Ace Frehley at Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston, MA – September 21, 2021.

This fall, original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley headed out on tour supporting the legendary Alice Cooper. The two acts were a perfect compliment to each other, bringing classic 70’s rock to a full house in Boston, on September 21.

The last time we saw Ace, almost exactly six years ago, he was supporting his latest album at the time, Space Invader, and so we had a few songs played off of that. Tonight, perhaps because this wasn’t a headlining show, Ace and his band didn’t play any material written after the 70s. That meant a show full of KISS classics, as well as a couple of other covers.

They came out to a powerhouse combo of “Rocket Ride” and “Parasite.” After that, Ace spoke to the crowd for a minute, and then said they’d never played this next song before this tour. That song was one of my all-time favorite KISS songs, “Strutter,” off of their 1974 self-titled album.

Last year, Ace released Origins Vol. 2, his second album where he’s covered classic songs by bands he loved and grew up with. He represented that tonight with a medley of “Manic Depression,” by Jimi Hendrix, “Never in my Life,” by Mountain, and “Good Times Bad Times,” by Led Zeppelin. All great songs, that went over huge with this classic rock loving crowd.

After playing “Love Gun,” they played arguably the two most well-known songs that Ace sang with KISS, “New York Groove,” and “Shock Me.” Ace had his light up guitar, just like you would expect to see him play! He played a great guitar solo after “Shock Me,” before finishing the set with “Cold Gin” and “Deuce.” “Cold Gin” was a bit unique, in that at the end, he added the outro solo to “Black Diamond,” which is probably my favorite Ace solo, so I dig it!

Ace’s band is completely different from the last time we saw them. He previously had musicians like Richie Scarlet, who he’d been working with since the 80’s, and Chris Wyze, who used to play with The Cult. But a few years ago, Ace went on a tour of Australia with Gene Simmons, and he fell in love with the younger guys in Gene’s band, so he’s hired them to be his touring band now. The band’s energy had a fire to it, that made their performance very enjoyable to watch!

Compared to a headlining show, it was much shorter, but that mean there was no fluff. If you’re going to see Alice Cooper, make sure you’re there in time for Ace’s set!