Wowza! What a lineup. This might be a long one (which is exactly what she said).
Back in 2003/2004 I saw Anthrax at Lupos in Providence, RI. It was a pretty small club. That was the loudest show I had ever experienced…until now.
This was a very cool show and a great lineup for this year’s “Freaks on Parade” tour. I went to the 9/10 show in Hartford, CT and 90s industrial rock band Filter opened the show. You may remember them from Hey Man Nice Shot which they of course played as their final song. Before that, they started off the night with 2 or 3 (I think 3) songs off their new album The Algorithm. I hadn’t heard any of these songs, but it was good stuff. For the Beaten was one of them and it was solid. I’ll be rocking this album for sure. They also played Take a Picture which was a big hit and a totally different sound for these dudes. Singer Richard Patrick still has a great voice and hit that angry, gravely, forceful tone that he’s known for.
Next up was another metal/industrial rock band, Ministry. These dudes definitely turned up the volume compared to Filter. I don’t know what they did, but with the venue not yet full of bodies to absorb the sound, combined with whatever voodoo gear they use, this was insanely loud, and definitely the loudest show I can recall. Anyone have a decibel check for the night? We were fairly close, maybe 40 feet from the stage. A dude a few rows in front of us was rocking out while holding his ears, the lady next to me was holding her ears (so I hooked her up with extra ear plugs I had), and anyone else who had earplugs were getting them in ASAP. Loud! But still cool.
As I recall, they opened with Thieves and shortly followed that with The Land of Rape and Honey. Cool tune regardless of the title. I didn’t catch all the song titles, nor am I super familiar with their catalog, but they did rock some Stigmata, Burning Inside, New World Order, and they closed with Goddamn White Trash. Besides loud, they were good. They’ve been at it for quite some time and know what they’re doing. They’ve inspired other bands like Fear Factory and Nine Inch Nails which is pretty cool. Additionally, according to the interwebs, their singer Al Jourgensen (who resembles Captain Jack Sparrow) is quite talented and plays a ton of different instruments. This night was all singing and then guitar on a few songs.
Alice Cooper was next. A rock icon! A man who needs no introduction. A man who inspired so many artists and paved the way for theatrics. Would there be a Rob Zombie or a Marilyn Manson without Cooper? I doubt it. There would prob be no Ministry either, which means no Nine Inch Nails, and that means no Filter. So essentially, this tour wouldn’t exist without Alice Cooper.
So can a 75 year old still rock? YES!! Alice rules, there was a short intro tune and then right into No More Mr. Nice Guy. They did all the hits including I’m Eighteen, Under My Wheels, Million Dollar Baby, Hey Stoopid, Frankenstein, Poison and more. Poison is from his Trash album which is not only my favorite Cooper album, but one of my favorite albums from the 80s. I just wish he’d played Bed of Nails as well. Oh well. They ended the set with School’s Out which sprinkling in a little bit of Another Brick in the Wall.
He had lots of wardrobe updates (not full blown changes), props, theatrics, a cool stage setup and a great band. I hadn’t looked up anything about the tour prior because I wanted to be surprised. I hadn’t seen Alice previously (shame on me) and wanted no spoilers. So I was pleasantly surprised to find out that one of his guitarists is Nita Strauss. That was a cool surprise. She kicks ass. If you like to watch reels, Tik Toks, or YouTube shorts, you’ve probably seen her!
Alice Cooper may not run around the stage all night, but he also doesn’t stand still. He walks around, goes up and down the stairs on stage, escapes from straightjackets, and gets beheaded. Also, he still sounds great and doesn’t just go through the motions like many aging rockers (Pay attention Vince Neil you washed up embarrassment).
Initially it felt weird to me that Alice Cooper would be anything but a headliner…but then Rob Zombie came out for his set. I saw him last summer as well, but he stepped it up. He has to show why Alice opens for him I guess. He opened with King Freak, followed by Radio and Numb. His stage was amazing. The amount of screens, videos playing, pyros, the drum riser that went up and down throughout the night, and the various platforms really made the stage look quite amazing. Add his ridiculous energy into the mix, and it’s clear why he was the headliner.
Rob Zombie is now 58, but he doesn’t stop moving. He runs around, dances, does the David Lee Roth (80s, not now) style of karate kicks and moves. He interacts with the crowd, he tells stories, makes the crowd laugh, and sings his ass off. He’s quite the showman. He ended the set with his big ole hit Dragula. It was a crowd pleaser. Great night full of great bands and songs. Check any of these dudes out if you have the chance!
So many great videos were taken. I’m gonna have to put them on my YouTube Channel. Too many for here.
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