The gorgeous surrounds of Halifax’s Piece Hall – a Grade 1 listed building and sole survivor of the 18th Century northern cloth halls – played host to a night of pure, unadulterated, rock n roll fun that was also a heartwarming tribute to many musical greats who have departed this earth. If the Piece Hall had a roof then Hollywood Vampires would surely have blown it away.
But first up The Damned, a constant in my musical journey through life since punk rock exploded into my conscience nearly 50 years ago. The aggression has long gone but their songs, many released 30-50 years ago, just don’t seem to date. ‘Love Song’, ‘Neat Neat Neat’, ‘New Rose’, ‘Wait For The Blackout’, ‘Eloise’, ‘Ignite’ take those of us of a certain age back to a time when all we really cared about was the next gig, the next record by your favourite band. A time when ‘Neat Neat Neat’ or the Pistols ‘Anarchy’ really did scare the establishment and when wearing a torn t-shirt, straight leg jeans and a pair of DM’s was likely to get you chased down the high street and, if you weren’t quick enough, a kicking.
Nowadays the jokey wit of Captain Sensible and Dave Vanian bring laughs from the crowd. The songs are appreciated by a significant number down the front and small groups jump around. Rat Scabies drumming has lost none of it’s power, Paul Gray’s bass packs a rumbling punch and Vanian’s voice and Sensible’s guitar can still cut right through you. Vanian strolls the stage dressed in suit, fedora and shades clearly having a lot of fun, ushering people in through the main gate, little waves to others. At points it’s hard to decide whether he’s just having a laugh or taking the piss. Whichever it is The Damned deliver an hour of classic goth tinged punk rock. They’ve been around for so many years yet they still have a magnetic presence, no small amount of charm and a catalogue of songs that show no sign of becoming dated anytime soon.
You can almost hear the fizz in the atmosphere before Hollywood Vampires walk on stage. The backdrop flickers, dark gothic castles, huge coffins and then, to a roar from the sell out crowd, Tommy Henriksen, Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, Johnny Depp together with bass player Chris Wyse and drummer Glen Sobel are in front of us. No casual build up, just an onslaught of guitars. Perry on the lip of the stage, cigar in mouth, lapping it all up as the riffs tear from his guitar.
The ringmaster appears, Alice Cooper still the showman, still determined to shock and entertain. Tonight is to be a celebration of “dead, drunk friends” and that is exactly what it turns out to be. Opening with their own glam metal ‘I Want My Now’ and ‘Raise The Dead’ Cooper wastes no time strolling up the protruding stage, winding the crowd into a frenzy, his ringmasters cane soon thrown to the crowd. Cooper’s ‘I’m Eighteen’ gets a roar of approval before the massive, sonic, blues tinged assault of ‘My Dead Friends’ pummels us into submission.
But tonight isn’t just a showcase for Vampires songs. It’s a massive rock n roll celebration of the music by those no longer with is. And whilst Cooper certainly dominates the stage he’s gracious enough to give space to Perry and Henrikson to tear into us with their guitar skills whilst Johnny Depp, guitar in hand and effortlessly cool, has a significant amount of stage to himself. Depp steps up for vocal duties on the Velvet’s ‘Venus In Furs’ and a blistering version of Jim Carroll’s ‘People Who Died’ – the backdrop an almost never ending list of departed musicians. Johnny Thunders ‘You Can’t Put Your Arms Round A Memory’ and The Who’s ‘Baba O’Riley’ get the Vampire treatment.
Cooper proclaims Jeff Beck to be the greatest guitar player of all time before they play ‘Beck’s Bolero’, a superb instrumental homage with a backdrop of hundreds of photos of the guitar maestro. There’s three Aerosmith numbers – Perry grabbing the spotlight for a huge, crowd pleasing ‘Livin’ On The Edge’ and ‘Bright Light Fright’. Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ with Depp superb on vocal duties, brings a lump to the throat, it’s guitar soaring round the Piece Hall whilst Killing Jokes’s ‘The Death And Resurrection Show’ is absolutely brutal. ACDC’s ‘Highway To Hell’ with Tommy Henrikson taking vocals has five and a half thousand people singing and punching the air as does Aerosmith’s ‘Walk This Way’.
The Hollywood Vampires have delivered not only a massive, noisy, bouncing rock n roll tribute to their lost musical friends they’ve delivered almost two hours of none stop pure entertainment stamping their own roar onto songs from across a wide range of genres. The main set closes with a stunning ‘Schools Out’ that segues seamlessly into ‘Another Brick In The Wall’. Massive balloons are released, bouncing across the crowd until Cooper obliterates them with his knife. The band are introduced, Cooper calling them onto the runway, all of them basking in the spotlight with the exception of Johnny Depp who simply smiles somewhat shyly at the expected screams from the front. Finally, to cheers and laughter, Cooper states “And playing the part of Alice Cooper…. it’s me!!”
Hollywood Vampires return for a rousing ‘The Train Kept A Rollin’ before finally finishing with a joyful ‘Hi Ho Silver Lining’. They take an age to leave the stage, guitar picks are thrown out, they wave, they bow, they genuinely appreciate the response they’ve received from this capacity crowd. Tonight was loud, gaudy, nostalgic, theatrical, fun, packed with energy and most importantly a genuine celebration of some musical greats who were taken too early.
Photos/words: steve white
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