What is better than seeing KISS live? I don’t know, I’ve never seen KISS live! But now I can officially say I have seen an original, founding member of KISS, and I am okay with that! At 72 years old, Ace Frehley can still play that rock and roll. Maybe not as fast as he once was, but when the tubes in that Marshall amp warm up, the Ace of old begins to glow.
Frehley’s show is canned, no matter what city he is playing in. But he is smart enough to know what to put into the can. Of course, the evening is sprinkled with KISS faves here and there. “Detroit Rock City,” “Cold Gin,” and “Love Gun” to name a few. Never known for being a strong vocalist, Ace’s backing band of Scot Coogan on drums, Ryan Cook on bass, and Jeremy Asbrock on guitar all contribute to filling in the rough spots. The rabid fans ate it up as the Spaceman threw ample amounts of guitar picks and sweat soaked towels their way!
The night’s opening spot belonged to fellow New York rocker Kore Rozzik. Somewhere between King Diamond and Alice Cooper, you will find Kore. Their theatrical laden closing song, “Spellbound” has Rozzik hoisting himself up on the barricade. With aspergillum in hand, he simulates the anointing of the audience with holy water. His fellow bandmates can be found in clouds of stage smoke with plenty of uplighting. Rozzik’s impressive vocal range gels nicely with the deep growl of his assembled musicians. In the end Ace fans were shouting his name! Judging by the amount merch being sold, this throwback to heavy metal’s heyday clearly gained some new admirers!
An encyclopedia of rock and roll can be found in Ace’s guitar solo at the tail end of “Shock Me.” Morsels from the Rolling Stones, ZZ Top, Michael Jackson, the Beatles, and Led Zeppelin leave the pickups on his custom Les Paul smoking! As his self-described favorite KISS song, “Deuce”, is winding down, Frehley stops the music to thank Dallas for showing up and showing out. During the night, I see some older audience members jumping up and down throughout the show. Outward appearances suggested they may have not moved like that for quite a while. Thank you Ace for making us move one more time!
Photos of the show are below:
Kore Rozzik
Ace Frehley / Kore Rozzik @ the Echo Lounge & Music Hall, Dallas, TX
Reviewed by Scott Rowe, Editor
on
July 17, 2023
Rating:
Reviewed by Scott Rowe, Editor
on
July 17, 2023
Rating:
