Ace Frehley - Tonhalle Munich 13th December 2009
Setlist: Fractured Quantam / Rocket Ride / Parasite / Snowblind / Sister / Outer Space / Speedin' Back To My Baby / Rock Soldiers / 2,000 Man / Love Her All I Can / Fox On The Run / New York Groove / Shock Me / Shout It Out Loud // Deuce / Love Gun / Cold Gin
First up, an admission: I was prepared for Ace Frehley to be total shite; in fact, I expected it. There, got that out of the way. But, I also thought: Ace Frehley, man! It’s Ace Frehley! Gotta have me some of that, even if he is crap…
So, I went along to the Tonhalle in Munich, not expecting anything, really, and my expectations weren’t raised to any great level by the support band, some dreadful thrash mob from Florida, the best thing I can say about whom is, they were awful. I downed a couple of Helles and spent most of their set outside smokin’ ‘n’ drinkin’ and agreeing with others at their sucktitudinality. I wasn’t alone… there were more people outside than indoors, watching the band!
By the time the stage was ready for Ace, I was even less convinced that this hadn’t just been a waste of 50€. Hell, this was going to have to be one hell of a show to even get me back to, “Yeah, it was OK.” I’d done what I usually do at the Tonhalle, made my way down the right side to the front, then moved in. It’s a tried and trusted technique and I ended up with a great slot in front of the stage. The lights went down and the leader tape kicked in, which I think was Fractured Quantam, from Ace’s latest album, Anomaly. I had a good view of the band assembling behind the backline, ready to take Munich by storm. The audience seemed a little more enthusiastic than I was, at that point. I figured that I could leave now, or wait a bit and see how it all came down. I decided to hang around, seeing as how I’d forked out for the ticket.
How do you like this, eh? I’m actually reviewing a gig! Wow. New experience for all of us, don’t ya think?
watched as Ace appeared from the side of the stage, strapped on his Les Paul and the band launched into Rocket Ride. Not bad. Parasite, Snowblind, Sister. Actually, this was pretty damn good. Outer Space, Speedin Back to My Baby, from his solo album, Rock Soldiers. Oh yeah. This really rocks! By the time he introduced 2,000 Man, I was officially enjoying the gig. It was hot, packed down at the front, and we were crammed in there like sardines. There were no frills; it was just a down-to-Earth rock ‘n’ roll show and I was liking it, a lot. What’s more, Ace’s inter-song banter was amusing and very engaging; he’s a very funny guy! During Love Her All I Can, I took the opportunity to go and get another bier and try the other side, see if I could get some pics from a different angle. I extricated myself from the crush, downed the bier, and executed my ‘down-the-side-and-slither-in’ manoeuvre, and found myself in a similar position on the opposite side, but with a little more breathing room, just in time for Fox On The Run, a great cover of the old Sweet song, from the new CD. Another classic cover, New York Groove, had me really rockin’ out and I was pleased how heavy it sounded. One of the issues I have with KISS has always been how tame the studio albums were. When you see KISS live, they are very heavy, but in the studio, in my opinion, they never captured the live feel. (Who can forget the ‘KISS go Disco’ taunts when they released I Was Made For Lovin’ You? I rest my case.)
This was shaping up to be pretty damn good, and I don’t think I have ever had my expectations so completely blown away at a gig before. If there is one song that you associate with Ace, it’s Shock Me and, after much screaming, we got it. I don’t think there was one person in the building who wasn’t singing along to the chorus. It was during this one that we were treated to Ace’s signature smoking guitar solo, which is still damn impressive to see, even if it is just a pretty basic stunt; it just looks so damn good! At the end of the solo, with the last power chord still echoing through the building, Ace handed his guitar roadie the still-smoking Les Paul. After standing there for a while with no guitar, he said, “If someone’ll gimme anudder guitar, I’ll finish da fuckin’ song!”, bringing a huge cheer from the crowd and a round of applause.
The main set came to a riotous conclusion with Shout It Out Loud, but we knew that there was more to come and, after the obligatory shouting, clapping, and cheering, they returned to the stage and gave us a cracking versions of Deuce, Love Gun, and Cold Gin. Now, how can you not like those encores?!
I left the Tonhalle absolutely staggered by the night’s performance. I have never had such low expectations and then had such a fantastic time. Normally, it’s the other way around; you expect a lot and then you find the turn under-delivers.
Ace’s guitar-playing style is not, technically, on the level of Satriani or Vai. It’s not as though he’s young and good-looking and, as a singer, he’s nothing special. There’s nothing more flash about his act than a firework in the rhythm pickup. Musically, it was one of the most unsubtle shows I’ve ever been to. If you smacked yourself upside the head with a brick, that would be subtle, by comparison.
No, this was as basic as it gets and I loved every minute of it! I’d go as far as to say it was one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to. No pretensions, no bullshit, just some bloke from New York kickin’ ass and takin’ names, giving the people who paid their hard-earned to see him some honest, no-nonsense rock music. In a way, it was comparable to the Mott the Hoople gig. It was old-school. Ace! One might say.
Still smokin’!
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
14th December 2009
So, I went along to the Tonhalle in Munich, not expecting anything, really, and my expectations weren’t raised to any great level by the support band, some dreadful thrash mob from Florida, the best thing I can say about whom is, they were awful. I downed a couple of Helles and spent most of their set outside smokin’ ‘n’ drinkin’ and agreeing with others at their sucktitudinality. I wasn’t alone… there were more people outside than indoors, watching the band!
By the time the stage was ready for Ace, I was even less convinced that this hadn’t just been a waste of 50€. Hell, this was going to have to be one hell of a show to even get me back to, “Yeah, it was OK.” I’d done what I usually do at the Tonhalle, made my way down the right side to the front, then moved in. It’s a tried and trusted technique and I ended up with a great slot in front of the stage. The lights went down and the leader tape kicked in, which I think was Fractured Quantam, from Ace’s latest album, Anomaly. I had a good view of the band assembling behind the backline, ready to take Munich by storm. The audience seemed a little more enthusiastic than I was, at that point. I figured that I could leave now, or wait a bit and see how it all came down. I decided to hang around, seeing as how I’d forked out for the ticket.
How do you like this, eh? I’m actually reviewing a gig! Wow. New experience for all of us, don’t ya think?
watched as Ace appeared from the side of the stage, strapped on his Les Paul and the band launched into Rocket Ride. Not bad. Parasite, Snowblind, Sister. Actually, this was pretty damn good. Outer Space, Speedin Back to My Baby, from his solo album, Rock Soldiers. Oh yeah. This really rocks! By the time he introduced 2,000 Man, I was officially enjoying the gig. It was hot, packed down at the front, and we were crammed in there like sardines. There were no frills; it was just a down-to-Earth rock ‘n’ roll show and I was liking it, a lot. What’s more, Ace’s inter-song banter was amusing and very engaging; he’s a very funny guy! During Love Her All I Can, I took the opportunity to go and get another bier and try the other side, see if I could get some pics from a different angle. I extricated myself from the crush, downed the bier, and executed my ‘down-the-side-and-slither-in’ manoeuvre, and found myself in a similar position on the opposite side, but with a little more breathing room, just in time for Fox On The Run, a great cover of the old Sweet song, from the new CD. Another classic cover, New York Groove, had me really rockin’ out and I was pleased how heavy it sounded. One of the issues I have with KISS has always been how tame the studio albums were. When you see KISS live, they are very heavy, but in the studio, in my opinion, they never captured the live feel. (Who can forget the ‘KISS go Disco’ taunts when they released I Was Made For Lovin’ You? I rest my case.)
This was shaping up to be pretty damn good, and I don’t think I have ever had my expectations so completely blown away at a gig before. If there is one song that you associate with Ace, it’s Shock Me and, after much screaming, we got it. I don’t think there was one person in the building who wasn’t singing along to the chorus. It was during this one that we were treated to Ace’s signature smoking guitar solo, which is still damn impressive to see, even if it is just a pretty basic stunt; it just looks so damn good! At the end of the solo, with the last power chord still echoing through the building, Ace handed his guitar roadie the still-smoking Les Paul. After standing there for a while with no guitar, he said, “If someone’ll gimme anudder guitar, I’ll finish da fuckin’ song!”, bringing a huge cheer from the crowd and a round of applause.
The main set came to a riotous conclusion with Shout It Out Loud, but we knew that there was more to come and, after the obligatory shouting, clapping, and cheering, they returned to the stage and gave us a cracking versions of Deuce, Love Gun, and Cold Gin. Now, how can you not like those encores?!
I left the Tonhalle absolutely staggered by the night’s performance. I have never had such low expectations and then had such a fantastic time. Normally, it’s the other way around; you expect a lot and then you find the turn under-delivers.
Ace’s guitar-playing style is not, technically, on the level of Satriani or Vai. It’s not as though he’s young and good-looking and, as a singer, he’s nothing special. There’s nothing more flash about his act than a firework in the rhythm pickup. Musically, it was one of the most unsubtle shows I’ve ever been to. If you smacked yourself upside the head with a brick, that would be subtle, by comparison.
No, this was as basic as it gets and I loved every minute of it! I’d go as far as to say it was one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to. No pretensions, no bullshit, just some bloke from New York kickin’ ass and takin’ names, giving the people who paid their hard-earned to see him some honest, no-nonsense rock music. In a way, it was comparable to the Mott the Hoople gig. It was old-school. Ace! One might say.
Still smokin’!
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
14th December 2009