Rob Zombie Celebrates Alice Cooper’s Rock Hall Nomination
This has been a big week for metal legend Alice Cooper. The godfather of shock rock finally received a long overdue nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when the 15 nominees were announced earlier this week. Last night at Los Angeles' Gibson Amiptheater, Cooper and longtime friend Rob Zombie kicked off their Halloween Hootenanny Tour, a must for any fan of big rock spectacles.
Cooper started the theatrical extravaganza with a 75-minute set that drew heavily on the hits that got him that HOF nomination. Featuring classics 'No More Mr. Nice Guy' and 'I'm Eighteen' early, Cooper and his four-piece band continued to showcase his musical prowess while displaying the iconic stage prowess whose influence is not only seen in acts like Zombie and Marilyn Manson, but can even be found now in Lady Gaga's show.
Cooper remains a master of mixing the music and the show, singing a beautiful ballad like 'I Never Cry' while hanging from a noose, holding up his own chopped-off head, removed via guillotine, in an impressive version of 'Go To Hell' that took on a tribal feel, delivering the invigorating pop/rocker 'Nurse Rozetta,' while a nurse performs a striptease behind a screen, and being stuck with a giant needle during 'Posion.'
Cooper didn't acknowledge his nomination, but tourmate Zombie did. Near the end of his own 75-minute set, Zombie said of Cooper, "He finally got himself nominated to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, finally -- finally." He led the Gibson crowd in celebration with a raucous cover of Cooper's seminal 'School's Out' as confetti fell from the roof.
To get to that point, Zombie, who came out on stage to an apocalyptic stage that looked like something out of the 'Road Warrior' movies, had a hell of a lot of fun, being right in his element at an early Halloween gala. He promised, "We're gonna play some songs tonight we've never, ever played and will probably never play again." The centerpiece of those rarities was 'Pussy Liquor,' a song Zombie said gets requested "everywhere we go." But L.A. is special, and before the track Zombie dedicated it to everyone in the building from the cast of 'House of 1,000 Corpses.'
A great showman in his own right, Zombie engaged the crowd frequently, promising a mother f---ing Zmobie party, which he delivered on with hits like '1965' and 'Burn Through the Witches.'