In Concert: Hollywood Vampires

by Marija Brettle
— Senior Columnist —

Birmingham Utilita Arena, Birmingham, England, July 11, 2023

American supergroup Hollywood Vampires rocked Birmingham’s Utilita Arena. Fronted by Alice Cooper, they feature Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp on lead guitar and vocals, Aerosmith’s Joe Perry on guitar and vocals, Cooper’s own Tommy Henriksen on guitar and vocals, as well as touring members Glen Sobel on drums, Chris Wyse on bass and Buck Johnson on keyboards.

Superstar Johnny Depp and rock gods Alice Cooper and Joe Perry provided a ‘raucous assault to the senses’-with a surprise hometown tribute to Black Sabbath.

Named after Cooper’s old drinking club that counted Keith Moon and Ringo Starr among its members, Hollywood Vampires celebrates what rocks, carrying the torch for 70s rock, while refusing to reckon with its toxic elements. Having been forced to cancel their planned 2020 tour due to the pandemic, Hollywood Vampires return to the UK as soon as possible. They say they loved British rock ‘n’ roll and pepper their sets with songs from the likes of The Who, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie and Motörhead.

Alice took us down his very own memory lane of stars and days gone by. Strutting out in a military jacket, with his classic eye makeup and brandishing a riding crop, at 75 the legendary frontman Alice Cooper is still rock’s finest ringmaster! He was full of a positive infectious energy and youthful vigour as he led the audience through some heavy Halloween-themed tracks like ‘The Boogieman Surprise’ while clenching his signature stick. His own songs ‘I’m Eighteen’ an inevitable, final ‘School’s Out’ sound fantastic, while during The Doors’ ‘Break On Through (To the Other Side)’ and ‘The Who’s ‘Baba O’Riley’ he captured the spirit of the originals perfectly!

Alice Cooper took a step back and lets Depp and Perry take the lead. Johnny gives a moving tribute to Jeff Beck, who he toured with, only last year. He brings out one of Jeff Beck’s guitars and hands it to Joe Perry, who then runs through some great solos and riffs from Beck’s back catalogue. Perry then takes the vocals and harmonica on Aerosmith’s ‘Bright Light Fright’s’.

Roles were frequently changed, though. Perry took the mic while Cooper picked up a guitar for a version of ‘Can’t Put Your Arm Around a Memory’ by late New York Doll Johnny Thunders.

Closing the set with ’Walk This Way’ and then the much covered (by Aerosmith) ‘The Train Kept A-Rollin’ put Joe Perry back in the spotlight.

Encore was the Cooper’s classic ‘Schools Out’, with a little added Pink Floyd ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ for good measure.

After arriving on stage to Bauhaus ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’, their 20-song set ended with a cover of Black Sabbath’s ‘Paranoid’, where they were joined by the legendary guitarist Tony Iommi to the real delight of the Birmingham audience!

At their best, Hollywood Vampires are exactly what you’d expect when a legendary showman, a guitar rock icon and a genuine A-lister actor walk into a bar… This isn’t about breaking new ground, but reveling the past and celebrating the power of music-to bring people together!

Hollywood Vampires Set List: