My review of this week's Ace Frehley show in Berkeley, CA:
ROCK SOLDIERS
Ace Frehley, the guitarist from my favorite 1970's kabuki-rock band Kiss, played a show last night at the Cornerstone in Berkeley. The Cornerstone is an intimate venue behind the book store on Shattuck Avenue, downsizing quite a bit from his last bay area appearance a decade ago at the Regency Ballrooom in SF. All the rockers were there - Umlaut, CBS Dave, 3/4 of Thunderbleed AKA Blind Vengeance - I'd use the word "cognescenti" except that it would imply intelligence, and on a night like this your brain is best left at coat check. Is there anything more anti-intellectual than "cold gin is the only thing that keeps us together" ?
I got there just in time to see the entire set by the opening band, San Jose's "Dave Friday Band". Is this the most perfect band name? It's got the word "Friday", which makes me think of not being at work for awhile and cutting loose down at my local bar. It's also got the word "Dave", which implies a dorky yet cool guy that everybody likes, and the word "band" of course, which means that music is happening. I loved this band right away, just from reading the marquee! Their tunes weren't as good as the name, but Dave can sing really high and shred his ass off too, so I made sure to give him the thumbs up after sort-of dancing for their short set. Dave Friday was also the first guy I've ever seen check his watch in the middle of a song, which made me wonder if maybe he was late for his bus?
The huge ACE FREHLEY banner barely fit behind the modest stage, but as soon as Ace came out and played "Parasite" it was obvious that the sign was just like the man himself: larger than life. Despite his outsized paunch, his sagging rummy nose, his terrible skin, and his bad wig, Ace was as charismatic as a movie star. "We played Petaluma last night, but I think this crowd is even better!" he drawled in his thick Bronxian accent, taking a page from the Paul Stanley school of inciting crowds via regionalism. "Are you guys callich students? Hahaa, this is a callich town, right? I never went to callich. I dropped outta high school! HAHAHAHA"
The show was great. Ace isn't much of a singer (he was the 4th best singer in Kiss and the other 3 were no Edith Piafs!) so he divvied up the vocal duties amongst his very capable band. Everybody got a turn to sing, and everybody got a turn to solo. At one point everybody left the stage but the bassist, who played a five or six minute solo. At one point he played the theme to John Carpenter's "Halloween" (on the bass) before turning on all of his effect pedals and going full Michael Anthony. Needless to say it was a highlight! The 2nd guitarist was a dead ringer for Johnny Thunders (replete with accent) and looked like he might have been dug out of Thunder's grave? But he put on a show too, grandstanding all over the stage in the best way, respecting Ace while still celebrating his own awesomeness. The band really brought it singing and playing their hearts out. What a great gig for die hard rockers!
Ace got to play by himself too, and sure enough he brought his "smoking guitar". I've seen the smoking guitar before, and I knew the smoking guitar was coming, but I'll be damned if seeing Ace shred while smoke billows out of his Les Paul like it was on fire wasn't the coolest thing I've ever seen onstage.
"I still got it, right?" he said, laughing, after the solo.
The crowd was full of hulking oafs (God bless them, especially the guy who puked in the garbage can), but one or two of them managed to bring dates. I guess Ace Frehley makes the music of love because two of them were more handsy than the blind sculptress from Lionel Richie's "Hello" video. Not one square inch of hulking nethers were left untouched as the two of them expressed their fully-clothed affection for each other right in front of me during the set. "Remember when we fell in love to that Ace Frehley record?" I imagined their reminiscence as I closed my eyes from their discomfitting affection.
The most confusing part of the show was when Ace and the other guitarist went back and forth playing every guitar riff ever written: Day Tripper, Foxy Lady, Satisfaction, Smoke on the Water, In a Gadda Da Vita. On and on it went, as if we'd never heard every famous guitar riff ever written? Or as if we were dying for more guitar riffs? I scratched my head.
"I don't do cocaine anymore but this song is about cocaine" Ace said before playing Snowblind.
"I don't drink anymore but this song is about drinking" he said before playing Cold Gin.
"We've been having so much crazy weather lately" he said, "sandstorms, wild fires, earthquakes, it's really crazy! But you know what? It doesn't......SHOCK ME!" And then they played "Shock Me" (his best song?).
They closed with Kiss' Detroit Rock City and Deuce, and it was awesome.
