It was “Florida Cold” in Dania Beach on Saturday, with temperatures dropping below 75° Fahrenheit [24°C], sending most to reach for their jackets. In sunny South Florida, we don’t really do cold. It was only fitting, then, that a rock ‘n’ roll legend should fire up the masses and embrace what our state does best: heat. Original KISS member and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Ace Frehley did just that on his most recent stop of the 10,000 Volts tour.
Though Stage 954 is not the largest venue the area has to offer, capping its capacity at 999, the KISS Army showed up in full force. Most of the folding seats and bleachers were filled shoulder-to-shoulder with a sea of KISS and Ace shirts, and a good number lingered in the aisles like an impromptu general admission pit.
The crowd held fans from across the state, some driving upward of four hours for the show. Many are regulars, faces that have seen KISS-related shows since the earliest days of the band, and a number of phones were passed around to show off people’s storied history with the band.
In some way, every fan lays claim to a piece of the band’s legacy, from an ‘I was there’ to tales of extreme devotion to half-memories that one could’ve only gotten away with in the ’70s. One fan told me of his wedding in the Las Vegas KISS-themed chapel.
Just after 8 p.m., the lights dimmed, but the energy of the crowd immediately rose. As history (or rather, KISStory) tells, Frehley was electrocuted in December 1976 in Lakeland, Florida, after his guitar touched an ungrounded metal staircase. From the incident, his ‘theme song’ would be born: Shock Me.
It was appropriate, then, to kickstart the show with the song, given its monumental status and its relation to the state. A slight technical offset in the opening track put a momentary pause on the proceedings, but to the delight of the crowd, it meant that we got to hear the iconic Ace theme twice over with a huge boost in power on the second round.
After tearing through early hit Deuce, the band played a track from Frehley’s most recent album, 10,000 Volts, which celebrates its first anniversary this weekend. Though the title track was taken out of the setlist, they played the third single from the record, Cherry Medicine, which complemented Ace’s cherry graphic tee.
“Who doesn’t like a girl in black leather?”
Frehley was all smiles and jokes and was truly interactive with the crowd. He humorously misread “Diana Beach.” His big personality, though polarizing to some, is part of what makes the show a thrill. You never know what he might say.
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