Tag: Matt Starr

Ace Frehley – American Tour 2021 (Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre, October 7, 2021) – Concert Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic36 Comments

I have been a huge Ace Frehley fan since I was probably 8 years old. He was my very first guitar hero. I had only seen him play with Kiss and I have never seen him love as just Ace Frehley. When I saw he was opening for Alice Cooper, I couldn’t click the purchase ticket button fast enough. This was also the first concert I had attended since Covid began around 19 months ago so it was even more exciting.

The concert began at 7:30pm on October 7, 2021. We arrived in plenty of time because I was damn well sure going to make it to see the opening act, because, well, as was the opening act. We stand in line to get stamped with proof of vaccination (or proof of negative covid test) and then go in line again to go through the metal detector and all good so far. I don’t know why I said “so far”, because we ran in to ZERO issues all night. It was supposed to rain…None! The weather was a little chilly, but felt great. We hit the restrooms (TMI) and then went and bought some bottled water…except…they don’t sell bottled water anymore…WHAT!!! Nope. It is now in a can…huh???

Yes, Liquid Death is the name of the Water!! I’ve seen it all now.

Yes, they sell water in a can now so I guess non-drinkers don’t get harassed for not drinking as it looks like a beer can. I have to admit, it looks pretty damn cool for water. We then hit the merch table and there were a ton of Alice stuff and only a little Ace, but I saw Alice 3 years ago almost to the day, so I went with the Ace Shirt. They were already out of XL size, so I went 2XL and I hope it shrinks…

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Ace Frehley – “Space Truckin'” – 12″ Picture Disc (Record Store Day Release)

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic31 Comments

To celebrate the release of Ace Frehley’s new album, Origins, Vol. 2, Ace and his team decided to release a Record Store Day “First” for the Black Friday 2020 release day. This time around we got a limited edition 12″ Picture Disc for the song “Space Truckin'”. How exclusive, well there were only 2,100 released worldwide and I got one. Now, if you notice I said “Record Store Day First” which means all we got was an early copy of what will be released at a later time. So the 2,100 limited run is the one with the RSD Sticker I imagine.

There are two things that are really awesome about this release. First is the pictures on the disc. They are incredible Cartoon renderings of Ace and the band. Really great and cool artwork. Second, all the songs on the B-Side are “Space” related. I like how they kept to a theme.

SIDE A:

On Side A is strictly the song “Space Truckin'”. The song is a cover of the Deep Purple classic and Ace does what he doest best and makes the song his own. It has his signature guitar sound and he turns it up a notch and makes the song a fun, rocking track. He has an old friend from Brooklyn do the organ work to try and replicate the great John Lord. His name is Rob Sabino and he does a fantastic job. Matt Starr is on the drums and does a banging job and then Ace lays down a really cool solo. Is it as good as Purple’s version, oh no, but it doesn’t have to be. It just needs to sound like Ace and that is all you need and with his addition to the lyrics of “Hey Curly” it is fantastic. This version is the full album version.

SIDE B:

Side B has not 1 song, but four. All our space themed and you get the songs “Space Invader” (Radio Edit) from the ‘Space Invader’ Deluxe Edition album. Next is “Mission to Mars” from the album ‘Space Invader’ and then you get “Space Truckin'” again but this time it is the Radio Edit and it is about 1/2 the time of his album version. Nice to now have this version on vinyl. And lastly, you get the hilariously bizarre “The Return of Space Bear” from the album ‘Anomaly’ Deluxe Edition. You even get the Space Bear in the artwork above. This song is really an instrumental with Ace being…well Ace. Crazy, Silly, Demented Ace! He talks throughout the song and sounds so insane and wasted, it is quite comical. Worth a listen for that song alone.

I really love this disc and it is a great add to the collection. Getting the Radio edit of “Space Truckin'” was really what I wanted here and the picture disc itself looks quite stunning. A brilliant collector’s piece that will be loved and enjoyed forever.