It seems that some people find something negative to say about everything. This is KISS, man. They are not coming back. You'd better enjoy it while it lasts because if you don't, it's over! And you missed it.

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