Jul 27, 2016

The Hollywood Vampires were out for blood in their final tour date of 2016 at the California Mid State Fair on July 25 and it was a kick ass pleasure to get to see the Super group in this awesome setting.

The Alice Cooper fronted band, featuring the return of Joe Perry (who collapsed onstage at a gig a couple of weeks before), Johnny Depp, Matt Sorum, Robert DeLeo, Tommy Henriksen and Bruce Witkin made their way through cover jams of all the greats including Spirit, David Bowie, The Doors, T. Rex, The Beatles, Love, Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, Motorhead, The Who, Pink Floyd and also some Alice and Aerosmith. Toss in a couple of tracks from their self titled album and it certainly was a night to remember for the band that got it's name as the group Alice used to run with in Los Angeles back in his serious drinking days. The encore including an appearance from Phil Collen of Def Leppard and Eric Kretz of Stone Temple Pilots! Check out photos and some awesome video from the show below.

Setlist:
1. Raise the Dead
2. I Got a Line on You (Spirit cover)
3. Rebel Rebel (David Bowie cover)
4. Suffragette City (David Bowie cover)
5. Manic Depression (The Jimi Hendrix Experience cover)
6. Five to One / Break On Through (to the Other Side) (The Doors cover)
7. As Bad As I Am
8. 20th Century Boy (T. Rex cover)
9. Bang a Gong (Get It On)(T. Rex cover)
10. Come Together (The Beatles cover)
11. 7 and 7 Is (Love cover)
12. Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin cover)
13. My Dead Drunk Friends
14. Stop Messin' Around (Fleetwood Mac cover)
15. Ace of Spades (Motörhead cover)
16. Pinball Wizard (The Who cover)
17. My Generation (The Who cover)
18. I'm Eighteen
19. Sweet Emotion
Encore
20. Train Kept A-Rollin' (Tiny Bradshaw cover)
21. School's Out / Another Brick in the Wall

Aug 2, 2015

I preface this post as a lifelong Motley Crue fan, having seen the band multiple times with my first being at the US Festival in 1983, when the band was on absolute fire. I am and have been a Crue fanatic, with the band bringing so many memorable moments to my life and musical passion.

But on July 25th, Motley Crue had a show at the California Mid State Fair in Paso Robles, CA. that became a nightmare for the crowd (and I'm sure for the band as well). No pyro, no stage set, no vocals (Vince just can't really do it anymore) and no great memory for a time stamp of what will probably be the last time seeing the Crue for a majority of the crowd in attendance.

While I understand the complexities of a Motley money grab to play as many shows as possible before the end of the Crue entity, when you schedule three shows in three different states on consecutive nights (regardless of proximity) and something goes wrong, somebody gets screwed, and this audience sure did.

The story was that while ready to take off from the Tacoma airport in route to San Luis Obispo Airport, a small hole was discovered in their plane, causing concern that the aircraft would not properly depressurize. The decision was made to deboard and unload, with another plane to be chartered flying in from Phoenix. This caused a delay of the show, which originally was slated to start with Alice Cooper's set at 7:30pm. The doors didn't end up opening until 8:30, with the start time announced to be 10pm.

The show eventually started at about 10:30pm, with the total pro Alice and his band ripping through a well received (but short) set of hits. Motley however, hit the stage at about 11pm and played a "stripped" down run through of tracks that lasted until midnight. The band seemed lethargic, possibly due to the day they had already dealt with, but there was no explanation on stage about exactly what happened, no apology, and no connection to their fans to appease the disgruntled rockers in the crowd. That was B.S., as was their set.

We already knew Vince can't hit notes and half sings now, but this really took it to a new level. Not having the pyro and dynamic stage set up brought more attention to the band's deficiencies and there were many that night.

The band made it to Billings, Montana for a show the next night, but had another incident just nights later in Salt Lake City.

As far as the "explanation" Nikki Sixx gave on his 'Sixx Sense' radio show some nights later about the Mid State Fair show, I don't believe a 747 can fly into the small San Luis Obispo airport, but that is the spin they are going with on this debacle. Listen to the explanation here: www.sixxsense.com.  Here's a photo posted on Nikki's Twitter showing the plane landing in San Luis Obispo. I can't even tell if that is SLO Airport, and if that plane is a 747, it is the largest plane that has ever landed at that airport. I have found no record of that happening anywhere online, but I could be wrong.

This all being said, I am still glad Motley decided to play the show even though it sucked. But that is coming from someone that didn't have to lay down over a $100 bucks for a ticket. Motley have announced another Central California show in Fresno this December at the Save Mart Center, but I haven't decided if I will be going or not. To eliminate this last Motley memory for me, I just may have to.

Aug 29, 2014

The New Jersey-based publisher Dynamite Comics will release the new Alice Cooper comic book series called none other than 'Alice Cooper' starting next month.  It be written by X-Files writer Joe Harris. Alice will star as “The Lord of Nightmares,” a guardian of humanity’s dreams. He’s been locked out of his kingdom by a usurper and is struggling to regain his title.

"I always say that the best thing about being in a comic book is that they draw you with great abs!” quipped Cooper. “Artistically, for me there is hardly a better medium. There is so much you can do in the form of a comic that we'd never been able to do on stage. It's just a different way of storytelling, and it really has almost limitless possibilities. We're looking forward to stretching the existing boundaries of the comic medium again. We have new stories to tell, but we'll do it with the same theatrical, sinister sensibility that comes with the name 'Alice Cooper.' This is just the beginning! Welcome to my NEW nightmares!"

The first in the series of Alice Cooper comics will be released in comic book stores and digitally next month, followed by one new issue each in October and November. Get more info here: www.dynamite.com

Nov 25, 2013

A capacity crowd (many in trademark eye makeup) filled the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California on Thursday night (Nov. 21) to see the man who put the "shock" in Rock! The man who influenced so many to follow and has become a pop culture icon on his own. It was time for ALICE....Alice Cooper!

Alice was in command from the on-set, taking center stage with a cascading sheet of pyro flowing behind him as he and the band kicked off the set with early 1970's track "Hello Hooray," right into "House Of Fire."

The set was a mix of Alice is his best, spanning a career full of classic cuts. During "Billion Dollar Baby" Alice was armed with a fencing sword and flipped money out into the audience. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer also injected some newer cuts, including "Caffeine", during which he drank from a large cup. He threw plastic pearls out during "Dirty Diamonds," before the real theatrics began.

As the band played "He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask)" a girl was kidnapped onstage by a hooded figure and carried off, then chased again later across the stage by the guy with a knife in his hand. Cooper was later electrocuted after being strapped to a operating table during the tail end of "Feed My Frankenstein." He initially disappeared, with the band then joined by a giant Frankenstein for the remainder of the song.

Alice was joined by the triple guitar attack of Ryan Roxie, Tommy Henriksen and Orianthi, who has her own solo career as well. The lineup was rounded out with bassist Chuck Garric and hometown Santa Ynez, California resident Glen Sobel on the drums. Each member were giving their chance to shine, all contributing significantly to the precision and excitement of the set.

A couple of evil, twisted nurses put Alice into a straitjacket during "Ballad of Dwight Fry," and he was eventually led to the guillotine and beheaded. A fantastic medley shortly followed in a graveyard setting where there were headstones for Jim Morrison, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix and Keith Moon.

Fantastic renditions of "Break On Through (to the Other Side)," "Revolution," "Foxy Lady" and "My Generation" payed tribute to guys Alice knew well and partied with back in the day. Specifically, John Lennon, Keith Moon and Jimi Hendrix were really close friends.

The show closed with "I'm Eighteen," "Poison" and the encore of "School's Out" that injected Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall." Balls, bubbles and streamers helped wrap up the party in fine fashion. Alice had done it again, and we all lived to tell about it.

For many more photos give the Marshall of Rock facebook page a like www.facebook.com/marshallofrock and check out all of the upcoming entertainment at the Chumash Casino Resort/Entertainment

Special thanks to Mike Traphagen

Nov 1, 2013

Now that Halloween is over, get ready for a real scare of the ROCK variety, as Alice Cooper will bring his 'Raise the Dead' tour to the Chumash Casino Resort. Alice, who’s known as “The Godfather of Shock Rock” for his wildly theatrical shows, will rock the Chumash Casino Resort’s Samala Showroom at 8 p.m. on Thursday, November 21. Tickets for the show are $35, $50 and $65.

With a music career that spans five decades, Alice Cooper’s ghoulish stage shows, which feature fake blood, electric chairs, guillotines, hangman’s gallows, snakes and other macabre props, have been credited for influencing such artists as KISS, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Slipknot and Ozzy Osbourne.

Alice Cooper was originally a five-member band that formed in Phoenix during the late 1960s, and it featured Vincent Furnier on lead vocals and harmonica. The band broke into the mainstream in 1971 with the hit “I’m Eighteen” off the “Love It to Death” album. In 1972, “School’s Out” climbed the Billboard Albums chart to No. 2, and the band followed with the chart-topping “Billion Dollar Babies” in 1973.

Furnier adopted the band’s name as his own and began a solo career with the album “Welcome to My Nightmare” in 1975. He is credited with shaping the look and sound of heavy metal, and he’s regarded as the first artist to introduce horror imagery to rock ‘n’ roll. In 2011, the original five-member band Alice Cooper was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Don’t miss a chance to see this one-of-a-kind performance in the intimate, 1,400-seat Samala Showroom.

Located on Highway 246 in Santa Ynez, California, the Chumash Casino Resort is an age 18-and-older venue. Tickets for all events are available at the Chumash Casino Resort’s Club Chumash. You can also visit the website at www.chumashcasinoresort.com or call StarTicketsPlus at 1-800-585-3737.