Sunday, August 5, 2012

Ace Frehley Concert Review and Set List Greenville WI


The last time I saw Ace Frehley, it was with Kiss in 1997 for their first "Farewell Tour," (there would be many farewells to follow).  During Shout it Out Loud Ace screamed out, "St. Louis!" which would have been great, but seeing as we were in St. Paul, it was kind of an issue.  Gene and Paul made up for it by mentioning St. Paul 83 more times during the rest of song, but it was just part of a tough night for Ace. 

Fast forward 15 years. 

Ace is older, heavier, sober, and more solid.  He put on a great show, and frankly surprised the hell out of me. 

Here is the set list to my recollection:
Rip it Out
Parasite
Sister
Snowblind
a portion of I Want You
Rock Soldiers
Lover Her All I Can
2000 Man
She
Hard Times
New York Groove
Blues riff while stalling for bass guitar to get fixed
Flaming Youth
Rocket Ride
Shock Me
Shout it Out Loud
Deuce
Cold Gin
end of Black Diamond 

Some notes on the evening:
  • Ace's guitar playing was simply outstanding.  He sounded wonderful. 
  • The backing band was very solid.  On the Kiss songs, both the drummer and bass player did a good job with Gene's vocals, and the guys picked up some of the Kiss stage moves as well.  Fun to watch them get into it. 
  • Rock Soldiers in particular was a monster, and was much better live than I could have imagined. 
  • The guitar solo at the end of Shock Me was also incredible. 
Overall, Ace put on a really solid show.  For those folks that knew him from back in the day, he did not disappoint.  For those that just came out for Sammy (you can find the full Sammy Hagar concert review and set list here), they had to be pleasantly surprised. 

Ace said it best in Rock Soldiers - "Ace is back and he told you so." 

Back indeed.

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