I finally found it again! This is Kiss live at the Western Springs Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand on December 3rd 1980. The final show of the Unmasked tour, and Ace Frehley's last full show as a member of Kiss until the reunion tour in 1996.
Ace Frehley @ Wikipedia:
"Paul Frehley (April 27th 1951) was born and raised in The Bronx, and was the youngest of three children. The Frehleys were a musical family, and when Ace received an electric guitar as a Christmas present in 1964, he immersed himself in learning the instrument. Frehley has cited guitarists such as Pete Townshend and Jeff Beck as his major musical influences.
When Frehley's band, Cathedral, started earning a series of paying gigs, Frehley dropped out of high school. At the insistence of his family and girlfriend, Frehley eventually returned and earned his diploma. After graduation, Frehley held a string of short-term jobs as a mail carrier, furniture deliverer, messenger and liquor store delivery boy.
Frehley spent the early 1970s in a series of bands, none of which achieved any success. In January 1973, best friend, Bob McAdams, spotted an advertisement for a lead guitarist in the Village Voice. Bob showed the ad to Ace. Both Bob and Ace went to 10 East 23rd Street above the Live Bait Bar. Ace auditioned for the trio of Paul Stanley (rhythm guitar), Gene Simmons (bass guitar) and Peter Criss (drums). Frehley (who showed up wearing one red sneaker and one orange sneaker) was less than impressive visually, but the band liked what they heard from his playing. About three weeks after Frehley auditioned, the new group named him their lead guitarist. By mid-1973, the unnamed band decided on a name - Kiss. Frehley designed the band's unique, double-lightning-bolt logo. The band quickly decided to paint their faces for live performances, and Frehley decided to start painting silver stars on his eyes. When the group eventually decided to adopt stage personas to go with their makeup designs, Frehley became "Space Ace," an alien visitor from the planet of Jendel.
As lead guitarist, Frehley was known for his frenetic, atmospheric playing, becoming one of the most popular guitarists in the 70s and spawning a generation of new players.
Frehley's songwriting presence within the group increased in 1979, contributing 2 originals and a cover (The Rolling Stones' 2000 Man) for 1979's Dynasty and 3 originals for 1980s Unmasked. While this was not the best time for Kiss on a commercial level in the United States, they were only just beginning to take off in other countries (mostly in Australia where Dynasty and Unmasked are their highest selling albums). But even as his songwriting role within Kiss was increasing, Frehley found himself increasingly at odds with the musical direction of the band. After Peter Criss left Kiss in 1980, Frehley was often outvoted 2-1 in band decisions, as replacement drummer Eric Carr was not a partner in Kiss and had no vote. Frehley's participation in the recording of 1981's Music from "The Elder" was far more limited than with previous albums. This was, in large part, due to his unhappiness with the band's decision to create a concept album rather than a straightforward rock album.
Exacerbating the situation was Frehley's escalating erratic behavior and substance abuse. In April 1982, Frehley was involved in a serious automobile accident (although Anton Fig was the driver). In May, he led police on a 90-mph car chase on the Bronx River Parkway. This incident led to a $600 fine and a six-month suspension of his driver's license.
Although Frehley appeared on the covers for 1982's greatest hits album Killers and studio album Creatures of the Night, he had no involvement with either project. Frehley's last appearances with the band were the video for "I Love it Loud," a series of European promotional appearances in November 1982 and a band interview with MTV in early 1983 promoting their world tour"
Enjoy the show!
Tracklist:
Disc 1: 1. Detroit Rock City, 2. Cold Gin, 3. Strutter, 4. Shandi, 5. Calling Dr. Love, 6. Firehouse, 7. Talk to Me, 8. Is That You, 9. 2000 Man, 10. Ace Frehley's Guitar Solo
Disc 2: 1. I Was Made For Loving You, 2. New York Groove, 3. Love Gun, 4. God of Thunder, 5. Rock N' Roll All Nite, 6. Shout It Out Loud, 7. King of the Night Time World, 8. Black Diamond.
Download - MegaUpload
Since I'm going to Oslo this week to see Sanctity, Annihilator and Trivium at Sentrum Scene, I won't be posting much here in the coming days. In the meantime you can enjoy this recording from the last time I was at Sentrum Scene, way back in 1996, to see the American punk legends Bad Religion.
