From: Ron Ivanjack
Madison was my 7th show of the tour. I never thought I’d have the chance to see them so much (but then again, a willingness to travel helps). I made the three-hour trek to Madison and arrived to hear the end of Skid Row’s set. The Kohl Center is definitely the smallest place I’ve seen Kiss this tour and unfortunately, there were empty seats. The crowd was also pretty mellow.

Next, the fight was on for a Madison event shirt in my size. There was not much merchandise at all but the event shirts are different since my last set of shows in May. The front has the band taking their bows in the encore and back is set up in the Alive II color scheme with the same format as previously used. I was glad to see the change (I had way too many of the same shirt design for all the event shirts for my shows).

Ted’s show is consistent regardless of the size or participation of the crowd. He added Fred Bear as he did in Milwaukee. Someone threw something at him before Kiss My Ass so that person got a piece of Ted’s mind. There was also a strange mishap during another stage rap-a burst of flames rose up and took Ted by surprise. He quickly pulled back and didn’t miss a beat.

As for Kiss, they two are consistent regardless of the size or participation of the crowd. The smaller crowd just couldn’t produce the volume but it didn’t seem to bother the band. No set list change. There were no technical blunders and few noticeable goofs by the band. Peter was hitting the drums especially hard although his mini-solo during 100,000 Years was gone. Ace played part of the Shot Full Of Rock solo during his guitar solo. Paul pranced like a man possessed. I was a little farther back for this one than usual (28th row) but this allowed me the opportunity to sneak over to Paul’s second stage for Love Gun. It was nice to grab a front-row spot. Sadly, he flew back to the main stage to sing I Still Love You. I finally saw Peter throw these infamous green picks. When the light came up for Beth, he threw out a handful and then passed roses as usual. Another new addition was a graphic on the video screens to prompt the crowd to chant “Kiss” before the second encore.

No complaints. I’m exhausted today but it’s always worth it for Kiss. I have tickets to two more shows in September so I don’t have to say “farewell” yet.

KISS ASYLUM -- KISS Museum News Archive Features Tour Dates Photos