Page 44 - Black Velvet Magazine Issue 98

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YYYYY Excellent YYYY Very Good YYY Good

YY Listenable, Just Y Poor

HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES / THE DARKNESS / THE DAMNED– BIRMINGHAM GENTING ARENA, 16.06.18
Over the last few years the rock world has lost too many talented musicians for our liking. But if there’s a concert venue up in heaven, they’ll be
having a kick-ass jam session. Down here on earth though, Hollywood Vampires was born to pay tribute to some of those that have passed away and
Birmingham set the four-date UK leg (the band’s first ever UK tour) in motion.
With so many classic songs by musicians that have passed away, where do you begin? Well, Hollywood Vampires – which consists of Alice Cooper,
Joe Perry (Aerosmith) and Johnny Depp as the three
core members – have chosen the crème de la crème
of rock classics. Their set includes songs by Motor-
head, David Bowie and The Doors to name just three.
It’s not all covers though – they add in some of their
own songs – opening up the set with ‘I Want My Now’,
a rocking number which sees Alice sing about ‘dark
inside the pain’ before later repeating ‘I want my now,
I need my now’, while second song, ‘Raise The
Dead’, is from Hollywood Vampires’ self-titled album,
released in 2015.
When the band, which also includes Glen Sobel
on drums, Tommy Henriksen on guitar, Chris Wyse
on bass and Buck Johnson on keys, pay homage to
the deceased greats, it’s not just musically, but visu-
ally too. The large screen at the back of the stage
shines a photo of Lemmy during ‘Ace Of Spades’,
which Chris Wyse takes over lead vocals for. Chris
does a sterling job with vocals so similar to Lemmy
you wouldn’t be surprised if he was related to him!
Johnny Depp, who, just seeing play guitar on stage
is a thrill, sings lead vocals for David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’
and also does a spectacular job with his low vocal
tones not unlike Bowie’s. Multiple photos of David
Bowie throughout the song see your eyes averting
from the band on stage to the legend on the big
screen.
One of the world’s more recent losses, Malcolm
Young, gets a mention when AC/DC’s ‘The Jack’ is
played, while guest musician Ian Hunter joins the
band on stage for ‘All The Young Dudes’ (Mott The
Hoople). Aerosmith’s ‘Sweet Emotion’ is one for fans
that want to hear one of Joe’s own hits, while the
show is wrapped up with classic Cooper singalong,
‘School’s Out’. The band perform a new song that
Johnny Depp wrote about his dad, a criminal, called
‘As Bad As I Am’. Who knew this man was so talented
outside of his usual acting profession?
It’s a delight to see Alice Cooper, Joe Perry and
Johnny Depp come together, not just to perform
music, but to remember their friends whose lives have
ended. A night like tonight reminds you how musi-
cians’ legacies can live on – and Hollywood Vampires
definitely do them justice.
Support came from The Darkness and The
Damned, both bands having earned their stripes over
the years. The Damned, first up, who have been
going for over 40 years, bring a darker edge to the
proceedings, with their hit cover of ‘Eloise’, classic
punk gem ‘New Rose’ and newer numbers ‘Standing
On The Edge Of Tomorrow’ and ‘Ignite’ rubbing shoul-
ders with each other in the set. While The Damned
ignited the night, The Darkness set the arena on fire
with their fun and entertaining set. With flamboyant
showman Justin Hawkins fronting the band, he jokes
between songs, while the band’s high quality rock in
the form of ‘Solid Gold’, ‘Growing On Me’ and set
ender ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’ show that de-
spite all the humour, they seriously knuckle down
when it comes to music and always put out their best
work possible. They help ensure the night is of the
highest possible quality from the moment you step
into the arena until the moment you leave. As Satur-
day nights go, this one was damn near perfect.
YYYYY
Shari Black Velvet

Johnny Depp / Hollywood Vampire
Photos By Shari Black Velvet
CONCERTS