Saw Ace Frehley last night...

[tommy p]

Disclaimer: I'm exactly the right age, but I was never a Kiss fan growing up and don't really like them much now.  I have never thought of Ace as a great player but I thought he was funny, cool, and wrote some decent guitar parts both in and out of Kiss.  His lyrics have always been pretty clunky so no points there.  I do love his '78 solo album and a lot of his solo output, and I recognize that he inspired a shload of people to pick up guitar including many on this board, so kudos to him for that. 

I saw him about 15 years ago and I swear he was drunk that night although HE'D swear he was clean as he still does today.  He even mentioned how long he'd been "sober" from the stage that night to my friends' and my rolled eyes.  Last night I saw him at the Beacon Theater in Hopewell, VA which is about a 600 capacity theater and looked sold out.  In fact, the tickets for last night's show sold so well when they went on sale they added a second show for tonight.  I saw dozens of people there I know from the local music scene and a high school friend I had not seen in 40+ years.  The people love them some Ace!

I like rock stars who have sort of a lazy style and nonchalant cool way about them, but he just seems out of it.  He played and sang so far off the beat it was distracting.  He moves around really slow and looks like he might be in pain, which he may very well be at 71.  The first few songs there was so much low end feedback it was just a rumble.  They would get it under control only for it to come back again a minute later.  This lasted about 2/3 of the way into the show and really detracted from it.  Ace and the band did not seem to notice so I guess the stage sound was OK.

There were two opening bands, Kore Rossik from New York and Dividing Face from Richmond, VA.  Aaaaannnnddd, that's all I'm going to say about them.

Ace opened with Parasite and played a good selection of songs with a few from Kiss and his first solo album and all throughout his later solo and Frehley's Comet albums.  They threw in a curveball compared to recent set lists doing Speedin' Back to My Baby which he said he hadn't done in forever.  The guys in his band were all very good musicians and THEY were tight with each other.  Ace - not so much!  Each of the band guys got to sing lead on at least one song and they did 2 or 3 short instrumentals throughout while Ace took a break backstage.  Ace's solos were mostly inaudible which, when they actually did come through, I realized was probably for the best.  His "guitar solo" spot near the end of the main set was an absolute clown show - just awful.  He must have been pretty pleased with himself though, because he went on for quite...a...while.  He didn't even notice he lost the audience and people were going out to the bathroom or to get a beer, and those that stayed were taking their seats.  He did the smoking guitar bit and he played the flashing light guitar on NY Groove as usual.  He tried to get some audience participation going on that one but the  audience had decided not to participate.  Cold Gin was the last song of the main set and he would sing the first half of each line and let the audience sing the rest.  Ace: "My heater's broke..." Audience: "AND I'M SO TIRED!" That actually worked out really well.  He encored with Deuce which he introduced as his "favorite Kiss song".

I would give his band a solid 8 on a 10 scale, but Ace himself maybe a 3 if I'm being generous.  I would guess that most of the rest of the audience would give the whole thing a 9 or 10.

 

[Steve Haynie]

I saw Ace on Thursday night in Bristol, Tennessee, but we parked in Bristol, Virginia.  

You said exactly what some of us were thinking.  I love Ace, and accept his "imperfections" because he is the reason I wanted an electric guitar at a time there was contentment playing a banjo.  Ace brought me over to the dark side. 

In Bristol Ace blew it on Speedin' Back To My Baby.  He got the intro right, but then he was playing the chords in the wrong position.  The first verse started off right, but he forgot most of it, and he was still trying to find the right chords.  The first chorus was rough, too.  The band played perfect, though. 

The setlist on this tour is good.  Songs that could be closers are played in the middle of the show. 

The February 4, 2023 Hopewell, VA setlist

[Len]

Saw him a little while back at Rams Head in Annapolis. A small intimate venue downtown. Ace was my idol as a teenager and the reason I picked up a guitar. I'd seen him many times in the early days with Kiss and enjoyed his playing, but now it pains me. he was horrible. He was sloppy and it was disappointingly uneasy for me to watch. I get the impression he does not practice and just shows up and more or less phones it in. His band genuinely saved him. Those guys are young, talented, hungry and tight. I not going to see him again. I'm going to cherish the memories and try to forget what I saw and heard at his last show. Thanks for the review @tommy p

[princeofdarkness56]

Sometimes honesty is painful. 

[beezerboy]

sorry, anybody that calls himself "Ace" is really a "Richard".  all down hill from there

[cmatthes]

I went to see him a few times over the last few years, but mostly to say hey to NiteBob who was doing FOH.  I had seen him nearly 20 years ago at a rawk club in NoVA, and it was honestly pretty decent.  He did seem kind of grumpy afterwards and was weird about making sure everybody paid the $25 for a picture and $50 for an autograph (only for merch bought at the show).  I didn’t have any interest in any of that.  All in all, it was a fun show, but it was clear that his band carried things.

I saw Paul Stanley solo a few months later doing the “Live To Win” solo tour, and it was night and day - Paul sounded and played great, and there were a lot of great KISS and solo album gems I wasn’t expecting.   Where Ace had slagged “those dicks from that band”, Paul thanked and recognized both Peter and Ace at his show.  
I actually had a fleeting thought about driving to Hopewell the other night, but honestly, the video I’ve seen recently as well as the decline in show quality over the last couple of decades made up my mind pretty quickly that staying home was the better option.  It sucks, because I’ve always been an Ace fan, but I know my limits…

[Steve Haynie]

That Paul Stanley tour was in 2006.  What got me was how much different Paul was on stage in comparison to KISS shows.  He was humble.  He talked to the audience in a casual, friendly way.  There was no, "People!  People let me hear ya!  I can't hear ya!"  Paul spoke to the audience like he was a guest in everyone's house.  His band was from American Idol, and at the end of the show Paul said he hoped he passed the audition. 

I see Cheap Trick next month. 

[Biz Prof]

Nice, detailed review, Tommy.  Hate to hear that he appears to be mailing it in, especially since the band is tight and his parts are not exactly difficult to render. 

I'm in the minority here:  one of those guys who almost totally lost any interest in Kiss and Frehley after I reaching the age of 15 or 16.  Once it got to the point that I realized I could play most of Kiss' catalog as a beginning guitarist, I moved on to other bands.  Doesn't seem that I've missed much.

[Stike]

1 hour ago, Steve Haynie said:

That Paul Stanley tour was in 2006.  What got me was how much different Paul was on stage in comparison to KISS shows.  He was humble.  He talked to the audience in a casual, friendly way.  There was no, "People!  People let me hear ya!  I can't hear ya!"  Paul spoke to the audience like he was a guest in everyone's house.  

I noticed the same thing last year when I got to attend a soundcheck/q&a. One of my customers kids went to the same school as Paul's kids and said he was always very nice, never remembered meeting him multiple times but very nice. He did say he was always "on" though, like attending school events wearing a leather blazer with no shirt underneath.😄

[Len]

2 hours ago, Steve Haynie said:

That Paul Stanley tour was in 2006.  What got me was how much different Paul was on stage in comparison to KISS shows.  He was humble.  He talked to the audience in a casual, friendly way.  There was no, "People!  People let me hear ya!  I can't hear ya!"  Paul spoke to the audience like he was a guest in everyone's house.  His band was from American Idol, and at the end of the show Paul said he hoped he passed the audition. 

I see Cheap Trick next month. 

I have a "Live to Win" concert on BlueRay that I watch on a regular rotation. Great show. His backing band is from the tv show Rockstar. Great players. Paul does an excellent job just as @cmatthesand @Steve Hayniesaid

[tommy p]

18 hours ago, Len said:

Saw him a little while back at Rams Head in Annapolis. A small intimate venue downtown. Ace was my idol as a teenager and the reason I picked up a guitar. I'd seen him many times in the early days with Kiss and enjoyed his playing, but now it pains me. he was horrible. He was sloppy and it was disappointingly uneasy for me to watch. I get the impression he does not practice and just shows up and more or less phones it in. His band genuinely saved him. Those guys are young, talented, hungry and tight. I not going to see him again. I'm going to cherish the memories and try to forget what I saw and heard at his last show. Thanks for the review @tommy p

I've been to Ram's Head for dinner but haven't seen a show there.  It's guys like you that see shows like I did that I wondered about; people that loved him and were inspired to play by him.  Some people will make every excuse they can to NOT have to admit their idols aren't what they used to be and I figured Ace fans would be that type.  From the folks I talk to, hardly any have tried to excuse the performance we saw the other night and pretty readily admit his glory days are behind him.  Sad that you have to take the drastic step of not seeing him again, but I understand.  It helps preserve the good memories.

 

 

13 hours ago, cmatthes said:

I went to see him a few times over the last few years, but mostly to say hey to NiteBob who was doing FOH.  I had seen him nearly 20 years ago at a rawk club in NoVA, and it was honestly pretty decent.  He did seem kind of grumpy afterwards and was weird about making sure everybody paid the $25 for a picture and $50 for an autograph (only for merch bought at the show).  I didn’t have any interest in any of that.  All in all, it was a fun show, but it was clear that his band carried things.

I saw Paul Stanley solo a few months later doing the “Live To Win” solo tour, and it was night and day - Paul sounded and played great, and there were a lot of great KISS and solo album gems I wasn’t expecting.   Where Ace had slagged “those dicks from that band”, Paul thanked and recognized both Peter and Ace at his show.  
I actually had a fleeting thought about driving to Hopewell the other night, but honestly, the video I’ve seen recently as well as the decline in show quality over the last couple of decades made up my mind pretty quickly that staying home was the better option.  It sucks, because I’ve always been an Ace fan, but I know my limits…

I think we've talked about that before.  Are you talking about the Jaxx show in Springfield?  That was the last time I had seen him and the guys I went to that show with were at the Beacon show too.  I have yet to hear anyone that was thrilled with the Beacon show but some didn't dislike it as much as I did.  I'm glad Paul is cool solo from your and others' accounts.  Anytime you're going to a Richmond or Hopewell show, let me know.  It's pretty likely any show you want to see, I'm probably going to.