From: J. Kim McNutt
I saw the boys last night and what a show! I'll start with some observations. I took my two kids so they could see what a real concert was like. There was a huge line to get in. Most of the entrances to the arena were blocked off due to staging/trucks. The crowds were polite and there were no problems, But we did miss about 20 minutes of Skid Row because of the limited access. Many fans came with their faces painted. Several guys even had elaborate Gene costumes on. You had to look twice to make sure it really was'nt Gene! Skid Row was pretty tight, nothing spectacular. Ted Nugent played nearly an hour and his 3 piece band was tight also. After his set, fans were getting ready in anticipation. T-shirts and tour books were selling like crazy. Prices were $30 bucks and $15 bucks respectively. The Pan Am looked nearly sold out and there was a good mix of die hard Rockers, older fans like myself and children. Several homemade banners were evident, and some fans from Roswell made one with Alien faces on it which read, "Roswell will miss KISS." It brought some cheers from the audience prior to the show. My kids were mesmerized by the pre-show shenanigans. Their only concert experience prior to this was Elton John about a month ago. Anyway, the huge black curtain with silver KISS letters was dropped and the guys came down from the heavens shortly thereafter. It was a cool entrance. They were striking victory poses as they descended. The crowd went wild. I saw them in 96 and they seemed much tightervnow. Peter seemed extremely confident, played well. There were many times when the guys were smiling and laughing. Ace was dead on also. They threw a surprise song in when Paul announced,' we have not rehearsed this song, so anything can happen." it was I was made for loving you. It went well. Gene kept having problems with his Armaments and a roadie came out several times on stage to fix it. A funny thing happened in the encore. Peter finished Beth and he left the stage to get ready for RARAN, Paul introduced it, looked back for Pete to start the familiar drum into, and Peter was not at his kit yet! He needed to change from his stage boots/heels to his drum playing shoes. Paul improvised awhile, and Pete appeared, saying "I'm back! you can start the song now! I have never seen so much confetti, it rained down the entire song. The only thing they did not do was the drum levitation. I don't know why, because the Pan Am is tall enough. All other stunts were included in the show. All in all, a good time, I think they will go out on top. Paul thanked the audience many times and said, "don't ever forget us, we won't forget you! What an incredible career! I am glad my kids got to see the Hottest Band in the Land!

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