Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, and Corrosion of Conformity melt faces off of the fans at Bridgeport, Connecticut’s Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater September 23, 2025

September 26, 2025
International Concert Reviews, International Galleries
by Jody Wilk Photographer/Writer

With the last stop of the tour in Nashville being cancelled due to weather, Judas Priest and Alice Cooper were rested and ready to put on a thrilling performance for a packed house at Bridgeport, Connecticut’s Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater. On a late September night with perfect weather, the fans packed into the open-air venue to get their fix on some old-school iconic metal bands. The Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater is nestled along Connecticut’s coastline between I-95 and the train tracks. It’s a 5700-seat boutique amphitheater created out of a former baseball venue. It boasts a one-of-a-kind backstage area for the artists, including an outdoor patio, massage room, bedroom, and kitchen with a personal chef, a hallway with pictures of the bands, and much more. The fans congregate under a tensile roof, the likes of a big-top circus, with lots of concessions from local restaurants along with food trucks. The doors opened at 5:30 PM, and the fans were filling in nicely when Corrosion of Conformity hit the stage at 6:45 PM.

Corrosion of Conformity is a heavy metal band formed by Woody Weatherman, the band’s only remaining constant member since 1982, and is based in North Carolina. This four-piece band has 10 studio albums, with one, 1994’s Deliverance, having achieved gold status by The Recording Industry Association of America. This was my first time seeing Corrosion of Conformity, and I can say, they were the perfect fit to open for metal giants Judas Priest and Alice Cooper. These guys rocked the amphitheater with a 7-song, 30-minute set, starting with “Bottom Feeder (El Que Come Abajo)” and “King of The Rotton” off of Wiseblood. C.O.C. brought their raw style of metal to the stage, which some people refer to as sounding like a southern Black Sabbath. With long-time member Pepper Keenan on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Jason Patterson on drums, and Bobby Landgraf on bass, this quartet seemed to have gained a lot of new fans at this tour stop. They will be out with this tour until October 26th, as well as a few solo dates throughout.

Corrosion of Conformity is:

Pepper Keenan – Guitar, vocals

Jason Patterson – Drums

Bobby Landgraf – Bass

Woody Weatherman – Guitar

Setlist:

1. Bottom Feeder (El Que Come Abajo)

2. King of The Rotten

3. Diablo Blvd.

4. Vote With a Bullet

5. Wiseblood

6. Clean My Wounds

7. Albatross

Judas Priest is out on their Shield of Pain tour, co-headlining the show with Alice Cooper. For this show, they went on before Alice Cooper. The venue was full of fans on their feet, ready to bang their heads and pump their fists to one of the world’s most iconic metal bands of all time. Many people were saying they thought Judas Priest should have been headlining the whole tour. Frontman, Rob Halford, led the charge with his ear-piercing screams through an hour and fifteen-minute set, starting with “All Guns Blazing” and ” Hell Patrol” off of the Painkiller album. They’re celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Painkiller album with an anniversary vinyl, which is available for pre-order now. (available in the US only)

Although they had a smaller stage set than the last time I saw them in New Jersey, they still brought out the iconic illuminated pitchfork behind the drum riser later in the set. They played a night of fan favorites and a few songs off of Invincible Shield. The crowd rocked out hard to “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming”, “Breaking the Law”, “Electric Eye”, “Painkiller”, “Hellbent for Leather”, and “Living After Midnight”. During “Giants in The Sky”, there were a few photos of Ozzy Osbourne displayed on the background as a memorial to the recently deceased rock legend. For the encore, Rob came out on stage on a motorcycle, one of his signature stage moves. They sure set the bar high. It would be amazing if Alice could top it.

Judas Priest is:

Ian Hill – Bass, occasional backing vocals

Rob Halford – Lead vocals

Scott Travis – Drums, occasional backing vocals

Richie Faulkner – Guitars, backing vocals

Andy Sneap – Guitars, backing vocals

Setlist:

1. All Guns Blazing

2. Hell Patrol

3. You’ve Got Another Thing Coming’

4. Freewheel Burning

5. Breaking The Law

6. A Touch of Evil

7. Night Crawler

8. Solar Angels

9. Gates of Hell

10. Electric Eye

11. Giants in The Sky

12. Painkiller

Encore

13. Hellbent for Leather

14. Living After Midnight

Although just back in July, Alice got back together with original band members of The Alice Cooper Band to release a new album, The Revenge of Alice Cooper, he did not play any of those songs on this tour with his solo band. Alice had a new stage setup for The Alice’s Attic Tour. There were boxes of miscellaneous props on the stage that he could choose from at will. He, of course, did the iconic straitjacket and guillotine acts. Alice appeared on the stage in a long maroon coat with gold trim and a top hat with a sword, looking like a circus ringleader. In a way, he is the leader of this over-the-top, theatrical musical performance.

Alice Cooper has an amazing crew of musicians performing with him. Ryan Roxie, Nita Strauss, and Tommy Henricksen, on guitars and backing vocals, are all stellar performers who keep your attention moving from one to the next. Mr. Beasto Blanco, Chuck Garric on bass and backing vocals, is sure to throw you the devil horns above his head, and the one and only Glen Sobel on drums. Original bassist of The Alice Cooper Band, Dennis Dunaway, made appearances on the songs “I’m Eighteen” and “School’s Out”, two songs that he co-wrote.

They played a twenty-one-song set which included all of their most popular songs as well as a few deeper cuts, such as “Dirty Diamonds” and “Spark in the Dark”, two songs that I don’t think I’ve ever heard. At 77 years old, Alice Cooper rocks the stage and puts on an over-the-top theatrical performance that is timeless. All the hits that the fans knew and a bunch that they didn’t realize they knew kept them on their feet and watching to see what Alice would pull out of his box of tricks next. As in keeping with tradition, they closed the night with “School’s Out” which always includes the band introductions. I would have to say Alice Cooper and his band squeaked out the top spot performance-wise at this show.

Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, and Corrosion of Conformity left the fans in Bridgeport with their ears ringing and their brains numb from a sensory overload of rock and roll. You can catch Alice Cooper and Judas Priest on tour through the end of October, and then Alice will be heading to Germany for The Night of The Proms tour.

Alice Cooper is:

Alice Cooper – Lead vocals, harmonica, guitars, percussion, synthesizer

Ryan Roxie – Guitars, backing vocals

Chuck Garric – Bass, backing vocals

Tommy Henricksen – Guitars, backing vocals

Glen Sobel – Drums, percussion

Nita Strauss – Guitars, backing vocals