Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @AlanHasPicks
Alice Cooper for President!
Toyota Pavilion at Concord was the third-to-last stop on this summer’s Freaks on Parade tour. 12,000 devotees traveled far and wide to be in attendance for this rally featuring Cooper, alongside running mates Rob Zombie, Al Jourgensen (Ministry), and Richard Patrick (Filter).
Make no mistake though… while Zombie might play second fiddle on a presidential ticket to the elder Cooper, the spectacle of his production and show easily makes him the final headliner of this co-headline gathering!
As a successful filmmaker, writer, director, and producer, Rob Zombie is an expert in creating stunning visual performances. Fire… Check. Inflatable monsters… Check. Monsters and devils stalking the stage… Check. Giant set pieces with elevated platforms (to perform the first and last songs from)… Check. Elevated drum riser… Check. Enough video and lights to cause a seizure… Definitely Check!
In fact, there was eleven video walls of all shapes and sizes that played the same clips at different times on different walls, combined with live shots of the band members performing, to give the visual effect of the show always moving along at a frantic pace. While it worked to create a mind-blowing extravaganza, too much of it kind of distracted from watching the band themselves.
1. The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition) (2021)
2. Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown (2013)
3. Feel So Numb (2001)
4. Well, Everybody’s Fucking in a U.F.O. (2016)
5. What Lurks on Channel X? (1998)
6. Superbeast (1998)
7. Demonoid Phenomenon (1998)
8. The Lords of Salem (2006)
9. House of 1000 Corpses (2001)
Drum Solo
10. Living Dead Girl (1998)
11. More Human Than Human (1995)
12. Thunder Kiss ’65 (1992)
Encore
13. Dragula (1998)
Alice Cooper has always been seeking to be Elected, stumping for the office of the presidency since 1973. Unfortunately, he gets beheaded and/or thrown in a straitjacket and/or put in an electric chair every performance, so he’s never around long enough to accept it!
Although Cooper’s set was merely five minutes less in total, production-wise, Zombie had to be the headliner. Alice only had four arch-shaped video walls connected to a small platform flanking the left and right side of the drums. There was a guillotine (more on that later), as well as two staircases that were used sporadically, both as stairs leading to nowhere (used for guitar solos) and as his presidential stump platform.
Cooper’s band is always fantastic! Along with long-time bassist Chuck Garric and drummer Glen Sobel, the triple axe attack of Nita Strauss, Ryan Roxie, and Tommy Henriksen was astounding. Alice’s show is not all about him – he allows the time for all of his musicians and performers to shine, from Nita’s guitar solo to his introduction of everyone that was onstage, including his wife Sheryl Cooper, who played the role of a Marie Antionette-style character who brings Alice to the guillotine.
Alice Cooper’s show may have less distractions than Zombie’s, but he is many times the showman, which more than makes up for any excessive production and video. Besides, Alice has his own analog production in the form of a boa constrictor, straitjacket, a crutch, a cane, swords (to pop giant balloons filled with confetti), two American flags, and a 12-foot-tall monster replica of him stalking the stage for a portion of one song.
If half of Zombie’s setlist focused on 25-year-old songs, 75% of Cooper’s setlist went even further back, primarily focused on his 1970’s classics, even ignoring his brand-new album that was just released last month!
Setlist:
1. Lock Me Up (1987)
2. No More Mr. Nice Guy (1973)
3. I’m Eighteen (1971)
4. Under My Wheels (1971)
5. Billion Dollar Babies (1973)
6. Hey Stoopid (1991)
7. Lost in America (1994)
8. Snakebite (1991)
9. Feed My Frankenstein (1991)
Guitar Solo
10. Poison (1989)
11. The Black Widow (1975)
12. Ballad of Dwight Fry (1971)
13. Killer (1971)
14. I Love the Dead (1973)
15. Elected (1973)
16. School’s Out (1972)
Freaks on Parade would not be what it was without the undeniable presence of Ministry and Al Jourgensen.
Having seen Ministry previously on stage behind a chain link fence, it was nice to see that the only production on stage here with Al and his band was a neon crucifix microphone lectern that he also used on previous tours. They sounded amazing too!
Setlist:
1. Thieves (1989)
2. The Missing (1988)
3. Deity (1988)
4. Stigmata (1988)
5. Supernaut (Black Sabbath cover)
6. Burning Inside (1989)
7. N.W.O. (1992)
8. Just One Fix (1992)
9. Goddamn White Trash (2024)
Filter (Hey Man, Nice Shot) kicked off the show. Due to circumstances beyond our control, their set was sadly missed.
Regardless of who is on top of an Alice Cooper / Rob Zombie ticket in 2024, it would definitely have the full support of Spinning Platters, as well as millions of metal and rock fans!
See more photos of all of your favorite Metal musicians at Alan Ralph‘s photo portfolio.
