The Hollywood Vampires were originally conceived in the 1970s as a rock star drinking club housed in the bowels of the iconic Rainbow Bar on the Hollywood Sunset Strip. Fast forward to 2019 and original Vampire Alice Cooper, along with Johnny Depp and Joe Perry, have decided to take the show on the road in support of their forthcoming second album, Rise, which is due in stores on June 21. The seven show jaunt includes Tommy Henriksen (guitar), Glen Sobel (drums), Chris Wyse (bass), and Buck Johnson (keyboards).
With no opening act, Hollywood Vampires took the stage at an entirely reasonable 8:15 pm and launched into an unreleased original track, “I Want My Now,” with Alice on vocals. Despite the new track, the crowd immediately lit up. It wouldn’t be a proper Vampires show without a healthy dose of cover tunes and the band did not disappoint, celebrating the likes of The Doors, AC/DC, The Who, and more. The band sounded tight … clearly prepared for the mini run … but drummer Glen Sobel was a stand-out. Man that guy can play, and his solo during “Baba O’Riley” was truly inspiring.
While Cooper handled the majority of vocal duties, there was still room for the rest of the band to step up to the mic. Joe Perry sang vocals on Johnny Thunders’ “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory” and Depp took the lead on The Jim Carroll Band’s “People Who Died” which he dedicated to his late bodyguard Jerry Judge who passed last month. If there was any doubt who the biggest star on that stage was, a quick look around the room at the number of cell phones in the air on record during Johnny’s totally legit version of David Bowie’s “Heroes” would have made the answer clear.
Ticket sales may have been slightly hampered by the lofty prices and the Warfield far from full, but those that did pony up were delivered a good time although Depp caused a melee by tossing handfuls of guitar pics into the crowd as the band said their goodbyes and left the stage at a totally respectable 9:15 pm. Here’s a band that clearly understands their audience!
SETLIST
I Want My Now
Raise the Dead
As Bad As I Am
Five to One / Break on Through (The Doors cover)
The Jack (AC/DC cover)
Who’s Laughing Now
The Boogieman Surprise
You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory (Johnny Thunders cover)
My Dead Drunk Friends
Baba O’Riley (The Who cover)
Heroes (David Bowie cover)
Git From Round Me
I’m Eighteen (Alice Cooper cover)
People Who Died (The Jim Carroll Band cover)
The Train Kept A-Rollin’ (Tiny Bradshaw cover)
ENCORE
We Gotta Rise
School’s Out (Alice Cooper cover) / Brick in the Wall (Pink Floyd) mashup
