From: Emanuel Melo
OK, so you all know this is going to be biased, but I can't help it. Being from Toronto, I had tickets to the Toronto show. As I sat in my seat in the Air Canada Centre in Toronto I couldn't beleive how horrible our tickets were. We were sitting in the top level right on the side, almost behind the stage. My brother looked at me and asked, "Where is Kissplayingtomorrow?" "Buffalo" I said."We're going to Buffalo tomorrownight!" This was not how I wanteed to see Kiss for the "last" time. Although the show in Toronto was excellent, the seats we had didn't make the event very enjoyable. We arrived in Buffalo at about 7:30 PM. We had no tickets, and we didn't even have any US cash on us. A scalper offered us 35th row floors for $75 US a piece. We were sold. We just needed to get to an ATM machine. The only one around was in the HSBC arena. While we were at the ATM I noticed people getting tickets at the box office. They're probably just picking up tickets they had ordered previously I thought, but it was worth a try. Tickets were still available so we asked for the 3 best tickets they had. "I can give you third row for $75." The ticket guy told us. I told him I hope he wasn't messing with us and he assured us that he was not kidding, he had third row for us. Obviously we were sold. I still couldn't believe we had scored tickets so close until the usher sat us just off center in the third row. Ted Nugent was already on stage (we missed Skid Row at both the Toronto and Buffalo shows). Nugent rocked the crowd and his show was so much better than the night before sitting in the nosebleedseats. The PA system started playing The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" which was the signal that Kiss would be on right after that song and we were hyped. Everyone rushed to the front and our third row seats basically turned into second row. The lights dimmed and we were so close we cook peak under the curtain and see Ace's boots as he walked on stage to take his place. The announcement starts, "Allright Buffalo. You wanted the best, You got the best the hottest band in theland.... KISS" Curtain drops and Kiss kicks off the show with "Detroit Rock City". A platform descends with Paul, Gene and Ace coming down to the stage. The crowd is going nuts, I'm going nuts still amazed how close I was to the band that I have followed for 23 of my 29 years. I look over to my brother and say, "This is how I want to see KISS for the last time!" All the classics were played with the exception of "Strutter" which surprised me but I guess they can't play them all. Ace throws a pick our direction and my brother catches it. It's Gene's pick that Ace was using. Paul throws a pick my way and it lands at my feet. We're thrilled with our souvenirs of the show. Little did we know that by the end of the show we would have evenbetter souvenirs. The energy in the first few rows is electric. Everyone's having a blast (until some drunk idiot starts pushing and shoving, he got ejected I think). It was great to see the guys so close and watch their expressions and the amount of interaction they have with the fans throughout the whole show. At one point Gene asked a girl in the front if she wanted him. When she nodded yes he then pointed to his crotch and told her she wouldn't want him because he's got a little penis. We were laughing our asses off. They started playing "Black Diamond" and we knew that it was the last song before the encores. After a few moments of the fans cheering for more Peter walks out, roses in hand and sits on the stool to sing "Beth". He starts tossing the roses into the crowd and my brother catches one and gives it to his girlfriend. After "Beth", I see Ace wiping the sweat off his face on a towel. I scream at him to throw it my way which he does and it lands right in my hand. Looking at it later I can see Ace's white and blue make up on thetowel. The last song of the night, "Rock and Roll All Nite" begins and although I'm saddened that it's almost over I'm thrilled that I got to see these ledgends so cloce for the "last" time (I say "last" time because I do believe they will come back in about 5 years for a "comeback" tour). The confetti starts flying and doesn't stop throughout the entire song. I'm covered in confetti and everyone is going nuts. As the song ends my brother and I move closer with hopes oif catching a piece of Paul Stanley's smashed guitar. Paul winds up and smashes the guitar in three pieces to the delight of the crowd. He throws the neck in the center and the second piece goes just too far to the left of us to catch it. The third piece goes right in front of my brother on the other side of the barricade. My brother's torso disappears over the barrier and after astruggling for a few seconds comes up with half of the body of the guitar safeley tucked under his shirt away from prying hands. The ultimate prize. I like to call it the Stanley Cup of Rock and Roll. It's coming home with us and we can't believeit! So, how would I rate the show? I would give the Toronto show 4 out of 5 stars mainly because of the crappy seats. Being third row in Buffalo made it 5 out of 5 stars. We wanted the best and there's no question in my mind that we got the best ... KISS.

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