Kiss News

Here's a shot from the back of Olympic Stadium last night in Munich, Germany.

Photo by Keith Leroux

Here's KISS and the massive Munich, Germany crowd last night.

Photo by Dean Snowden

Photos by Matt Giles

Amazing crowd last night at Rockavaria in Munich, Germany!

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Here's Gene and Tommy on stage at KISS' show tonight in Munich.

European Tour Dates:

• May 30 - Rockavaria Festival, Munich, GERMANY
• May 31 - Rock im Revier, Gelsenkirchen, GERMANY
• June 2 -  O2 Arena, Hamburg, GERMANY
• June 3 -  O2 Arena, Berlin, GERMANY
• June 4 -  Leipzig Arena, Leipzig, GERMANY
• June 6 -  Rock In Vienna Festival, Vienna, AUSTRIA
• June 8 -  O2 Arena, Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC
• June 10 - Hallenstadion, Zurich, SWITZERLAND
• June 11 - Verona Arena, Verona, ITALY
• June 14 -  Download Festival, ENGLAND
• June 16 - Zenith, Paris, FRANCE
• June 18 - Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam, HOLLAND
• June 19 - Graspop Festival, BELGIUM
• June 21 - St Jordi, Barcelona, SPAIN
• June 22 - Barclaycard Arena, Madrid, SPAIN

Quick review:

Shots
The ramps were smooth as silk. They can both be hit from both flippers. The right ramp is tight (not Avengers tight, but tight enough). The Starman shot is tight as well, but very satisfying. It does not slow down the game as the ball does not spend a lot of time in there. Combos were not easy, but very make-able. The game flowed really well. In my first game, I hit 39 combos (and was proud to put my name on Stern's game as the Combo Champ). The shot through the pops is great and I was able to hit it two or three times in a row. There are no breaks in this game. It felt a little like an AC/DC Pro in that way - Quick and smooth, but not easy.

Art
The game is a stunner. You have all seen the pictures, but photos do not do it justice. The backglass fits perfectly with the theme and may be the nicest one Stern has ever made. It looks like something I would have tried to win at the carnival in 1979 as the top prize. The cabinet is HD and the playfield is bright, but nothing is a distraction. It all comes together beautifully.

Lighting
It is really too early to pass judgement here because many of the lighting effects have not been coded into the game. There are more color changing LED's in this game than I have ever seen in a pro. Even the pops are color changers.

Music
First thing I noticed was that this is not the "normal" Stern sound system. I could not turn it up, but the music was bright and clear. It had a little extra "oomph" coming from the low end as well.

Overall, I really think this game can be a huge winner for Stern. We all know that it will come down to code. I was still on version .54, but I couild see where it was going and can't wait to play this game again.

Jim

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

Here's Tommy and Paul on the cover of this week's Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper.

Thanks to Frank Sonnewald for the paper!

My thanks to the Matt Lamb German Foundation and, in particular, Sheila Lamb, who is carrying on her father�s work of using the legacy of his art as a way to enrich and inspire the lives of children around the world.

I was honored to accompany Miss Lamb and her wonderful team to Berlin, where the Matt Lamb Umbrellas For Peace was in full swing. The children were painting on the umbrellas and celebrating the message of peace and understanding.

I was caught somewhat off-guard when officials awarded me the Bridge Of Hearts Award. Certainly undeserved, but an honor nonetheless.

At the end of the day, my lasting memories were of the smiling faces of the children.

There was even a children�s KISS Tribute Band. Amazing.

My thanks to all.