HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES: On Stage

Automatic translation. Improvements are constantly being worked on.

Hollywood Vampires
Support: Circus Electric
20.06.2023 – Oberhausen, Rudolf Weber Arena

If you decide to go to an indoor concert in the middle of the first hot spell of the year, there are probably good reasons. In the Rudolf Weber Arena in Oberhausen there was a German premiere: For the first time since their foundation the supergroup Hollywood Vampires played a show in Germany. A real star-studded line-up was on offer here, as it is well known that the band consists of Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp and Joe Perry – and the rest of the band was also top-class. Thus, the arena was well filled with 8,000 fans and the interior quickly became a witch’s cauldron.

The show started with a half hour delay with Circus Electric. The not-so-long-established trio visibly made an effort to inspire those already in attendance with their riff-heavy hard rock. However, the audience visibly feverishly awaited the main act.

After a short changeover break, which was mainly used by those present in the interior to supply themselves with drinks – the lower part of the arena was well heated up by now – the show started. The four screens in the background showed comic versions of the musicians, while the intro ran and the stage was first neatly fogged. As the fog lifted, the stars of the evening were gradually recognized: Chris, Tommy Henriksen, Joe, finally Alice and last of all Johnny entered the stage and started without hesitation with “I Want My Now”. Everyone who didn’t have to stay in place to play, like the keyboard player or the drummer, keeps moving steadily. – Johnny Depp with an orthotic that stabilized his recently broken ankle.

So they rocked through a varied set of their own songs and cover songs – sometimes Alice took over the vocals, sometimes Johnny. A big vampire upper jaw was enthroned above the stage and on the video walls in the background every song was thematically accompanied with moving pictures. After what was supposed to be the last song, “The Train Kept A-Rollin’,” which Alice announced was a track by his favorite band, all the musicians gathered at the front of the stage to say goodbye. But the audience didn’t let the Hollywood Vampires go quite that easily. “One more?” asked Alice Cooper – and the prompt response from those in attendance had the band singing “School’s Out.” In the song, the charismatic singer – now dressed all in white with a top hat – introduced his band and thanked them for the wonderful evening. A successful German premiere that gives hope for more.

Text & Photos: Mina Wagner

Setlist:
“I Want My Now” – “Raise the Dead” – “I’m Eightee “n (Alice Cooper Cover) – “Five to One / Break on Through (to the Other Side)” (The Doors Cover) – “The Boogieman Surprise” – “My Dead Drunk Friends” – “You Can’t Put Your Arms Round a Memory” (Johnny Thunders cover) – “Baba O’Riley” (The Who Cover) – “Who’s Laughing Now” – “People Who Died” (The Jim Carroll Band Cover) – “The Jack” (AC/DC Cover) – “As Bad as I Am” – “Heroes” (David Bowie Cover) – “Jeff Beck Tribute” – “Bright Light Fright” (Aerosmith Cover) – “Walk This Way” (Aerosmith cover) – “The Death and Resurrection Show” (Killing Joke cover) – “The Train Kept A-Rollin'” (Tiny Bradshaw Cover) — “School’s Out” (Alice Cooper cover)