And the big day for our PRE PARTY of the KISS KRUISE VEGAS finally arrived. Thursday November 13th, just the day before the big KISS event of the year kicked off, KISS ARMY SPAIN organized, along with our friends of KISS CANCER GOODBYE, an amazing event at the venue 24 OXFORD, inside the same hotel where the KISS event would take place: VIRGIN HOTELS LAS VEGAS.
One thing is warming up for the KISS event and another different story is what happened that night. First of all the super emotional tribute to our beloved and missed SPACEMAN, ACE FREHLEY, with a toast with the almost 400 people who filled the hall rising their glasses of champagne and honoring the memory of somebody who without any doubts marked our lives and provided KISS their unmistakable sound. And after that there were three top-notch shows that blew away the roof of the venue with the audience going crazy: ACE FREHLEY’S BAND, ALL STAR BAND and THE HANDSOME DEVILS.
It was a very long day for KISS CANCER GOODBYE and KISS ARMY SPAIN since at 14:00 h. everything was ready to start the early check-in in order to avoid long lines in the beginning of the event. We must thank all the fans for making it super easy. There were many different types of tickets and that meant that there were also many types of accreditations which made things harder. The key was that the fans showed up early to do the check-in so everything could run smoothly.
The first thing was the sound check for the bands which 60 fans who had previously purchased the “sound check” ticket could witness. These fans got thrilled as soon as they enter the room and they spotted the impressive drum kit with the beautiful bass drum head featuring Ace’s face:
The first band to do the sound check was THE HANDSOME DEVILS. The great music players Todd Kerns, Gabriel Connor, Luis Kalil and Joey Cassta hit the stage to play 2 or 3 songs and set up the sound to their liking for the show. Everything in a great atmosphere, interacting with the fans and everybody having a good time… very cool vibe that spread very quickly. It was pretty clear that something big was going to happen that night.
After that it was the turn for FREHLEY’S BAND and ALL STAR BAND who also featured the guitar player and founder of Trixter as well as producer of Ace’s last studio album “10,000 Volts”, Steve Brown to perform the anthem “Rock Soldiers” (also singing the lead).
It was exciting to see the musicians that had been playing with ACE on tour until his very last shows: Ryan Spencer Cook, Jeremy Asbrock and ZachThrone. Both band shared the same lineup except for the drummer. On the first band the place behind the drums was filled by Scot Coogan who recorded with ACE “Anomaly” (2009) and “Originis Vol. 1” (2016) and on the second band Joey Cassata was the one in charge to beat the drums.
It was also the moment for all the fans at the soundcheck to have their photos taken with the bands’ members.
Everything was set for the big moment. Courtney Kronin was ready to introduce the event. What a delight to be able to count on this super professional as the host! At 18:30 h. doors opened and the place got filled quickly. Champagne glasses were already ready (and the non-alcohol ones as well) and the fans started getting their glasses and finally it was the time for the most emotional moment of the evening: the toast for ACE. It was super touching to see everybody with their arms up in the air, glasses in their hands and toasting for the SPACEMAN. The band, HIS band, with watery eyes at backstage, most people looking up to “heaven” thanking for such a precious legacy. A moment that will remain in our memory forever. Rest in peace dear ACE.
FREHLEY’S BAND took the stage right after that to play a setlist based on the great classics from the Spaceman plus two big staples (“Love Gun” and “Detroit Rock City”):
1 Rip it Out
2 Snowblind
3 Getaway
4 Hard Times
5 Love Theme from KISS
6 Rock Soldiers (featuring Steve Brown on the lead vocals and guitar)
7 2000 Man w/Black Diamond
8 Love Gun
9 Detroit Rock City
10 Strange Ways
11 Rocket Ride
12 Shock Me
Amazing setlist with jewels such as Getaway, Hard Times or Strange Ways for instance. What a band! Fans were having a ball.
Once this first assault was over, Scot Coogan left the drums so Joey Cassata could jump on, it was the turn for the tribute to the “ALIVE!” album which had just celebrated its 50th anniversary a couple of months earlier. It was clear that there were plenty of homages that night with a symbolic atmosphere. This time the setlist was easy to guess, right?
1 Deuce
2 Strutter
3 Got to Choose
4 Hotter than Hell
5 Firehouse
6 Nothin’ to Loose
7 She
8 Watchin You
9 100,000 Years
10 Rock Bottom
11 Cold Gin
12 Let Me Go R&R
It was pretty clear that that night we were taking no prisoners! The whole place was just about to explode!
Time for a break please!! Not only the room was on fire because of the performance of this super band but also the whole Las Vegas was burning. We needed a few minutes to catch our breath, and that was the perfect moment for the charity auction. As we already explained, all the money collected from this charity was directly sent to the American Association against Cancer to fight that monster that everyone knows. Not to mention that we are super proud to contribute with our little help to fight this scourge.
Javi, Neil, Dale and Brian hit the stage and the auction started. A beautiful guitar from Bob Kulick donated by his brother Bruce Kulick, a sheet with the lyrics of a song hand-written by ACE and more KISS items were auctioned until we surpassed the amount of $30,000! Unbelievable! Note: two fans offered amounts of money so big for the bass drum head and a Gene’s bass guitar that these two items never got to be auctioned as was planned.
After the auction it was the turn for THE HANDSOME DEVILS to hit the stage. This amazing band is led by the multi-instrumentalist Todd Kerns, a super front man who played the role of Paul Stanley singing his songs, Gabriel Connor on bass guitar, Luis Kalil as the lead guitar and Joey Cassata on the drums.
A thunderous and powerful setlist to satisfy the most demanding and die-hard fans. There was no a single fan who did not have a great time from the beginning to the end:
1 Exciter
2 Saint & Sinner
3 The Oath
4 Rock and Roll Hell
5 Lick it Up
6 Fits Like a Glove
7 Keep Me Comin’
8 Dark Light
9 A Million to One
10 I Love it Loud
11 Killer
12 All Hell’s Breaking Loose
13 Danger
14 War Machine
15 I’ve had Enough
16 Young and Wasted
The setlist was based on the albums “Creatures Of The Night” and “Lick It Up” but it included also a couple of jewels from “The Elder” (The Oath and Dark Light) and another one from “Animalize”, the overwhelming I’ve Had Enoght (Into The Fire). The band was on full throttle and the audience going crazy. Oh my gosh! What a way to start the weekend!!
Here is the full show and some photos:
Tremendous grand finale!! It was the moment for the two teams of KISS CANCER GOODBYE and KISS ARMY SPAIN to go onstage to thank and say hi to everybody and the musicians who were with us on this unforgettable night.
A magical night that, besides all of that before mentioned had very special guests such as Evan Stanley and Doc McGhee, as well as Carolyn Backer, Don McGee and Al Soluri.
And that was all. We can’t thank enough all the fans for their incredible support that we have had from the first moment. After the huge effort and the difficulties to organize an event of this level and the fear we had to launch it just one month earlier, now we are very happy to see that all of you loved it and had a great time. Sometimes dreams come true and this time it was thanks to you.
Special thanks to: Neil Davis, Dale Walter, Brien Bell, Danielle Walter, Peter Cory, Danielle Todd, Bruce Kulick, Courtney Cronin, Sandra Hendrickson Haynes, Doc McGuee, Evan Stanley, Don Mcgee, Carolyn backer, Al Soluri, The Handsome Devils (Todd Kerns, Luis Kalil, Gabriel Connor y Joey Cassata), Frehley’s Band (Ryan Spencer Cook, Jeremy Asbrock, Zach Throne y Scot Coogan), All Star Band (Ryan Spencer Cook, Jeremy Asbrock, Zach Throne y Joey Cassata), Steve Brown de Trixter, Bobby Dreher, Simón Diez, Nigel Dreiner, all the fans who attended the Pre Party and of course thanks to our friends at the Spanish Army who were with us on this adventure all the time: Ricardo Martínez, Anabel, Sergio, Javier Peinado, Pablo Guiroy, Luis Jiménez, Esteban, Eli, José Luis Jorquera & Virginia, Jorge Ramírez & Blanca, Juanjo… THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO EVERYBODY FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUT HEARTS!
