Ace Frehley joins Alice Cooper for medley of School’s Out and Pink Floyd’s Another Brick In The Wall
Alice Cooper, with the help of Ace Frehley and his band, is currently embarking on an intense two-month tour of the US, and recently treated attendees to a guest performance from the former Kiss guitarist for an energetic encore of School's Out.
And, to make the show-stopping grande finale even more special, the pair pulled out all the stops to squeeze in a sonic cameo from Pink Floyd’s hit, Another Brick In The Wall.
Frehley, who is currently supporting Cooper throughout the majority of the 26-show stint round the country, appeared on stage at the iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach, earlier that evening (October 10) to perform his opening set.
While, as you’d expect, Frehley performed a string of Kiss songs – such as Rocket Ride and Deuce – he also included a number of covers in his set, including Russ Ballard’s New York Groove and Led Zeppelin’s Good Times Bad Times.
To fans’ delight, he was brought back on stage at the end of Cooper’s own set for the double-barrel performance, which saw Frehley helm electric guitar duties alongside Nita Strauss and the rest of Cooper’s band.
Making his way back on stage while Strauss and her fellow Cooper axe-slingers Ryan Roxie and Tommy Henriksen reel off School’s Out's opening riff, Frehley stands front and centre next to bassist Chuck Garric with his triple humbucker-equipped Gibson Les Paul to join the party.
The end of the first chorus brings about Frehley’s first lead effort, loaded with blitzing pentatonic passages and pinpoint bends, with a high-octane, secondary solo cropping up later on while all the guitarists stand side by side.
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Turns out, School’s Out was just the tip of the iceberg. Prior to an extended introductory speech from Cooper – filled with some sublime solo snippets – the crew also managed to sneak in Another Brick In The Wall’s vocal hook.
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To make things even better, there was a smorgasbord of six-strings on show for the song. Frehley was the second Les Paul-toting player of the evening, with Roxie opting for a late–’90s Joe Perry Black Burst Gibson signature guitar.
Henriksen, on the other hand, can be seen donning a Gibson SG, while Strauss takes up position behind what looks like her Ibanez JIVA10 model.
Alice Cooper's next tour date is set to take place tonight (October 13) in Montgomery, Alabama.
For a full list of tour dates, head over to Alice Cooper's official website.
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Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
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