ACE FREHLEY / ANGEL Rock New Jersey With 10,000 Volts
April 18, 2024, 7 months ago
On April 13, 2024, original Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley arrived at the new Carteret PAC (opened in 2021) in support of his latest album, 10,000 Volts. The Carteret PAC is a nice state of the art venue for concerts, or hosting other events as there are two other floors, plus a bar in the main lobby for concert goers. Openers for this show were NJ local cover band, White Tiger, who many would know from the ‘80s. The band has been on and off active over the year, played little over 30 minutes of hard rock and metal covers to warm up the crowd.
Angel, yes that ‘70s band who wore all white, are back, again, with original members guitarist Punky Meadows, singer Frank Dimino, and for select dates (tonight) bassist Felix Robinson, with Charlie Calv on keyboards, Danny Farrow on guitar, and Billy Orrico on drums. Never got to see them before in the ‘70s as I was too young, but for three members now in their early 70s they still brought the energy and rocked. Setlist was focused on the five ‘70s albums, and two newer ones. Yup, still wearing mostly all white, without of course the ‘70s flair. There are a few tunes you may know, or sound familiar, their one real hit is "Tower", a cover of the Rascals "I Ain't Gonna Eat My Heart Out Anymore", and maybe "Don't Leave Me Lonely" from the album White Hot, and "Rock & Rollers".
Ace Frehley, I mean what is there to say about the legend that hasn't been already. Well, from my perspective seeing him several times over the years since he went solo again after the KISS Farewell tour in 2001, tonight he was solid. Sure, a few tempos are a tad slower, but it works really well for a heavier "Rock Soldiers", and "Strange Ways". Yes, he is a very inconsistent player and singer, depending on the year, month, and day of the tour. He can be sloppy or close to spot on, but never losing that sense of humor for in between song banter. Previous times seeing him I preferred the setlist because he played two or three of his own KiSS songs he sang on from Dynasty/Unmasked, as opposed to the usual hits.
This tour for his new solo album he's focused on one new song (so far), the title track, and Steve Brown (Trixter), who co-wrote songs and produced the album, came out and played rhythm guitar. Scotty Coogan on drums does a great job being Paul singing "Love Gun", and the backbone guitarist Jeremy Asbrock and Ryan Cook on bass are from Thee Rock n Roll Residency, also who played as Gene Simmons solo band. "Cold Gin", "Shock Me", "Rocket Ride", Frehley transports back to the ‘70s with the light up guitar for "New York Groove", and during the guitar solo portion of the show his Les Paul smokes.
Closing with "Rock And Roll All Nite" is what an Ace show is all about.