WINNIPEG - Ace may not be high anymore, but he's just as wild as ever.

Former KISS guitarist Frehley -- newly sober, following decades of drug addiction -- turned in a blistering show at the Garrick Centre on Wednesday, proving that pancake makeup and platform boots aren't prerequisites for rockin' & rollin' all night.

Frehley, who'll release his first new solo record in almost 20 years this spring, has been keeping a far lower profile of late than his ex-bandmate Gene Simmons, who's managed to render himself something of a walking punchline, thanks to all those embarrassing reality TV appearances (not to mention that unfortunate leaked sex tape).

But sobriety clearly becomes Ace, as he was in fine form Wednesday night, delivering a nearly two-hour set that sounded every bit as vital as it must have back in his heyday.

Looking none the worse for wear in a black leather jacket and shades, Frehley got the show started with the rocker Rip It Out, from the self-titled solo joint he cut under the KISS umbrella in '78.

That album is the one Frehley feels his fans respond to most, so it wasn't surprising that he also found room for Snowblind and New York Groove in his set list.

Also not a surprise? That Frehley waited a mere two minutes before banging out his first solo, funnelling that trademark fretwork of his through a literal wall of amplifiers.

On Hard Times, Frehley and his bandmates (among them former Lynch Mob bassist Anthony Esposito) indulged in some nice sleaze-rock harmonies, and on Parasite, they churned out a few feedback-heavy power riffs.

Frehley paused to make mention of our warm weather before blasting out the menacing intro to Snowblind (the refrain of which sounds eerily like a semi-truck whizzing by you on a highway) and dedicated Breakout to departed KISS-mate Eric Carr, who died in '91.

He also made reference to his own personal demons after wrapping up Into the Void, noting, "Sometimes there's a darkness all around us -- but somehow we get out of that dark place, no matter where it is."

Other highlights of the show included the fists-in-the-air anthem Rock Soldiers, a medley that incorporated elements of Torpedo Girl, Speedin' Back to My Baby, and Trouble Walkin', and encore versions of Deuce and Cold Gin.

But the apex had to be the climactic guitar solo that found Frehley flailing away on the frets for upwards of five minutes, eventually working himself into such a state that plumes of FX smoke came shooting out of his axe.

As gimmicks go, it's an oldie but a goodie. Just like ol' Space Ace himself.