Down on the Strip

A A A Comments (0) By Lina Lecaro Wednesday, Sep 16 2009

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Lina Lecaro

Ace Frehley at the Viper Room

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Nostalgia played a part in Nightranger’s most memorable SSMF ’09 moment as well, but this time it was no re-creation. We got to watch a real guitar god (a couple actually) in the boxy Viper Room Saturday night just after Ozzy concluded, and the performance was an undeniable ace in the hole. Former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley, that is. Frehley, promoting his first new album in 20 years, Anomaly, did new ones and some KISS songs, too, much to the delight of the fans. The place was packed and we truly feared passing out near the end of his blistering, solo-licious set. The air was hairspray thick. Decided we had to stay ’til the end after we noticed Slash (hanging out with comedian George Lopez [?]) punching his celly by the stage. Sure enough, the fuzzy one tweeted he’d be jamming with Ace on “Whiskey and Gin,” and surer enough, the duet served as the show’s thunderous climax. Almost as entertaining as Ace’s staggering guitar work? His comments about his estranged band, which he dissed a few times, including a crack about current axman Tommy Thayer’s costume. “He’s got lightning bolts on his,” said Frehley, who was wearing them himself. “Wonder where he got that fuckin’ idea?” Ace’s new one is out now, and if the cosmic crunchers we heard at the Viper are any indication, the collection is as out of this world as his old persona.