Review: Ace Frehley with Naked Beggars at Wildhorse Saloon, Nashville, TN 5/22/2008

So it was 1970 something, and my friends and I were all into the heavy stuff. Already veterans of album rock and the FM radio revolution, we were into everything that was counter-culture cool. So along comes this band called Kiss, with their makeup, stage antics, pyrotechnics and the like. To us, they looked like a fad; a bunch of evil clowns definitely not classic enough for us. So we never really got into Kiss. Sure, we all knew the hits and they were good, but the whole spectacle thing just made me think they were probably more gimmick than substance. I never got them, mainly because I never tried. And they were all from our hometown to boot, good old NYC.

I guess you Ace Frehley fans are getting a little nervous by now. Uh oh, this guy who knows nothing about Ace or Kiss is going to trash this one. Well, to the contrary, after this show, I get it. I get Ace Frehley. He's great. And if he's been playing like this all these years, Kiss must have been great too, especially in concert. Aren't Kiss's live albums their best?

I had a really good time on this hard rockin' night. The opening act was Naked Beggars. I hadn't heard of them, but they've been around for quite awhile with three CDs under their belts. Fronted by lead singer Inga Brittingham, the first thing I noticed was the abundance of tattoos. Some serious artwork there. The music is, for the most part, hard-driving and bluesy, with strong vocals from Inga. But take note - this is not family entertainment. Hey, it's a rock show. I was impressed with Inga's stage presence; she really knows how to work a crowd, yet on this night the crowd seemed mostly unmoved. I was perplexed by this, because from where I was sitting this band was kicking it out. She even went into the crowd and worked the room. What else does a girl have to do to get some attention? The other band members are Eric Brittingham (Bass, of Cinderella fame), Kris Casamento (Guitar), and Dustin Delore (Drums). All these guys can play. My favorites on this night were "Get It On", "Never Runaway", and "Spit It Out". They also did a nice cover of Aerosmith's "Dream On".

As for Ace, I was impressed with him and his band, which includes Scot Coogan (Drums), Anthony Esposito (Bass), and Derek Hawkins (second Guitar). The show was a mix of solo material and Kiss songs. After a bit of an audio problem with vocals on the first song and a half, Ace was off and running. There was some great drumming in the opener "Rip It Out", great performances on "Parasite", "Snow Blind", and "Rock Soldiers", and a nice guitar duel in "Breakout". Also performed were old favorites "Shout It Out Loud" and "Back in the New York Groove", "Shock Me" (played on the light-up guitar) which commemorates his 1976 on-stage electrocution (an occupational hazard), and "Rocket Ride" (on the smoking guitar). Ah, the smell of gunpowder reminded me of a New York City Fourth of July block celebration. He ended the evening with "Love Gun", "Cold Gin", and a "Black Diamond" outro. Notably absent was "Deuce" which he has been playing regularly on this "Rocket Ride" tour.

So it didn't matter that I wasn't that familiar with Ace; a good reviewer just knows when he's heard good rock and roll. It was hard, it was fast, the songs were good and it was loud and clear. Besides, I was surrounded by several fanatical Ace Frehley fans, and they all agreed he was much better than they ever expected. One of them said they would have gone for the best seats if they knew he'd be this good. So yeah, now I get Ace Frehley. Anybody got any old Kiss albums they want to sell cheap? How about Frehley's Comet?