Post by Emily Wilson on Aug 5, 2019 0:47:01 GMT
So! After nearly 4 years since my last Ace Frehley concert, I decided to go ahead and attend another at the Arcada, and while at it, get a meet and greet package. I was mainly motivated due to the last experience where he picked up my poster illustration I had thrown onstage before the encore, and during 'Deuce', I was surprised he picked it up during the song and placed it in front of the drum set! You guys can view the video from 2015 here (video not mine; jump to the 8:15 mark):
After that night, I decided to save up for another meet and greet package for an Arcada show. First time I got one of those packages was for McHenry Days, though I did not bring any fanart to have personally signed by him. I also skipped out for the 2015 Arcada meet and greet because he was still on his Space Invader tour.
Jumping to the 2019 show however, it was...interesting. I should note too that this year when the opportunity came up, I was a little skeptic at first, because it had occurred to me that a lot of publicity stunt flaws were ironically exposed through Ace (Ace calling out Gene earlier this year, yet has Gene's solo band as his solo band), which set a rift for me due to a supposed lack of sincerity and trust. Regardless however, I went ahead and bought tickets and a VIP experience package, because I didn't think there would be another opportunity for me to do a meet and greet with Ace at the Arcada if I was gonna wait another 4-5 years, since I am planning on moving in a few years. Plus, if I'm gonna be honest, I was and still am an Ace Frehley and KISS fan, even if my opinion, especially on KISS as a whole, is mixed. Just as I'd go to this Ace concert this time, I'd make it as fun as the last 3 concerts I went to.
Before leaving, I had ordered a poster print of fanart of me selling Ace a robot on a privately-owned home planet. I had also made a chocolate drawing of Ace that I had originally planned to give to him, but I held myself back.
Due to an improperly printed copy of my poster at my local Walgreens caused by the poster printed not being cleaned, I had received a refund and ordered from a different one nearby the theatre. Before I could drop by though, I had to make a stop at the venue once doors opened to receive my VIP bag. Like the first time I got a package, all items were put into a cheap plastic bag, though thankfully, I had a photo folder with me to put my mini poster and an 8x10 print in. Heading back to the car, I had put away the guitar picks and the sticker into the glovebox so I wouldn't have to carry them during the concert. (The red, black and white picks in the image below were part of the package. Spaceman ones were caught during the show.)
I don't have footage from the show itself, but it was slightly different from previous shows. Ace had a couple new songs thrown in from songs he's hardly ever played live in the past in years and all the songs were played in a different key. He seemed to be pretty friendly with the fans in front row too, despite the new yellow line barrier that was recently set. (I really do hope though that it doesn't become a fenced barricade in the future. ) A lady walked up and used a hand fan on Ace to keep him cool, and when he noticed her, he kindly received it from her and used it.
After the show, I got in line for the meet and greet. Ace's tour manager, John Ostronomy, wasn't there, but his merch booth guy PJ was there to moderate the line and meet and greet, who I have to say is a pretty sweet guy! No offense to John (whose generally pretty nice too if you clearly follow his instructions), but PJ has a little more patience and is a bit more chill.
Once it was my turn to meet Ace, we hardly talked much; me hardly being a conversation starter whereas Ace was pretty tired. Once one of the guys had placed my poster illustration however, Ace immediately beamed. He really liked my fanart and so did his team! He even left me a really sweet personalized autograph too. It was nice touch to have those Xs and an O:
My meet and greet photo with Ace. First one came out blurry, but thankfully since the photographer grew to understand my camera pretty fast, this one came out pretty good, though I had to due some editing since I couldn't bring my fancy camera before leaving the house due to a last-minute battery issue.
So overall, despite my initial concerns, I had a fun time Thursday night and had yet another good encounter with Ace Frehley! Although I wish Ace was more willing to chat (because I'm not much of a conversation starter myself), I am still grateful that he was willing to meet me, sign and personalize my stuff, and show appreciation for the fanart I had him sign. This may be my last Ace meet and greet package with Ace though, because I'm satisfied enough at this point to not have to do anymore. Doors open if I feel like doing it again, but I'm gonna likely be cutting back on shows and VIP meet and greets (not just Ace); especially for next year so I can focus on traveling more. (On the note of BOC however, of course I wouldn't miss out. )