Hosted Ace Frehley last night in NYC. It was his second night at BB Kings and the place was jam packed sold out. Very holiday vibe in the room with it being Thanksgiving week and many of the NYC fans were in great spirits to see one of their own rock again! As you would expect the band got much tighter since when I last saw them a couple weeks ago on the tours first night. There were also a few changes to the set list that I think were positive including adding Rip It Out as the opener and dropping Lost In Limbo. Otherwise the same balance of classic Kiss songs and Ace solo songs. Ace was clearly having fun on stage and decided to fire back a little at his former band mates. When you consider the sniping in the press this isn’t a surprise. After a set of Kiss/Paul songs (Love Gun, Strutter, King Of The Nightime World) sung so well and in the original key by drummer Scot Coogan, Ace said to the crowd; “there’s some Kiss sung better than Paul can sing it, the way it supposed to be, what the hell happened to him”, followed by a cackle and an “ouch” from the crowd. Before “Deuce” Ace said to the crowd; “Gene thinks rock is dead? What the hell is wrong with him? he’s out of his fuckin mind”, again followed by the cackle. Ace played many key Kiss songs he wrote and sang (Parasite, Cold Gin, Shock Me, Rocket Ride, Strange Ways) and then ones he just played on like the Paul and Gene stuff. I for one am glad he is doing that. He was a part of all of the material he plays and his solos and guitar sound are a HUGE part of what made the material great, regardless of who wrote it or was the singer. If he suddenly started playing Lick It Up or Heaven’s On Fire I would agree it is weird, but the 70’s stuff was played on and made great by the original 4 and they have every right to perform it of course. After the show I encouraged him to work up “Into The Night” and also told him of the hard core fans desire to hear Dark Light live. He said he’s consider both and found it amusing people would want Dark Light, a deep song from an album most hated. But he didn’t rule out giving it a shot. New songs included Space Invader, Toys, Change, and Gimme A Feelin. Interesting to note I met a couple members of the Kiss crew who were in the crowd watching. Apparently they are here because Kiss is playing (to a track) on a float tomorrow. It was a fun, loud, raw, rock show and the band is really coming together well. They play a few more dates here in the US, then European festivals, then more shows being discussed for the US next year including rumors of a possible package tour I can’t yet reveal. I was only at last nights show but during the 1st night in NYC Anton Fig jumped up with Ace and played Breakout which would have been cool to see. You never know how much the older legends are going to keep going so catch them when you can!
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Hearing dark light live would be a trip. Not a bad song at all in my opinion considering it’s one of the heavier tracks on the elder
Hi Eddie, had a great time seeing Ace last Saturday in Atlantic City, just wish he played Rocket Ride, and Cold Gin, I know it happens sometimes when you run short on time, but the night before in Mohegan Sun, they got a full set, 20 songs, we got 15. But, it’s not the quantity, it’s the quality! And the quality was great! I just hope if I get a chance to see the Spaceman again we get a Rocket Ride, and a Cold Gin! And maybe a “Shot Full Of Rock”!! Cheers! 😉
One more thing about Scot Coogan, damn he can sing! His vocals are amazing, as good as, if not better than Paul’s in his prime! I can’t believe I never heard him sing before, and he’s pretty damn good behind those drums as well! 🙂
Way to wave the “Dark Light” flag for the fans Eddie! I’d love to hear Ace play that song live. Saw him in Milwaukee on Friday and the show was awesome! Great energy and vibe in the room. As people have previously mentioned I was blown away by the singing of Scot Coogan. He totally did justice to the KISS tunes. Wasn’t expecting that so it was a pleasant surprise. Ace’s playing was spot-on too and I went into it kinda looking to see if he would be “sloppy”. Wasn’t the case at all.
im glad to here that the show has gotten tighter,i was there opening night ,and well it was sloppy to say the least,but im glad hes gotten better,one complaint,i get the 1st couple of shows will be tightened up,and then your in the groove,but ace has got to put a few bucks into the production end of the show,come on man,you were in kiss for god sakes,give us some production,im sure you have some great ideas,you always said you were a contributing member while you were there,so show us some of your ideas for a great show as well as great music…..
also,last comment here,ace has got to start getting to the venue on time,if he really cares about his fans,then show up on time,your fans do care about how many songs you perform,and what time you go on,esp the fans that pay for the meet and greet,why should they have to get there hrs early only to have to wait ,more hrs for ace to show up,and then cut the show down by 3-4 songs all because he did not get up or get to the car on time