Ace Frehley Sony Hall March 13, 2025
Only Ace Frehley can play a show in NYC during a full moon just before the Lunar Eclipse starts to turn red over Manhattan. True Space Ace style.
I lost count of all the KISS and Ace shirts across the packed Sony Hall this past Thursday night. As Ace walked out on stage he immediately took over. 60 year old men were bouncing around like they were 15 again. I’m sure many will feel the pain the next morning, but I’m sure it was absolutely with it.
An absolute blast into my past watching a true guitar legend that inspired many to pick up a guitar back in the 70’s.
Opening with the KISS classic Shock Me, it was all eyes on Ace. The band rolled right into another classic, Deuce before playing Cherry Medicine off his latest album 10,000 volts.
A little surprising was the 10 plus songs from the KISS catalog compared to maybe 4 songs from his own solo albums. As much as I love the KISS material, I think I would have preferred to hear Ace doing more from his own solo albums. Really, the one disappointment from the night was not catching one of the 23,000 guitar picks Ace flicked out into the audience.
In true Ace style he spent part of the night telling jokes to the crowd which to me will never get old as well as breaking out his illuminating guitar for New York Groove and his classic smoking guitar during his solo. Most of his solo was ripping thru classic parts of various artists like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, The Rolling Stones as well as a tribute to Karl Cochran.
His band was full of energy with Scot Coogan on the drums, Ryan Spencer Cook on bass and Jeremy Asbrock on guitar all also contributing to lead vocals on KISS classics like Love Gun and Detroit Rock City as well as jamming out to parts of Hotter Than Hell, She and God of Thunder. Original Frehley Comets guitarist Richie Scarlet joined the band with a rousing version of Rock and Roll All Night to close the show.
Review and Photos by Anthony DiMatteo
