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| Ace Frehley @ the Mystic Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Ace Frehley may have enjoyed waxing nostalgic here and there on Friday night at Mystic Theatre in Petaluma, but make no mistake, this was no nostalgia act. Frehley brought a powerhouse band and a full trunk of licks and tricks on his second night show in the Bay Area.
Gliding on stage after a thunderous introduction, he opened with Kiss’ "Parasite" from 1974 and was supported with the abundant energy, enthusiasm and chops of guitarist Jeremy Asbrock, bassist Ryan Cook and drummer Matt Starr. Everyone got an opportunity to shine on the microphone with Starr taking lead on “Speeding Back to My Baby,” Cook doing a rendition of “Detroit Rock City” while mastering Stanley’s style with both his vocals and strut. On his birthday night, Asbrock was granted an extra song. After singing “Getaway” as he has done throughout the tour, he also led the band through Kiss’ “Strange Ways.”
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| Jeremy Asbrock's birthday surprise @ the Mystic Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Standing in front of a wall of Marshall speakers, Frehley showed that his hands haven’t aged a day. He blistered “Rip It Out” and his frequent solos still had the same elegant groove of early Kiss. Between songs, he showed a lot of appreciation for the audience and shared origin stories of some of the classics he penned (“Cold Gin” on a New York Subway ride. The time he was electrocuted in the ‘70s that led him to write “Shock Me”.). Good natured on the mic, he was reminiscent of a Bowery version of Joe Walsh. Frehley was a bit taken aback by the cold weather that has once again descended on the Bay Area (“I thought we were coming to get warm, but it’s just as fu#*ing cold here as it was in New York!”). Frehley was also the most generous pick-tosser I can recall. He began the night with dozens lining all the way up and down his microphone stand, but by the end of the night had emptied the supply to the adoring folks up front.
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| Ace Frehley @ the Mystic Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Frehley’s guitar solo came later in the evening and clocked in at 9 minutes – with every second interesting, well-crafted and delivered with intent. He started down the classic rock god path. Lots of speed, lots of sustain, a good hit of tapping. But then he took a hard left from the norm by bringing out his Gibson with multiple light panels and smoke rising from his guitar while he dipped in an out of interludes with Bond themes, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles before coming back to finish with more of his signature speed and style.
Ending the set with “Cold Gin,” Frehley encouraged the audience to sing the second part of every lyric and it seemed a very popular decision based on the audience’s throaty and widespread singing. The band reemerged for an encore of “Deuce.”
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| Eric Steckel @ the Mystic Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
It’s a good thing that Frehley brought his a-game because opener Eric Steckel had the crowd peaking very early in the night that surprised the early goers and left later arrivals regretting what they had missed. He and his bandmates, bassist Jos Kamps and drummer Tony Boyd threw haymakers from the opening song and were not going to quietly open the night. Steckel was a whirling dervish on guitar and his enthusiasm and great spirit would no doubt steal the show from most headliners. Steckel and his band are definitely not to be missed on their next swing through the Bay Area.
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