Halloween Hootenanny: Gruesome Twosome Tour (Rob Zombie/Alice Cooper) – U.S. Cellular Coliseum, Bloomington, IL (10.08.10)
Posted by Aaron Titan on 10.12.2010
Horror hard rock legends Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper unite to bring early tidings to the masses!
What better a way to celebrate Halloween early than with two classic horror hard rock icons: Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper! I was eagerly looking forward to my trip to Bloomington's U.S. Cellular Coliseum after the long work week and the evening didn’t disappoint.
I spent the drive – decked out in my Jack Skellington skull cap, Punisher long sleeve, black Dickies shorts, and white knee high socks – rocking out to Zombie’s greatest hits and a little of the new Stone Sour album, and just couldn’t wait to get there and split a pitcher with some good friends.
First off though, my hat goes off to the U.S. Cellular Coliseum staff. The Will Call office reprinted my friend’s ticket that he forgot at home and got me my media credentials with great ease. Bathrooms were non-gross and security was cool overall. I’ve enjoyed some great shows there in the past – STP, Avenged Sevenfold – and would go back again anytime.
Joey Jordison of the Murderdolls performing in Bloomington, IL
I got down on the floor as the Murderdolls were kicking things off. This is the punk/metal style project of Wednesday13 and Slipknot’s Joey Jordison. Jordison played rhythm guitar instead of drums in what was a blistering, loud, raucous set that the crowd really got into. During my time up in the photography area in front of the stage, it seemed like a lot of people were singing along and were legitimately there, in part, to see these guys. I had listened to a little of their first album Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls way back when, and after how much fun I had during this set, I may have to check out their new disc.
This wouldn’t be the last time we saw Jordison onstage, but first, we were treated to one of rock’s living legends bringing theatrical arena rock to the Midwest: Alice motherfuckin’ Cooper.
Alice Cooper performing "School's Out" in Bloomington
The set started off with Alice’s band blasting the opening chords of “School’s Out” and from there, the man himself hit the stage to the adulation of the large group of old time rock fans in the crowd. Cooper headlined this arena just a few years ago, so he definitely has a following in the Bloomington area.
From there, Cooper blasted through a greatest hits set complete with all the shock rock and Halloween-themed fixings. For “Poison,” Cooper’s female stage hand performer injected him with a giant syringe filled with, what else, green 'poison.' For “Dirty Diamonds,” he threw out strings of white Mardi Gras beads into the crowd. During what I think was “Only Women Bleed,” Alice took the female stagehand behind a spotlight-illuminated privacy sheet and strangled her with a rope. The silhouette of feigned murder was just too cool, as morbid as that might sound!
After getting beheaded, hung, and five or so costume changes, Cooper had officially rocked the house…at age 62! As a very casual fan of Alice Cooper, I can say that I have a ton of respect for how hard the guy can still go. He makes Ozzy Osbourne look weak and tired by comparison, and he definitely won over a lot of the younger fans in the crowd.
Some of the jovial, costumed masses who attended the Halloween Hootenanny in Bloomington
After a fairly lengthy set change and an awesome conversation with some old timers who shared some past concertgoing experiences, including Pink Floyd, Molly Hatchet, and Deep Purple, the lights dimmed and it made the long intermission so f’n worth it!
Now this was my fourth time (Ozzfest 2005, American Witch 2006 Tour twice) seeing Rob Zombie, and I have to be completely honest and say that this was without a doubt the BEST show I’ve seen him put on.
This time around, there was a few caldrons of fire burning to the sides of the drum riser – where Joey Jordison was banging the skins for Zombie – as well as coordinated pyro behind that. There was also a main video effects screen behind the riser and a screen in front of the stacks on either side of the stage. There were also three smaller screens right in front of the stage showing horror movie clips, at least when I was up shooting photos at the beginning of the set. Goddamn it was hot up there!
Rob Zombie hits the stage in Bloomington
The show opened with a giant looming robot in the middle of the stage. After the “Sawdust in the Blood” intro, the band walked out and went right into “Jesus Frankenstein.” Rob Zombie emerged from the robot wearing a skeleton armor suit and mask and was armed with a long skeletal claw that he waved around in various rock poses in front of a skeleton microphone stand with six arms.
From there, they went into several Zombie staples from the past, including “Superbeast,” “Scum of the Earth,” “Living Dead Girl,” and White Zombie’s “More Human Than Human.”
John5 playing some guitar next to an awesome mic stand at the Bloomington stop of the Halloween Hootenanny Tour
The set featured a rousing, yet just a tad short, drum solo from Joey Jordison as well as a blistering guitar solo from John5, who is one of the best axemen in the game today in my opinion. The solo featured a little sample of the guitar lick from Deliverance as well as part of the “Star Spangled Banner”…which he played with HIS TEETH - HENDRIX STYLE! The solo had started during a break in “Thunder Kiss ‘65” and after it finished, the band went right back into the final verse, which was cool. I think they’ve been doing John5’s solo that way for a while now, as it seemed reminiscent of the last few Zombie shows I went to four years ago.
Zombie atop some ghouled-up stairs singing the chorus to "Dragula" in Bloomington
There were some great accoutrements to enjoy throughout the set, including several large bouncey balls to hit around the crowd during “Sick Bubblegum” and the huge horrorific stairwell Zombie ascended during "Dragula." For “Werewolf Women of the SS,” which was preceded by the namesake fake trailer Zombie helmed from the Grindhouse film, the entire band donned some fun, maroon, European looking duds. I believe this was the song we got the fuzzy white fake snow blasted over us, which looked super cool but clung to my clothes and hat the rest of the night. It’s all in the name of rock n’ roll though, so I abided, and went to the bar for my post-concert beer looking a little disheveled.
Having seen Zombie four times, I’d seen them play a good chunk of the songs I’d always wanted to see live from his catalogue; however, this show marked the first time I saw him play “Pussy Liquor,” a song from the soundtrack to Zombie’s first film, House of 1,000 Corpses. This is a phenomenal song and I was stoked that they put it in the setlist for this tour. Zombie introduced the song saying that he’d been hounded to play it for almost ten years and after rehearsing it, he realized “it was one of the best songs we ever wrote!”
He then asked the crowd to “sing along if you know it. If not, hold on to your pussies for dear life!”
And the show wouldn’t have been complete without some Halloween candy, which both headliners threw out at the conclusion of their sets. Why can’t every Halloween season be this much fun?!
The 411: And really, that aforementioned quote from Zombie sums up the fun atmosphere of the entire night. While the crowd on the floor was rather tame compared to past Zombie shows I’ve been to in the past, they were fun an affable bunch and everybody had a blast, yours truly included! There were a lot of older folks in attendance for Alice Cooper, who made the Halloween-themed night that much better. Best Zombie set I’ve ever seen combined with an awesome set from Alice Cooper and some craziness from the Murderdolls…well that just means money well spent! If this tour is coming through your town soon, go see it!
