Original KISS members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss reunited on stage last night (Friday, May 27) at this year’s Creatures Fest at Nashville’s Sonesta Nashville Airport Hotel. The two legendary rockers performed two early KISS classics during Frehley‘s set, “Hard Luck Woman” and “Strange Ways”, both featuring Criss on lead vocals.
Back in March, Creatures Fest promoter Neil Davis said that Criss and Frehley were “excited” about performing together at Creatures Fest. “They talked, and they just thought that what would be great for the fans, for all of us, is if they got together and played some songs during Ace‘s set,” he said.
Also scheduled to appear at this year’s Creatures Fest are former KISS guitarists Bruce Kulick and Vinnie Vincent.
Vincent is scheduled to perform on night two of Creatures Fest, while Kulick will close out the event on Sunday, May 29. The festival will also feature performances by QUIET RIOT, ENUFF Z’NUFF, VIXEN, John Corabi, RETURN OF THE COMET and PRETTY BOY FLOYD, among others.
Criss first left KISS in 1980. Since then he’s worked with other bands and released solo albums. He teamed up with KISS again for a reunion tour in the 1990s and most recently in 2004. He was replaced by Eric Singer.
In addition to playing drums in KISS, Peter also provided lead vocals for a number the band’s most popular and memorable songs, including “Beth”, “Black Diamond” and “Hard Luck Woman”.
Criss, who was known as “Catman,” released his last solo CD, titled “One For All”, in 2007. Peter produced the album himself for the first time, and was joined by guest musicians that included keyboardist Paul Shaffer and bassist Will Lee of “Late Night With David Letterman”. The album featured a range of styles, from rock and jazz to blues and Broadway, and included covers of “What A Difference A Day Makes” and “Send In The Clowns”.
Criss played what was being billed as his final U.S. concert in June 2017 at the Cutting Room in New York City.
Frehley, a founding member of KISS, recently said that he is up for a reunion of the original band, but only if the price is right. During an appearance on SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk”, Frehley stated about the chances of him playing with his former bandmates: “Anything’s possible — I’ve always said that. That’s the first question so many people have asked me over the years: ‘Would you ever consider doing a KISS reunion?’ I said, ‘I never closed the door on anything.’ If the money’s right and it’s presented to me in the right way, anything can happen.
“I’m on good terms with Paul [Stanley, guitar/vocals] and Gene [Simmons, bass/vocals], which is nice, because we created something really special in the early ’70s that has outlasted so many other bands. And God bless ’em. They’re still doing it; I’m still doing it. Peter is still around. I’m not quite sure why Peter hadn’t toured over the years as much as I have, but it is what it is.”
Creatures Fest
Peter Criss with Ace Frehley.
Hard Luck Woman.Posted by Dave Bacon Laetare on Friday, May 27, 2022