Concert Review
Hollywood Vampires
Seneca Niagara Casino
Outdoor Show
Niagara Falls, NY
Saturday July 9, 2016
Review/Photos: Joseph Suto
The Hollywood Vampires, the band which features Alice Cooper, Aerosmith’s Joe Perry and screen star Johnny Depp rolled into the Seneca Niagara Casino Saturday evening. The outdoor show was marred by a one hour delay due to not one, not two but three bands of rain. The scheduled time of 8 p.m. was pushed back as an announcement came over saying there was still one more band of rain to hit. Sure enough within five minutes it struck and lasted for close to thirty minutes. Finally at 9 p.m. the band took the stage and promptly made everyone almost forget about the rain delay. The band was on fire right from the start.
The band was put together late last year and made their first televised appearance at the Grammy Awards in February. The Vampires were a celebrity drinking club formed by Cooper in the 1970s. Members included Keith Moon, Ringo Starr, John Lennon among others. The club originated on Sunset Strip inside the historic Rainbow. The purpose of the band is to honor the music of rock stars who died from excess.
Joining the Big three were drummer Matt Sorum, bassist Robert DeLeo, keyboardist/guitarist Bruce Witkin and guitarist Tommy Henriksen.
The band promptly started things off with “Raise The Dead” one of the oriignal songs from their album. A pair of David Bowie cuts really seemed to energize the crowd and helped set the tone for the rest of the evening.
Some other highlights included their cover of Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” which featured Witkin on lead vocals.
Joe Perry took over on lead vocals on “Stop Messin’ Around” just as he sometimes does during an Aerosmith show.
The band saved two of the most recognizable songs in their repertoire for the encore in “Train Kept A Rollin’ made popular by Aerosmith and the Cooper classic “School’s Out” which never gets old.
Those who were lucky enough to have seen the band earlier on in the tour said there was a night and day difference when comparing the shows. This band sounded like they have really found their groove and now that they are mid tour, they have become a very tight unit.
This is a very unique supergroup. Some may be unaware but Depp was actually a musician before he became an actor. Getting to finally live his dream of playing in a major band seems to have rejuvenated him and he did not look out of place up there at all. Expect to hear more from these guys down the road.
Set List
Raise The Dead
I Got A Line On You
Rebel Rebel
Suffragette City
Manic Depression
Five To One/ Break On Through
As Bad As I Am
20th Century Boy
Bang A Gong (Get It On)
Come Together
7 And 7 Is
Whole Lotta Love
My Dead Drunk Friends
Stop Messin’ Around
Ace Of Spades
Pinball Wizard
My Generation
I’m Eighteen
Sweet Emotion
Encore
Train Kept A Rollin’
School’s Out
