Hollywood Vampires @ Turning Stone Events Center, Verona, NY 5-24-16

When the Hollywood Vampires announced they would do a full fledged tour, it quickly became the most anticipated one of the summer. The band primarily consists of Rock and Roll Hall of famers Alice Cooper, Joe Perry along with actor extraordinaire Johnny Depp. The people of Verona, New York had first dibs on what the rest of the world can expect. If you have no idea about the origin of the Vampires or how actor Johnny Depp became involved please go to our interview with Alice Cooper Interview Here to catch up on the history of the band. Cooper, Perry and Depp surrounded themselves with one hell of a band. Accompanying them were Matt Sorum (formerly of Guns n’ Roses and Velvet Revolver) on drums, Robert DeLeo (Stone Temple Pilots) on bass, Tommy Henriksen (Alice Cooper) on guitar and Bruce Witkin (formerly of The Kids) on keyboards and guitar.

Taking the stage around 8:15 pm, the band went into one of their own tracks “Raise the Dead.” Cooper was dressed in a frilly white shirt and a tuxedo coat and accompanied by his ever so trusty cane. His voice sounded in traditional Alice Cooper form and it was cool to hear his take on traditional classics like “20^th Century Boy” and “Cold turkey.” The band mainly focused on cover songs but they did include 3 originals that Depp co-wrote with Cooper.

Aerosmith play arenas and to see Joe Perry work his magic in the confines of an intimate 5,000 seat venue was a real treat. Switching guitars all night he had the fans not only on a musical journey, but a visual one too. At one point he shocked the audience by smashing one of his white guitars to pieces at the end of The Who’s “My Generation.” Considering where this took place during the set (a Who song) and it’s what Pete Townsend (guitarist for The Who) started and is known for I would say that this had a bit of a planned element to it. Still very shocking to see Perry do something like that and if the crowd wasn’t awake, they sure were after that.

Perry also handled vocals on the Fleetwood Mac cover “Stop Messin” which Aerosmith are known for covering during their live sets. He also dusted off the talk box for the beginning of “Sweet Emotion.”

In speaking with Cooper a few weeks back, he did mention that it will be interesting to see how he will act during the show since it will be a Hollywood Vampires show and not an Alice Cooper show (which is theatrical and scripted throughout.) At times Cooper let his bandmates extend jams or jump in with a harmonica or shakers when need be. Cooper at one point did state that the song “Dead Drunk Friends” was “for all of my dead drunk friends who drank and never were able to walk out of the Rainbow Bar & Grill.”

Depp handled rhythm all night and really was shy and stayed in the background and let the fellow musicians take the spotlight for most of the set. He did move from one side to the other 3 times during the show and on occasion gave some quick finger waves to the crowd while strumming his guitar. Depp with vampire like markings on his neck played the part and fit right into what he and his bandmates are trying to present.

It might not get much press but it needs to be said that both Tommy Henriksen and Bruce Witkin played a major role in the overall sound of the show. Witkin played keyboards, percussion and guitar and everything else the band threw at him. Tommy played off of Perry a lot taking leads on point and providing a solid rhythm guitar to allow Perry to experiment at times.

The rhythm section was top notch as one of the best drummers in the business in Matt Sorum laid a solid foundation while also handling vocals on the Motorhead classic “Ace of Spades.” Replacing Duff McKagen (Guns n’ Roses) on bass was Stone Temple Pilots bassist Robert DeLeo. One of the most underrated bass players out there DeLeo’s playing and look fit the bill perfectly.

You can tell there were some kinks to be worked out (when to end songs or when to jump in and jam) but the overall performance was very good considering it was the first show. This show was all about having fun and I think that’s what the crowd and the band accomplished. Since the songs are about paying respect to fallen rock stars, I would like the band to tackle Prince’s “Lets Go Crazy” and add a Stone Temple Pilots song as a tribute to the recent passing of Scott Weiland (only fitting since you have a STP member in the band in DeLeo .)

Setlist:

Raise the Dead

I Got a Line on You (Spirit cover)

20^th Century Boy (T. Rex cover)

Pinball Wizard (The Who cover)

My Generation (The Who cover)

Manic Depression (Jimi Hendrix cover)

Cold Turkey (John Lennon cover)

Come together (The Beatles cover)

7 and 7 is (Love cover)

Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin cover)

Five to One/Break on Through (to the Other Side) (The Doors covers)