Hosted the kickoff of the Ace Frehley Space Invader tour in NJ last night. If you followed on Twitter I did song for song coverage and posted a ton of photos. Also posted a few on my FB. Like most tour kickoffs there were a few technical issues during the show but it wasn’t really a huge deal and Ace had fun with it. He is also working in a new band and I think after a couple shows under their belt things should be very tight. This band really is great! Richie Scarlett back in the fold is a huge addition. I always loved Richie’s playing, performance, voice and attitude on stage and he is a perfect wing man for Ace. Their two Les Paul’s sounded amazing all night and there was some cool dual guitar stuff as well. Scot Coogan also is a great re-addition to the band. He is a killer drummer and has a phenomenal voice which enables Ace to play many Kiss/Paul Stanley vocal era songs that he was a part of like “Love Gun”, “King Of The Nightime World” and others. Hearing Scot belt these out was really pretty awesome, especially when you consider how well he plays at the same time! Ace is only doing Kiss material he played on and was a part of and it sounded great with Scot singing. New bassist Chris Wyse sang lead on Strange Ways and he is a great player and rounds out what is a killer band with all able to sing lead. Because of the technical issues the nearly 2 hour set was trimmed and Deuce and Detroit Rock City were not played, but Ace told me he will toy with the set as he goes. 3 songs from Trouble Walkin were in the set including opener Lost In Limbo and two from the post Kiss debut (Rock Soldiers and Breakout which was dedicated to Eric Carr who co-wrote it). Nothing from Second Sighting or Anomaly. Cold Gin was the set closer. I posted a photo of the set list on my FB. I know there has been an outcry from some fans for deeper obscure Ace / Kiss tunes liked Dark Light, etc. He may very well work some of that up as he goes. But the simple truth is with any band playing deep tracks live it makes about 10% of the crowd happy and loses everyone else, so there must be balance. Trust me, I LOVE deep tracks from bands and I’m burned on the usual hits. But the huge majority are not. One example is when Ace played Too Young To Die, a great track I love from Trouble Walkin. About 80% of the crowd had no clue. It is a balance every band has to deal with. The major amount of people buying tickets just don’t know the deep stuff. So that’s why you get Kiss hits scattered in with the solo hits and deep tracks. Four songs from the new album were in the set, the title track, Toys, Gimme A Feelin and Change, although Change was scrapped due to a tuning issue (like I said, first night mess ups). As I walked with Ace to the stage to intro him he said “oh shit, I forgot to put Rip It Out in”! So no doubt that will be added very soon. The plan is for Ace to do the announced dates, then break for the holidays, then do more US shows and European festivals next year. I hope this band sticks together and enough people come out to support this tour and have it make sense and grow. It really was a fun, raw, loud rock show that was loud and punchy and loaded with a great variety of Ace/Kiss classics. All confirmed dates at www.acefrehley.com I’ll be at the second night at BB Kings in NYC. Win tickets to those shows in ET’s Box Office on this site.
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Hey eddie! How was the crowd at state theater? Pretty sizeable? 1,800 seats is pretty good size. Wondering how many showed up.
Upstairs balcony was closed so about half that. Good but not great. Weather was very bad last night which maybe hurt walk up. I hear BBs both nights close to sold out, Milwaukee is sold out. Will be interesting to see how it goes.
Maybe 900 people? Pretty pathetic. Ace sux
If you think “Ace sux” as you say that is your opinion. If you think many bands at his level wouldn’t KILL to draw 900 people you don’t know the business today. I am hearing about band doing 150-200 people on a daily basis in clubs and theaters and less
Why so defensive about your little buddy?
Because it is true, over here I saw Extreme, maybe a thousand, I saw Thunder, maybe 600, I saw Eric Johnson, probaly just 400, I went to ZZ Top, probably 2000, Whinery Dogs, 300+, Mr Big sure less than 1000, etc etc. big acts of the past touring clubs of 500 to 1500 people. But as cd sales are low touring is the only thing left to make money for those bands (90%) that do not get airplay on the radio or on TV to make a buck.
Prob cuz they been best friends over the years…hes not any more defensive than the brainwashed zeppelin fans that get pissed when zep is accused of plaigarism…
Reports around the net have it closer to 600. Maybe they didn’t include the TON of tickets Ed gave away.
Woooowwlll how ya doin’ people!?!!!!? You know, you just know ewww ohhh how much I appreciate all of the support I am getting from everyone that I just had to do my first encore in a trunk report lemme hear ya!!!!! Awwww hey!!!! You people, you people are the reason that I’m heeeyear so give yourselves a round of applause let’s go!!!! All right!! You know just the other day I was sitting in my hotel room listening to the deluxe edition of LOVE GUN!!! How many of you people have the album lemme hear ya!!!!!! It reminded me of how good I used to sing woooooo!!! Okay!!! On the teaching demo, I said on the teaching demo I was teaching a very young Tommy Thayer the chords to the ultimate serenade LOVE GUN!!!! Bob Kulick was the one who was recording it make some noise!!!! Ace was down the street playing cards drunker than Lemmy at the rainbow wooooo!!!! Awwww hey!!!! So anyways after I finished listening, I decided that I was gonna hit the local Starbucks on my way to the concert hall here in Las Veg-KISS lemme hear ya!!!! So I walk in, I walk in and as I’m walking towards the counter I see this blonde holding a fresh banana in her hand wowlll!!!! Now she walks up to me, I said she walks up to me and says Paul, you’re so smooth and sweet up on that stage in the concert hall that I have the perfect potion to get you in motion for tonight’s show lemme hear ya!!!! I said baby, you know I’m a foodie, so how bout a strawberry smoothie make some noise!!!! Whhooooo!!! So she says anything for you star child and she starts to peel the banana, she strips one side of the banana (pop), she strips another side of the banana (pop) & she somehow strips a third side of the banana (pop). By this time I’m sweating people. Now she takes the banana, she takes the banana and puts it in a blenda with strawberry puree, whey protein, milk, fiber powder and ice lemme hear ya!!!! She whips up the smoothie, puts it in a glass and hands it to me. She says Paul, she says Paul is there anything else I can get you? Now I look to my left and I look to my right, I look above me and I look below me. I slowly raise my head until my eyes meet hers. There is pure silence in the Starbucks at this point so please don’t make some noise!!??!? I take my middle finga, I take my middle finga, I dip it into some whipped cream behind the counter, I place my middle finga in my mouth and very very slowly suck the whipped cream off of my finga and I tell this lovely lady, I tell this lovely lady!!!! No thank you lemme hear ya!!!!!!!!!! As I turn to walk out the door to head to the concert hall, I turn around one last time just like I did in front of the curtains falling in the tears are falling video and I say baby I’ll see you…..TOMORROW AND TONIGHT AH 1-2-3-4….
You sir…are awesome!
I’m crying….
“You know I am a foodie”…..cracked me up.
Love the RealPaulStanley!
That was crazy jajajajajaa. Pretty good!
I don’t care who you are that s–t is funny
Real paul stanley – you are a legend !!
Very funny !!
‘Lemme hear ya !!
The funniest part of this whole bit is that I’m pretty sure Real Paul Stanley is just writing transcripts from actual Paul Stanley banters circa 1985!
I almost missed this one. “please don’t make some noise?”: real genius.
I really liked the look of the band better on stage with the 08″ and 09″ lineup. Why didn’t Ace bring back the bass and guitar player from that lineup? Richie looks in great shape but god he looks like he’s trying to steal the spotlight from Ace. He’s all over the place. The bass player does nothing for me. BORING!! He don’t even look cool. Love the drummer tho. I saw him in 08″. He’s killer. Seems Ace has gone two steps back with this lineup. Does look like Ace she’s a few pounds.
Holy cow, was Richie all over the place! He was trying a bit too hard to steal the spotlight. I saw them in Annapolis last night. The lead singer from “Jimmie’s Chicken Shack” opened at 8, and Ace didn’t come on until 9:30. People were pissed that this local has-been/never-was played for an hour before the main act.
Anyhow, back to Ace. They opened with “Rip It Out”, so I was pretty happy about that change. As someone else said, you know what to expect from Ace- he’s not a vocalist. Chris rocked on bass, and Scot did an amazing job on drums, but more impressive was his singing of the Paul Stanley tunes. Ace mentioned that it had been a long time since he played in a place that small (Rams Head holds about 400, I think), but they rocked hard.
KISS puts on a good choreographed performance, but watching Ace last night was just watching a group of guys jam in a club- and I mean that in a good way. They were having fun, working hard, and the fans appreciated it.
I was there great show…Ace put together a great band
the KISS songs with Ace sounded better than the current version KISS..drummer has some pipes
Oh stop already with the “sounds better than the current Kiss” I watched clips on YouTube. Ace is looking AND sounding like Steven Seagal. Vocals are horrible. And that’s not because of 40 years wear and tear.
Hey mendacious, Paul Stanley’s vocals are horrifically worse than Ace Frehley’s. And you are free to spin that any way you so choose but reality has never shined brighter. KISS is just a average Las Vegas show act. Aside from Eric Singer the rest really aren’t sounding like “The Hottest Band in The World”, not even The Hottest Band In Las Vegas. And youtube can’t help them bullshit their way out of this one.
I have to agree in that Paul Stanley’s vocals have gotten worse. I too have watched youtube clips of Kiss shows this year and Paul Stanley was not singing well at all. But Ace sounded good for Ace. Remember folks, Ace is not a vocalist. He doesn’t technically sing for a living as he is not a singer per say. He plays guitar for a living and so happens to sing as well. Don’t expect Ace to sing like Freddie Mercury or anything. Especially now that he is in his 60’s. He does a fantastic job at singing like himself. The main draw to Ace is not his singing, it is his guitar playing and the fact that he is an original member of Kiss! That only should say who cares what his singing is like, its Ace freakin’ Frehley!!
I have to agree with you. I bet he ate three boxes of hamburger helper before the show. Also. Ritchie was lumbering around like a tard.
Looked like a great set list. Here’s hoping for a stop in VA/DC/MD area in ’15.
They’ll be in Annapolis next week!
Shocked that the Annapolis tickets are twice as much as NYC! Rams Head On Stage way off kilter with their pricing. Foghat was like $75 there. Those of you going to NYC on the 24th don’t be late. Steve Conte is opening and his record might be the best of the year. A bold statement with Slash and Foo releasing this year.
Eddie : Thank you so much for all the Ace Twitter coverage last night. I’ll being seeing Ace on 11/28 in Milwaukee, WI @ Potawatomi casino and am so looking forward to it.
I know exactly what you mean about deep tracks. For example, I’ve seen Cheap Trick numerous times in the last 10+ years. When they play fairs /festivals they’ll play more of the hits because that’s what the fans (most of them are casual) want. I’ve seen CT 5 times at Potawatomi and they played some of the deep tracks along with the hits because that what the serious CT fans want .
Getting back to Ace; I’m a newer Ace fan. I’ve only have 3 of his CDs but have watched enough of his videos to feel like I know a good portion of his music. When he does a deep track I’ll sit back and enjoy it even if I don’t know it because I know another song I know will come next. I also want to mention I LOVE all your Ace interviews and listen to them a lot. I’m also a huge fan of TMS from the beginning. and look forward to new shows in Feb.
Been to that venue and wish I could make it out for it, especially since my radio show is on The Hog there, but my schedule too tight, enjoy!
I slightly have to disagree Eddie on the “deep cuts” view. You are right, most are doe-eyed but at some point the artist has to say, “Fuck it!”. These days you have younger fans in attendance who don’t know hits from Shinolas, so why not give these tunes a new life?
Most of these dolts I hear at gigs yelling out songs are just there to get lit. I believe its people who KNOW music keep coming back if they think they are going to hear a gem every now and then. I realize its harder for a band like Aerosmith or Iron Maiden to do that with their huge respective catalogs and finite stage time, but Ace, in comparison, has a handful of tunes (if he only plays the Kiss tunes he sang on), so why not delve deeper? I’m betting the type of crowd that goes to see Frehley isn’t your typical fair-weather fan.
I am realistic enough to know a band has that delicate balance, too; one has to play for old as well as new fans. I saw Rush for the first time about nine years ago and, of course, I needed to hear “Limelight”. But they pulled out “Witch Hunt” and that impressed me.
I’ll trade “Rocket Ride” for “New York Groove”….in a NY minute!!
He does Rocket Ride. When he did Trouble Walkin deep tracks most were lost. I see it at every show with every band. I am one who wants the deep tracks but 90% of the crowd checks out. Very few know the entire catalog. I lost my mind when Aerosmith did Kings & Queens on the current tour. Me and 4 others out of the 15K there. I appreciate bands throwing the hardcore a bone but realize why it is so hard to do. Especially in a case like Aero who have a ton of hits, many they don’t even play most times
Man, when they OPENED with “Rats In The Cellar” back in ’88 (Permanent Vacation tour), I nearly shat myself!
Cool that he added “Rocket Ride”. He didn’t play it last time he came my way.
Trouble Walkin didn’t strike me as a good record. Did it sell? I think Ace would be better served, deep track-wise with Kiss vocal stuff (Talk To Me!) and stuff from the Ace/Kiss solo release. I do love the deep tracks . Setlist.fm is a great resource to see if the band you’re intersted in is working them in. I do agree with Ed that the casual fans will be meh about deep tracks. I know UFO gets a push for the deep tracks. They usually try and work them into the 1 or 2 spot. But as Andy Parker said on your show, Phil gets a little restless when he doesn’t see the reactions.
I just find it so hard to beleive that the crowd is not familiar with ” all ” of his catalog . Its not a Kiss concert … Who goes to see Ace and dosnt know his catalog ?
I , and dare say, most of his fans would gladly have him give up love gun and strutter for 2 of his “lead vocal songs” .. He does those 2 every tour .
I suppose he thinks he needs to do Cold Gin but, drop 2 of these 3 ; parasite, love gun,strutter .
I mean its insane he’s doing those that he dosnt sing lead and not;
1) anything else from his 78 solo
2) or dark light,two sides,torpedo,2,000 man,hard times,save you love
3) As far as TW release I dont think 2 young is the best pick for the crowd . Dont you think if he would do ; do ya,5 card,title track, lost and especially hide, that those would have been more recognizable ? . I mean I love the whole disc and 2 young has some great guitar but its one of the less known songs…
At the end of the day just do at least 3 or 4 obscure songs regardless of crowd reaction. I mean its not like its a Stones greatist hits concert..
What I enjoy from artists is when they play some deep tracks that I haven’t heard or haven’t heard in a really long time and they make it sound really kick ass and make me wanna find out what song that was and check it out. However, most of the time when I check out the studio version of the song, it just doesn’t sound as kick ass as when the band did it live.
It really annoys me that American music fans are so bred to listen to just the top 40 hits from an artists catalogue that they tend to never dig into an artists catalogue to hear the deep tracks. They just go with a greatest hits package of the bands music and thats all they know. Thanks mostly to radio not wanting to play any of the deep tracks and because in the 80’s/90’s most of the music videos that bands did were just the hit songs and singles, MTV and VH1 only played those songs. I am the kind of person that I like to check out the entire albums from an artist especially when they come out with new music cause I never know what songs I might like besides the hits and singles on the record. Sometimes I find myself liking the deeper tracks better than the hits and singles.