From: Brian Vann
I saw my second show of the "Farewell Tour" last night, in Ft. Worth, TX. I'm still wiping the sweat off my brow. KISS was "HOT"!! This was by far the best of the 4 shows I've seen. The others being 2 shows during the "Reunion" tour and the other back in April, in Little Rock, AR, back in April. My ticket purchase didn't put me and my friend in the location that was diagramed on the Ticketmaster site, but we were more lucky than we at first realized upon our arrival. We were about 50 ft. from the right stage platform, where Gene, Ace, and Paul shared time singing at. We even had a great view of Peter from where we were. All 4 of them really put forth an effort to communicate to the crowd and let us know we were noticed and appreciated. These seats even let us have a little different view from most. It let us see just how they behave on stage. Just for an example, you could clearly see Paul shaking his head and laughing, while Gene (yes you Gene) sang the wrong verse during "Let Me Go Rock And Roll". As Ace went into a short solo, we could see Paul still laughing and walking over to Gene, clearly saying to him "wrong verse". It was hysterical to me, because I've played with guys who think a screw up is like suicide on stage and just lose their concentration. Everybody's human, just like Gene, so just make light of it, like Paul did, and go on. Nobody gives a damn and can't do any better. Like I mentioned, this was the best show I've witnessed. They had the songs down to perfection. Peter, I must add, was really giving it his best. He's added lots of new licks to the songs, even since April. The newer stuff (80's songs) he played with a lot of enthusiam and if you closed your eyes, you'd just about swear it was either Eric Carr or Eric Singer pounding them out. Peter's energy level was definetly the source of the "drive" behind the music on this night. The timing and "punch" was right on the money all night. His voice ! was also the best I've ever heard it, including all of the past recordings I've become so familiar with. Peter didn't sing "Beth" or "Black Diamond" during the Little Rock show (see my previous review) and I was so glad, and proud as hell, to hear how well he sang tonight. Paul, as always, was again performing at top level. I guess Paul's voice will be everlasting, as he has not lost a note in his sound. Ace looked a bit tired at first, but kicked into "second gear" after his first singing performance of "Shock Me". I don't have to mention how well he played, you all know how awesome he is already. I guess I can make the same statement for Gene as well...you all know already. No suprises, but you can still barely take your eyes off of him, due to his stage presence in costume. I could go on and on about each of the guys, but am trying to keep this as short as possible. I can't really put into words of just how good they were on this night. For those of you that think the musicianship of the other lineups outweigh that of the orinials, I have to agree. That is, strictly on individual musicianship. But, none of the other lineups have the KISS sound like the originals. There is truly a chemistry between Gene, Paul, Peter, and Ace, that no one else can come in and replace. I can't put my finger on just what makes it mesh together. It just does! I know that this was the last time I'll probably get to see them, so I'm glad I'll be able to base my memories on this show. Peter, after you sang "Beth", you stopped and said "I just want to take this time to thank all of you for giving us all of these wonderful years". I just want to thank the four of YOU for giving US all of these wonderful years. You'll never be forgotten. I've spent the last 23 of my 35 years being a devoted fan. So I know I'll be spending whatever years I've got left to continuing be just that...a devoted fan. THANKS GUYS.

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