May 18th marked the unofficial launch of the summer season here in Canada, with the supergroup Hollywood Vampires performing to a sold out crowd at Casino Rama in Orillia, Ontario. This hybrid band, which consists of Rock and Roll royalty Alice Cooper and Joe Perry (Aerosmith) along with mega movie star actor Johnny Depp, only played a hand full of shows in North America, this being one.
Not having researched the show, I kind of assumed that the performance would have consisted of mostly Alice Cooper and Aerosmith songs. However, that certainly wasn’t the case. They performed a series of cover songs, from The Doors, AC/DC, Motorhead and David Bowie – just to name a few. It turns out that the show was basically a tribute to musical heroes who have passed away.
The Hollywood Vampires performed five original songs: I Want Mine Now, The Boogieman Surprise, My Dead Drunk Friends, As Bad as I Am and Bushwackers. My personal favorite out of the bunch was The Boogieman Surprise, it was a fast pace, in-your-face song.
You can never go wrong with having shock rock vocalist Alice Cooper at the helm singing most of the songs. A showman like no other who can still dish it out and plays to the crowd with ease.
Joe Perry let loose that night, playing like it was his last performance. He had such energy and emotion while playing. It was a treat witnessing him unleash the power of his strings.
Johnny Depp played rhythm and backing vocals for most of the set, except for two songs; Heroes by David Bowie, and People who Died by The Jim Carroll band which he sang lead. I found myself having to remove my earplugs when he sang since his intonation was quite low. As he sang these two songs a video montage played in the background depicting lost musicians.
Bassist Chris Wyle took to the forefront and commanded the lead roll singing Motorhead‘s the Ace of Spades. It actually happened to be one of my favorites of the evening.
Drummer extraordinaire Glen Sobel (Alice Cooper Band) featured his abilities with a drum solo at the tail end of Baba O’Riley, a song from The Who. I have seen him perform a handful of times and each time he continues to blow me away.
They ended the show with Alice Cooper’s Schools Out (with Another Brick in the Wall snippet added into the mix). The Hollywood Vampires left the crowd wanting more. A great show to have seen and a fantastic kick off to the summer concert series line up!
Set List:
I Want Mine Now – The Hollywood Vampires
Raise the Dead – Alice Cooper
7 and 7 is – Love cover
I Got a Line on You – Spirit cover
My Dead Drunk Friends – The Hollywood Vampires
Five to One / Break on Through – Doors cover
The Jack – AC/DC
Ace of Spades – Motorhead
Baba O’Reily – The Who
As Bad as I Am – The Hollywood Vampires
The Boogieman Surprise – The Hollywood Vampires
I’m Eighteen – Alice Cooper
Combination – Aerosmith cover
People who Died – The Jim Carroll band
Sweet Emotion – Aerosmith cover
Bushwackers – Hollywood Vampires
Heroes – David Bowie
Train Kept A- Rollin’ – Tiny Bradshaw
Encore:
School’s Out – Alice Cooper
For more information on The Hollywood Vampires please check them out here: (FACEBOOK) (TWITTER) (INSTAGRAM) (WEBSITE)
All photos by Sue Hebert Sadzak
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