Dubbed the Gruesome Twosome when Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie toured together 13 years ago, the pair have reunited for their Freaks on Parade 2023 co-headlining tour that brought them to the Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, NY this past Saturday, September 9, for another haunted hell ride. Joined by industrial pioneers Ministry and the eclectic alternative rockers Filter, these special guests have opened every show on the massive, 38-date trek of North America.
Cooper, the 75-year old “Godfather of Shock Rock,” is promoting his 22nd solo album Road (earMusic), released last month. Bringing a signature style of macabre rock, Cooper’s stage show included a boa constrictor brandished across his shoulders and escaping from a straight jacket only to meet his maker guillotine-style at the hands of his wife Sheryl, in the gowned guise of Marie Antoinette. Cooper and his bandmates – “Hurricane” Nita Strauss (guitar), Tommy Henricksen (guitar), Chuck Garrick (bass) and Glen Sobel (drums) – offered up a set filled with classic tracks, including “I’m Eighteen” (the 1971 single that put him on the map), “Feed My Frankenstein,” “Poison,” and the closing number, “School’s Out.”
An acclaimed cult horror filmmaker, Zombie is said to be turning his attention back to music and is currently working on his first new material since he dropped his seventh studio album, The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy (Nuclear Blast), back in 2021. Backed by Piggy D. (bass), Ginger Fish (drums) and Mike Riggs (who is back with the band after replacing guitarist John 5), Zombie delivered a theatrical, mind-blowing performance to the near 15,000-capacity crowd.
The stagecraft was impeccable, complete with pyrotechnics, a hovering flying saucer, large-scale puppetry and eye-popping, next-level videos displayed across numerous high-def screens. Zombie and company delivered a 14-song set (including an epic drum solo) comprised of notable hits like “House of 1000 Corpses” and “Living Dead Girl,” along with two covers by his former band White Zombie – “More Human Than Human” and “Thunder Kiss ’65.” The night concluded with Zombie’s most notorious anthem, “Dragula.”
Filter Setlist: The Drowning > For the Beaten > Obliteration > Take a Picture > Welcome to the Fold > Hey Man Nice Shot
Ministry Setlist: Thieves > The Missing > Deity > Stigmata > Supernaut > Burning Inside > N.W.O. > Just One Fix > Goddamn White Trash
Alice Cooper Setlist: Lock Me Up > No More Mr. Nice Guy > I’m Eighteen > Under My Wheels > Billion Dollar Babies > Hey Stoopid > Lost in America > Snakebite > Feed My Frankenstein > Poison > “The Black Widow” segment from Alice Cooper: The Nightmare > Nita Strauss Guitar Solo > Black Widow Jam > Ballad of Dwight Fry > Killer > I Love the Dead > Elected > School’s Out
Rob Zombie Setlist: The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition) > Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown > Feel So Numb > Well, Everybody’s Fucking in a U.F.O. > What Lurks on Channel X? > Superbeast > Demonoid Phenomenon > The Lords of Salem > House of 1000 Corpses > Drum Solo > Living Dead Girl > More Human Than Human (White Zombie song) > Thunder Kiss ’65 (White Zombie song) > Dragula
UPCOMING TOUR DATES
09/12 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
09/13 – Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
09/15 – Bonner Springs, KS @ Azura Amphitheater
09/16 – Greenwood Village, CO @ Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
09/19 – Ridgefield, WA @ RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater
09/20 – Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre
09/22 – Concord, CA @ Toyota Pavilion at Concord
09/23 – Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center
09/24 – Phoenix, AZ @ Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
10/04 – St. Augustine, FL @ St. Augustine Amphitheatre
10/05 – Wilmington, NC @ Wilson Center at Cape Fear Community College
10/07 – Evansville, IN @ Aiken Theatre
10/08 – Wheeling, WV @ Wesbanco Arena
10/10 – Troy, OH @ Hobart Arena
10/11 – Wabash, IN @ Honeywell Center
10/13 – Paducah, KY @ The Carson Center for the Performing Arts
10/14 – North Little Rock, AR @ Simmons Bank Arena
10/15 – Lafayette, LA @ Heymann Performing Arts Center
10/17 – Enid, OK @ Stride Bank Center
10/19 – Colorado Springs, CO @ Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts
10/20 – Rio Rancho, NM @ Rio Rancho Events Center
10/21 – Tucson, AZ @ AVA Amphitheatre
10/23 – Paso Robles, CA @ Vina Robles Amphitheatre
10/25 – Highland, CA @ Yaamava’ Resort & Casino
10/26 – Reno, NV @ Grand Sierra Resort and Casino
10/28 – Las Vegas, NV @ Zappos Theater
FILTER
MINISTRY
ALICE COOPER
ROB ZOMBIE
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