From: Joe Cusumano
Well, Tuesday night at Savage Hall, in Toledo, Ohio was sort of a bittersweet night for me. It was my 12th and probably final time to see "The Hottest Band in the World". I arrived too late to see Skid (mark) Row, but I did see "Uncle Ted"! What a great choice to open the show! Everyone really was into the ol' Nugemeister. Anyway, KISS came out blazing with Detroit Rock City and Deuce, and mixed in some more recent hits as Lick it Up and Heaven's on Fire. It was really great to hear some of the newer material. The large back screen showed a kind of video timeline of the band in their earlier incarnations. A lot of unseen footage that was actually nice to see. Also a few animated video clips left over from the Psycho Circus 3D tour. I noticed that the solo times were considerably reduced from the last two tours. One major disappointment, Paul's solo time didn't even happen due to a problem with the hoist not working! He couldn't swing over the crowd to his mini-stage in the rear of the arena. This really sucked for me because my seats were about 50 feet away. I don't know whether or not Paul has done this. He kinda did a solo one verse version of "I Still Love You" before going into "Black Diamond". Maybe this was due to the fact that the other trick didn't work. Although I enjoyed myself, I have a few observations about the show and the last three tours in general.

1. Ace seemed really out of it. Has he fallen off the wagon or was he ever really on it?
2. Ace was looking kind of thin, even for him.
3. Was glad NOT to hear "I Was Made for Loving You"!
4. Contrary to the Gentleman from Grand Rapids, MI, Gene is HUGE! He looks like he's working on his third and fourth chin! All the talk about 50 pounds of armor and leather, you'd think he'd peel off a few pounds!

The Last Three Tours:
1. Change the setlist! After 3 tours and only 1 new album, give us a different show! You have to dig a little deeper. After all, you have tons of hits! I would eliminate, "Do You Love Me" , "Let Me Go, Rock 'n Roll", "100,000 Years". I would have liked to hear; "War Machine", "Fits Like a Glove", "Strange Ways", "Parasite", "Watching You". Am I the only one who thinks that "Unholy" is a GREAT blood spitting song? It fits in with the Demon personna so well!
2. If they're really doing it for the fans, why do t-shirts cost $30? or more!!
3. Are Peter's drums mic'd really heavily? He seems like he hardly hits them.

I know I'll probably catch a lotta crap for this, but, I kinda miss the NO-MAKE-UP days. The Stages were fun, the show seemed more energetic due to the fact that the guys weren't hampered by 7 inch leather heels and heavy outfits, and the shows were different. I really miss Eric Carr's powerful drumming. Bruce Kulick was really starting to come along as a contributing member of the band. Eric Singer would have lent a new voice to the albums that we as KISS fans haven't heard in years!

Don't get me wrong, I had a GREAT time at the show Tuesday night. I had GREAT times at the other eleven shows I had seen. I was always guaranteed a GREAT time. But now, If it's all said and done, I just had to voice a few opinions. KISS is my favorite band. There is no other Live band as good as KISS. And as always, "I WANTED THE BEST, I GOT THE BEST"!

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