At their first show in nearly two years, Kiss paid tribute to their original lead guitarist and founding member, Ace Frehley.
Frehley passed away on October 16th. It was recently revealed that the musician died after sustaining blunt trauma injuries from a fall. The injuries were to his head, which proved to be fatal.
On November 14th, the legendary rock band kicked off their Kiss Kruise: Landlocked in Vegas tour with an outdoor, unplugged, intimate performance at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.
At the beginning of the concert, their frontman, Paul Stanley, had a task for the fans in the small audience. He asked them to lift their electric candles, which they had been given before the show commenced, for Frehley.
Stanley addressed the crowd earnestly, saying, “Before we get going, we just wanted to take a moment to think about somebody who is at the foundation of this band.”
He continued, “And we’re talking about Ace. So, we certainly had differences, but that’s what family is about. And why don’t we take a moment, a little quiet, to think about him looking down on us — from [the planet] Jendell, probably — and let’s have a moment for Ace. Candles up.”
The band then launched into an 11-song set, which opened with ‘Comin’ Home’, rattled through hits like ‘Nothin’ to Lose’ and ‘Hide Your Heart’, and ended with ‘Love Her All I Can’.
Stanley is most likely nodding to the tumultuous history Frehley had with the band. Earlier this year, Frehley set the record straight about his departures from Kiss, sharing, “A lot of the misconceptions were created by Paul and Gene. They still say in interviews that they fired me, but I was never fired from Kiss. I hate when I hear that. And they say that both times I was fired; I quit both times.”
Kiss retired from touring together in 2023. Nonetheless, Kiss Kruise: Landlocked in Vegas is taking place between November 14th to 16th. Stanley will also play an electric unmasked show with Gene Simmons, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer this weekend.
These performances are part of the Kiss Army fan event, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the fan group. The weekend will also include performances from the likes of Quiet Riot, Stephen Pearcy and Warren DeMartini. They will perform the music of Ratt, Bruce Kulick, Sebastian Bach, Black in Blue, Kuarantine, School of Rock, and more.
