KISS made their return to the stage on Friday night (November 14), kicking off the KISS Kruise: Landlocked In Vegas at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas with a special acoustic set that paid homage to late founding guitarist Ace Frehley. The performance marked the band’s first live appearance since late 2023 and set a reflective tone for the weekend ahead.
Fans arriving for the outdoor unplugged show were each given an electric candle, a gesture that became central to the night’s opening moments. Before launching into the set, Paul Stanley addressed the crowd, asking everyone to lift their candles in honor of Frehley, who passed away last month at 74.
Stanley spoke warmly about the guitarist’s legacy and the role he played in shaping the band’s identity. “We just wanted to take a moment to think about somebody who is at the foundation of this band,” he said. “We certainly had differences, but that’s what family is about. Let’s take a moment to think about him looking down on us — probably from Jendell — let’s have a moment for Ace.”
The stripped-down performance highlighted deep cuts and classics, offering fans a rare setlist that included:
- Comin’ Home
- See You Tonite
- A World Without Heroes
- Hard Luck Woman
- Christine Sixteen
- Nothin’ to Lose
- Goin’ Blind
- Hide Your Heart
- Plaster Caster
- Beth
- Love Her All I Can
The three-day Landlocked In Vegas event runs November 14–16 and features both acoustic and electric shows from the current lineup—Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Eric Singer, and Tommy Thayer. The upcoming electric “unmasked” performance will be KISS’s first full-on stage show since concluding their touring career in December 2023.
The rock icon was laid to rest on October 22 at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York, close to where he grew up and near the graves of his parents—fulfilling one of his final wishes. A private memorial was held the day before at Sinatra Memorial Home in Yonkers, where Ace lived during the 1980s.
Longtime manager John Ostrosky expressed gratitude to those who supported the family during the memorial. “We would like to thank Frank Sinatra Jr., Joseph Vivona and the entire staff at Sinatra Memorial Home, as well as Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, Police Commissioner Christopher Sapienza, Chief Richard Alaimo, as well as the supervisors, officers, and especially the Traffic Division for a safe escort to Woodlawn,” Ostrosky told the New York Post. “Ace would have loved that!”
SiriusXM host Eddie Trunk revealed that both services were attended by a close-knit group of family and friends, including Frehley’s original KISS bandmates—Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and Peter Criss. The Yonkers memorial, attended by roughly 75 people, mostly musicians who had played or recorded with Ace, celebrated his life and musical contributions.
As a founding member of KISS, Ace Frehley‘s unique guitar style and iconic stage persona were integral to the band’s global success in the 1970s. He played on their first nine albums before departing in 1982, later returning for the band’s massively successful reunion tour in 1996. The results of the toxicology tests will provide the final, official details surrounding the passing of one of rock and roll’s most influential and beloved guitarists.
Writer and extreme metal devotee, Ialdagorth has spent over a decade covering the darkest corners of heavy music. A black metal lifer, he spends his free time wandering the Carpathian Mountains, likely humming blast beats to the trees.
