Houston Concert Watch 10/22: Alice Cooper, The Mars Volta and More

I have never been one to dwell on death.  While it is a fundamental part of life, it is also generally a stone drag.  But I must address the passing of Ace Frehley, one of the founding members of Kiss who inspired tens of thousands of kids to pick up a guitar during the ‘70s.  These are now the same middle-aged guys you see in Guitar Center on Saturday trying out an instrument, playing too loud, and looking around to see if they impressed anyone with their rendition of “Smoke on the Water.”

Over the years, many people expected that Frehley might die of a drug overdose or some similar fate, due to his wild lifestyle and the fact that, for many years, he was in nonstop party mode.  No, the Space Man (who discarded his harmful habits years ago) died as the result of a head injury caused by a fall in his home studio.  It is my fervent hope that, when he fell, he had just recorded a blazing solo.

The original Kiss lineup was split into two factions.  Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley were the “straight” guys, definitely horndogs but eschewing (to quote Keith Richards) “booze and pills and powders.”  Frehley and Peter Criss, on the other hand, made up for their bandmates’ sobriety in spades. 

This division was unwittingly put under a microscope when the band appeared on Tom Snyder’s Tomorrow show on Halloween in 1979.  Frehley and Criss were ripped and having a great time, while Simmons and Stanley glowered.  Frehley in particular hit it off with Snyder.  When asked to explain his outlandish outfit, he said, “Actually, I’m a plumber!”  To which Snyder, who was by then getting into the spirit of things, replied, “Listen, I’ve got a little piece of pipe backstage that I’d like you to work on.”  You can see the video here, with the previous exchange beginning at the 11:53 mark.

Frehley was always completely genuine, a hardcore rocker through and through.  When he plugged his Les Paul into a dimed Marshall amp, you could hear not only his influences – Zeppelin, Hendrix and Clapton – but also his own sometimes quirky but always blazing inimitable style.  Rest easy, Ace.  Thanks for never letting us down.

Ticket Alert

Tickets are still available for Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s show on Friday, November 7, at the 713 Music Hall.  Ditto for funk-father George Clinton at the House of Blues on Friday, November 28.  Clinton’s show is scheduled for the day after Thanksgiving, so, if the family is still sitting around in a turkey / tryptophan coma, you can say, “Well, Granny, I have to go. Got to do some serious funkin’,” as you walk out the door.

Gary P. Nunn will always hold a special place in the heart of Texans, as he is the man who wrote “London Homesick Blues,” aka “I Wanna Go Home with the Armadillo.”  The progressive country legend will be at the Heights Theater on Wednesday, December 10, with a show billed as the “2025 Birthday Bash.”  Nunn was born on December 4 – in Oklahoma! – but don’t tell anyone that last part.  Tickets are on sale now.

Now that all of the classic rockers are of a certain age, many of their offspring have forged their own careers in the music business.  For instance, there’s The Sons of Cream.  The band includes Kofi Baker (son of Cream drummer Ginger Baker) on drums, Malcom Bruce (son of Cream bassist Jack Bruce) on bass, and Rob Johnson (nephew of Ginger Baker) on guitar.  Their mission is simple: play songs recorded by Cream faithfully but with their own interpretative twists thrown in to keep things interesting.  As a bonus, the band also plays some Blind Faith (a band which included Ginger Baker and Cream guitarist Eric Clapton) material too.  Tickets are on sale now for the Sons’ show at the Heights Theater on Sunday, February 15.

Concerts This Week

Texas music fans have long been familiar with guitarists Ian Moore, Jesse Dayton and Johnny Moeller, so there was great anticipation and excitement when it was announced that the three string slingers had formed a new group, the Texas Headhunters.  You can read more about the group’s gestation here in this week’s Houston Press interview with Moeller.  The guys will be spanking the plank on Friday at the Heights Theater.

The only member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds’ original lineup still in the group is vocalist / harmonicist Kim Wilson.  But that doesn’t mean it is any less of a band.  After a Grammy nomination last year, the T-Birds are on tour with a show that pays particular attention to the Chicago blues which inspired Wilson as a young musician.  The Fabulous Thunderbirds will play Main Street Crossing on both Saturday and Sunday, so take your pick.

Why would someone want to go see Alice Cooper and Judas Priest?  Why? Why the hell not?  A few months ago, the pioneering shock rocker released an album recorded with the original Alice Cooper band (yes, at one point, “Alice Cooper” was the name of the band, not the lead singer) to positive reviews, which must have put some pep in his step and glide in his stride.  Ol’ Black Eyes is back!  Also crushing it in old age is Judas Priest, led by Rob Halford, the Metal God.  What a double bill.  Catch it on Sunday at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.

For hip-hop fans, Toyota Center is the place to be this week.  NBA (Never Broke Again) YoungBoy rolls in on Tuesday with the “Masa” tour and a bill that includes Offset, NoCap, DeeBaby, Mellow Rackz, Baby Mel, Lil Dump and k3.  If you plan on attending the show, bear in mind that there are street closures due to construction around Toyota Center, so head there early and plan accordingly.

Rising from the ashes of At the Drive In during the early noughts, The Mars Volta (please include the definite article) is a musical collective which coalesces around guitarist / guiding light Omar Rodríguez-López and vocalist / lyricist Cedric Bixler-Zavala.   How to describe the band?  Well, Rodríguez-López has been quoted as saying, “”Progressive is not a dirty word for people to use about us.”  Ok, then, let’s go with prog rock, thought the Volta frequently flashes its psychedelic influences.  Get trippy on Tuesday at the 713 Music Hall.

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