From: Chris Freeman
Here is my review of the KISS show in Oakland, CA, March 23rd:

First, I have nothing to say about Skid Row and Ted Nugent since I walked in at 8:50pm and missed both bands. Oops! I could care less about Skid Row, especially without Sebastian Bach, but I did want to see Ted. Oh well KISS came on at 9:15pm with no video intro. I wished I could have seen this video, but I only caught what VH1 aired on Opening Night. I have a friend who went to that Phoenix show and he said that the video made him weepy! Anyone know why they cut it? Pieces of it ended up as backing video for “Do You Love Me? but I’m jumping ahead of myself.

The huge drape with the KISS logo that covered the stage came down with a huge explosion and the Boys were lowered to the stage on a lighted platform which doubled as a lighting rig. Once it hit the stage, they dismounted and took their places as the announcer started in with the familiar “Awright, Oaklaaaaaaand! Everyone got to their feet and finished the intro along with the announcer, “you want the best, you got the best. The hottest band in the world, KIIIIISSSSS!!!

They opened with “Detroit Rock City which featured a cool animated graphic of a car spinning out of control and colliding with a semi, plus a good dose of fireworks which were very colorful. “Deuce was next and everyone went crazy when they started their synchronized moves at the end of the song.

After a brief pause where Paul sets up the rest of the night and thanks everyone for being there, they launched into “Shout it Out Loud. They were playing in top form, the best I’ve seen the original lineup play since '77. Ace especially stood out; he really got the lead to this tune right.

Next up was “I Love It Loud. A bit lacking, in my opinion. Peter just can’t get that boom, even with drum triggers. Ace played the lead and everyone sang along during the breakdown; although, I did notice that the crowd seemed somewhat subdued. I’ve been to much rowdier KISS shows. “Shock Me was next and Ace’s voice was rather mediocre, but his solo was outstanding.

“Firehouse” came after and you could feel the anticipation in the air for Gene’s fire-breathing. Peter even extended the hi-hat breakdown before the final choruses, just to hold it out that much longer. Great pyro for this, and I must say that overall, the lighting was gorgeous, full of color and variety. WAY better than the reunion tour. Two huge logos on either side of a video screen that were blinding in their intensity. And the reincorporation of the ’77 lighted stairs idea was nice. Updated of course, and very sleek looking.

The before-mentioned “Do You Love Me? with mini-history video came after (curiously leaving out any references to former KISS members), and ended with “WE LOVE YOU flashing on the screen. Paul stage-pattered his way into “Calling Dr. Love, which Gene sang fairly well. His voice was pretty darn good most of the night. Ace’s solo was once again a standout.

Most of the crowd seemed to get up and leave for a pee break during “Psycho Circus. It got a tepid response from the crowd, but it did feature nice graphics on the screen. Paul’s voice was really great on this one, fully stretching his range. The backup vocals on this seemed a little too clean, which made me think there might have been some tapes they were singing to, or someone else adding vocals backstage. We’ll never know.

The second of three ‘80s-era songs came next, “Heaven’s On Fire. The backup vocals on this were pretty lousy (there went my extra tapes or singers theory!), but Paul’s extended vocal intro was great! Really showing how much of a great singer Broadway is going to be getting. Once again, Peter’s tubthumping seemed lukewarm here, plodding even. Lots of pyro; everytime they sang “heaven’s on fire there were short bursts of flame. It got to be a little much (yes, too much ill-timed pyro can be a bad thing), and rather spoiled the displays during “God of Thunder and “100,000 Years. It made the fire seem trite and gimmicky rather than powerful.

“Let Me Go, Rock and Roll” rounded out the first half of the set and was played with enthusiasm, if a little slow. A couple of timing mistakes from Peter first, then from Gene made me laugh out loud. Peter flubs a turnaround in the song, Gene gives him the evil eye, then bones one himself. Ha, ha!

A little Y2K patter lead us into “2,000 Man that was played admirably with the “Y2KISS graphics and the Immortals segments playing on the screen. Ace’s solo followed and was the best I’ve seen in years. I could’ve done without the “Bugle Call segment which seems to be a staple of his solo these days. I just think it’s too corny. He did a couple of “classical-sounding bits that were cool and a nice double-octave trick on the neck that I’d never seen him do. None of the bits of “Hard Times” or any other songs were included. The usual smoking/ascending guitar and bottle rockets off the headstock ended his solo.

Then, they did something a little unusual. They started going off on the Grateful Dead! First asking the crowd what they thought (what do YOU think everyone did?), then professing to LIKE the band! Ace said they were one of his favorites, and Paul even coaxed Gene to the mike to profess his admiration for “Phil Lesh. Whatever, guys! It was pretty funny. Especially Paul’s face as he’s trying to keep it straight (wink, wink).

The last of the ‘80s-era tunes was “Lick It Up, and this was the best of the three. They made room in the song for a solo from Ace, which was quite good. In keeping with the “lick theme, they went right into Gene’s solo. This is always my favorite part, and Gene did not disappoint. Appropriately creepy with lots of blood, and a trip to the highest spot on the lighting rig. Even the bass notes he hit sounded creepy. I was happy! The band went right into “God of Thunder and throughout the song there were animated thunder clouds with lightning projected onto the screen, and during Ace’s solo, all the lights were off except a spotlight on Ace, cleverly disguising Gene being lowered back to the stage. For the last verse, there was a vocal harmonizer added to Gene’s voice for an “unearthly sound effect and the projection of Gene singing was shown in negative aspect. Lots of pyro, too. But, no drum solo, apparently to make room for more actual songs. I don’t believe that. If Peter's not up to it, just say so. Oh well so much for honesty! After Paul’s “don’t drink and drive message they slammed into “Cold Gin, one of my favorite numbers of the night. It’s one of my favorite KISS songs and they played it very well. Ditto for the next tune, 100,000 Years, another one of my favorites, which had the biggest display of firepower.

Next up, Paul goaded the crowd with a VU meter displayed on the screen (A goofy trick, but fun!) designed to register just how much we wanted him to come out to the ministage by the soundboard to sing “Love Gun. Of course the crowd did get loud enough, so out came Paul with no mishaps (unlike Anaheim!). And this version of the tune was great! It’s one of KISS’s best songs, and it ruled. Killer solo from Ace and lots of fireworks at the end with the machine gun snare fill.

The last song of the set was “Black Diamond, and Paul did his usual lengthy guitar intro. He did slip in a non-KISS tune which I think went right by most of the crowd: he mouthed the words “I Love You a few times, pointing out at the crowd, then played a bit of the chorus to I Love You by the Zombies! Similar chords to “Black Diamond,” so it blended right in. The song sounded awesome and of course there were plenty of fireworks at the end. Peter’s drum riser rose to reveal a double cat design similar to the Alive II shot. The one thing I hated, which had nothing to do with the show, was the big guy in front of me who jumped up on his chair just as the last bunch of fireworks went off, so I missed it! I couldn’t move fast enough. Damn him! It’s one thing to enjoy a show to the fullest but please folks, not at the expense of others around you!

“Beth” was the first encore and Peter’s voice was a little ragged after “Black Diamond, but it was an emotional moment for everyone. Mostly for Peter, I’m sure, since his days of singing that song are now numbered.

After a full-on “Beatles bow, they ended the show with the party anthem of all time, “Rock and Roll All Night. A very rousing version with more confetti than I’ve ever seen, like a snowstorm almost filling up the entire arena! Ace’s solo featured the pinwheel at the end of his headstock which seemed to be timed to his solo perfectly, spinning one way during the first half, then slowing down and reversing for the second half. Awesome! Tons more pyro and fireworks, and alas it was over.

This was my tenth time seeing KISS (’77, ’79, ’85, ’86, ’88, twice in ’92, ’95, ’96) and I’m glad they went out with a really tight, fun show filled with songs I really wanted to hear (thankfully, no “Into the Void!). I was truly disappointed by the reunion tour (I saw the first night at the LA Forum, maybe it was just a bad night) and the Dynasty tour was lousy, so this more than made up for those shows. The band seemed to be enjoying themselves and were in a stride playing-wise, my critical remarks aside. The staging and lights were fantastic and it felt like everything clicked. If they don’t swing through here again at the end of May or early June, I’ll be sad, but I will feel satisfied that I saw one final great show by arguably the best rock band in the world.

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