Alice Cooper Live Report

Had to see Alice at least once before he finally gives up the ghost didn't I. A night at the Wembley Arena was a no brainer thoughts like this don't exactly come cheap but alas the Coops needs the money before he finally retires and lives out his days playing golf non stop.

Anyway we digress. Two support bands were listed neither of which I had ever seen so three birds were killed with one stone last night. First up were somewhat legendary and cult band The Tubes. A sort of 70s hybrid of rock, funk and AOR. Fee Waybill their singer is bloody ancient. he's probably as old as Alice though I have no idea how old he actually is. But he does sound very very old with a voice as rough as a tramp's arsehole. Their songs are mildly entertaining but it's their semi comedy garb that entertains the folks closer to the stage. Sadly I was about as far away from the stage as it was possible to get. But the sound was very good indeed and the bass and drummer for The Tubes were both excellent. Not really my thing overall but the last song was really catchy in an AOR kinda way. It turns out that this band supported Alice in the 70s hence their long lost return.

Next and main support were Brit gothy doom popsters, The Mission. In the early 90s this band used to bother the charts regularly with their twangy dark goth pop. It's a bit of a strange support slot for Alice but maybe he hand picked them and likes them a lot. I must admit I probably haven't heard a Mission tune in 25 years and then only once or twice. I was always a Sisters of Mercy fan me haha! Never got into The Mish meself! Anyway they played about 8 songs including all their biggest hits. They actually sounded really quite good but if slightly droning on and on and yet still danceable. A few old goths were I'm sure in nostalgia heaven with these guys.

I started to recognise a few snippets of their songs and they were toe tappingly gloomy and pleasant on the ear. Not a bad little set from these guys but overall I find them just good and not something I'll get all nostalgic about and go and seek their songs on youtube all over again or something! I enjoyed them for what they were though. I can imagine a bill with them Sisters and Fields of the Nephilim going down a storm with all the nostalgia gothsters!

At 9.20 sharp the house lights went down and the current Alice Cooper band launched into the heavy and semi-industrial sounding Brutal Planer, the title track of the album from a few years back. That was a heavy start indeed. Alice's voice is a bit rougher live than I was expecting but he still sounds good. Unfortunately whilst the gig was taking place in Wembley, I was actually sitting in the next borough down the road and all facial expressions and band interaction were rendered by midgets in the distance as far as I could tell. I really wanted to see guitarist Nita up close for she is a bit of a shred queen. Sadly the Arena doesn't have TV screens by the side of the stage either.

Not being a huge Alice aficionado I didn't recognise the next few songs. Lost in America stood out most. Great tune. Dept of Youth was also very catchy. Enough for me to go and seek out a studio version of it from the Welcome to my Nightmare album. Woman of Mass Distraction was funny and catchy too.

By the way, Alice never says a word in between songs. No talking not a word. He just lets the music do the talking it seems but he does say the odd "thank you London!" but apart from that no anecdotes just singing and a nice stage show. I just wish I was closer so i could see it better! Any how the show carried swiftly on with a Nita guitar solo followed by his first big 80s hit that I know. Obviously Poison is sung by literally 1000s in the Arena as Alice commands. Halo of Flies I don't know but then Feed My Frankenstein followed with a running Frankestein monster on stage running round like what Eddie does with Maiden. Great tune anyway and Alice puts feeling in that chorus! Cold Ethyl sees him carrying a lifeless rag doll around trying to inject life into the damn thing but she remained cold to no avail. Only Women Bleed followed. No doubt a classic but would you believe I have never ever heard this song before in my life? Not even by accident. I didn't even know that it was mostly a ballad lol. Oh well you live and learn eh Alice!

Paranoic Personality, the immensely catchy new track was given an airing and I think it went down very well. WHo can not love that chorus eh? Then we reached the theatrical section of every Alice show with the balld of Dwight Fry and the beheading of your man Mr Cooper. Now sitting where I was I could hardly even tell what was going on with my poor eyesight. All I could see was some gal in ghoulish white holding up Alice's severed head! Hey hold on he's got to the rest of the songs..anyway the songs segues into Killer and I See The Dead. I don't recall too much of the musical value as I was concentrating on what the hell was going on stage. Youtube will help me there no doubt.

There the main set ends and Alice finally returns with the original AC band doing 5 of the band's biggest hits. I'm Eighteen believe it or not I have never heard! Can you actually believe it? It's a good song though and I can see all the bald drunkards with their pints shoved in the air screaming "I'm Eighteen!!!" Nah mate you WERE 18 haha!
Billion Dollar Babies followed again not massively familiar to me but it was good and got everyone off their feet to sing. Then it's my fave AC song of all time. Who can not love NMMNG? That song is just made to be sung along with. Alice's old band plays it a bit slower than I'm used to. I only first heard the song when Megadeth done it decades ago and they speeded it up for the better. But Alice sings it the original way of course. Everyone loves it anyway and is in delirium by now!
Next we have Muscle of Love another song I have never ever heard. Damn it was quite catchy though! The set ends with all the old band and all the current band on stage as Alice goes through them all and introduces them one by one before a rousing School's Out complete with pretty cool Brick in the wall snippet in the middle.

Alice has still got it no doubt for an old timer. His movements maybe a bit slower and the voice not as clean as earlier times but the man can entertain pure and simple. How much longer he'll go is anyone's guess but he's far from shaming his legacy and whilst he's still enjoying it then long may it continue and who knows maybe I'll go to another AC show if he returns. On a side not the merch at this show had unacceptably high prices. Even higher than the Metallica show and the ticket price was already quite expensive. I don't know who sets the merch prices but if it's Alice's management then they need to have a word with themselves haha! Anyway keep rocking Alice till the grave!

Spend the Night intro
Brutal Planet
Under My Wheels
Lost in America
Pain
Department of Youth
The World Needs Guts
Woman of Mass Distraction
Guitar Solo
(Nita Strauss)
Poison
Halo of Flies
Drum and Bass solo
Feed My Frankenstein
Cold Ethyl
Only Women Bleed
Paranoiac Personality
Ballad of Dwight Fry
Killer
(partial)
I Love the Dead

I'm Eighteen
(with original Alice Cooper Band)
Billion Dollar Babies
(with original Alice Cooper Band)
No More Mr. Nice Guy
(with original Alice Cooper Band)
Muscle of Love
(with original Alice Cooper Band)
School's Out
(with original Alice Cooper Band) (with 'Another Brick in the Wall Part 2' snippet by Pink Floyd)

Def Leppard with Whitesnake and Black Star Riders live at Wembley

My 42nd and final gig of the year! Man it's been a long haul..phew!! To be honest I'm actually glad it's all over for a few weeks anyway. My first gig of 2016 is on January 15th so a few weeks recuperation. Anyhow this was a pre xmas party gig basically with a lot of the old crowd letting their hair down and singing along to their old fave rock stars from the 80s.

First up were the new incarnation of Thin Lizzy in all but name, Black Star Riders. These guys were actually really very good and enjoyable. They played a short and sweet 8 song set of Lizzy classics and their best original tunes. Ricky Warwick is a very enthusiastic front man indeed but he can belt it out as well with his full bodied earthy voice. The Lizzy tunes were fun to hear and so were their own tracks. A perfect support act for the two big hitters to follow.

All Hell Breaks Loose
Are You Ready
(Thin Lizzy cover)
The Killer Instinct
Jailbreak
(Thin Lizzy cover)
Bound for Glory
Kingdom of the Lost
Finest Hour
Whiskey in the Jar

Whitesnake were the main support as they were the last time these two giants of 80s arena rock shared this very stage a couple of years ago now. Now last time all the talk was that Mr Coverdale had lost his vocal abilities and it was the same this time too. Anyway I waited to judge for myself and I can say in no uncertain terms that the rumours are indeed true. Cov is screaming and almost growling through the songs now. I know he'd probably say that's how they're supposed to be sung but it just ends up sounding so rough on the ear that all finesse is lost. He's still a pretty funny guy with the banter though. He always says something stupid like "Here's a song for ya London!" or his usual "Make some fuckin' noise! I can't hear ya!" He actually has that motto emblazoned across one of his shirts.

Anyway more on the songs as Whitesnake are promoting the Purple album, they played quite a few cuts from that. I didn't like the dirge-like Mistreated at all which went on and on and on like it would never end. Thankfully it did finally! I wasn't too enamoured with the other Purple songs either but they were ok. The 'snake classics were aired towards the end and sounded fine but again Cov was rough sounding in Is This Love when he should be a little smoother. The crowd seemed to enjoy it though but I'm wondering how many were thinking Cov should be just about packing it up by now. He shows no sign of stopping though although a proper new Whitesnake album is probably not on the agenda but whop knows. The final airing of the band's heaviest cut Still of the Night was pretty awesome though I must admit and even Cov's screaming felt more in place on that heavy song. A note about the band. They are all fucking ace and make the band sound amazing. Reb Beach was great as was the new guy Joel Hoekstra. Drummer Tommy Aldridge looks so funny behind his kit with his grey hair whizzing and flying round every where during his drum solo. He even did a pretty neat hand played section on his solo with no sticks and got hoots and hollers galore!

Michele Luppi was brought into the band by Mr Coverdale to plays keys and backing vox of course. The guy is a great singer in his own right but I couldn't really hear him over Cov's screaming and growling so if he was brought in to cover when Cov's voice cracks then I couldn't hear him. Oh he plays a decent keyboard does Mr Luppi.

Burn
(Deep Purple cover)
Bad Boys
Love Ain't No Stranger
The Gypsy
(Deep Purple cover)
Give Me All Your Love
Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City
(Bobby “Blue” Bland cover)
Mistreated
(Deep Purple cover)
You Fool No One
(Deep Purple cover)
Drum Solo
Soldier of Fortune
(Deep Purple cover)
Is This Love
Fool for Your Loving
Here I Go Again
Still of the Night

So Whitesnake left and at 9.25pm or so the stage was finally ready for Sheffield's finest steel to deliver the classics to the legions of oldies out for a pre xmas Friday night rockathon!

They started with newie Let's Go which was actually very cool indeed. The song is basically Pour Some Sugar On Me in all but name with a very similar riff. The melodies and woooahhs are super cheesy but the crowd seemed well into it as it's such a typical Leppard style song. The mega hit Animal followed and sounded great with the whole of the arena singing the chorus of course. The sound was crystal clear as well which is quite lucky as the Arena can be echoey and cavernous making the sound swirl around. No such problems for the Leppard though.

Joe sounded good but I think I recall him sounding a bit better last time. Maybe age is catching up a little with him as well but at least he's nowhere near like Mr Coverdale in screaming and growling. The band each gets their solo spot in between the songs and each is afforded grea respect from the crowd. In fact the band is pretty much treated like living legends. Another newie is aired with the very catchy Dangerous with nice harmony vocals during the chorus by the other guys. After which we are back to the greatest hits set of songs that the band must of course play if they wanna bet let out  back to their hotels tonight. A lot of people are singing a long and enjoying themselves to these famous rock tunes. Maybe DL are now a pure nostalgia band but their recent album is pretty good if not quite amazing. People just don't really care to hear it but like I said the two new cuts are classic Leppard so I don't see the problem.

The boys reluctantly have to leave as the final song of the night the classic Photograph is played with mass sing along on the chorus and a rousing crescendo ending. Joe makes an impassioned speech at the end about the fans not forgetting DL and in return the band not forgetting the fans and coming back again and again. Judging by the sold out 11,000 crowd the band has enough fans for many years yet even if they don't buy the albums like they used to. The diehards still love to hear the classics live and Leppard gives'em what they want and then some.

Let's Go
Animal
Undefeated
Dangerous
Love Bites
Armageddon It
Rock On
(David Essex cover)
Two Steps Behind
(acoustic/Joe only)
Rocket
When Love and Hate Collide
Switch 625
Hysteria
Let's Get Rocked
Pour Some Sugar on Me

Encore:
Rock of Ages
Photograph