Freaks on Parade With Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper Rolled into Hartford Connecticut’s Xfinity Theater September 10, 2023

September 14, 2023
International Concert Reviews, International Galleries
by Jody Wilk Photographer/Writer

Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper brought their Freaks on Parade Tour to The Xfinity Theater in Hartford Connecticut, September 10, 2023. I arrived about thirty minutes before doors were to open and their were lots of people tailgating in the parking lot listening to music, getting ready to get their freak on. Once inside the vendor area, the lines seemed to move slowly to enter the theater. The t-shirts and other merchandise were flying off the shelves. Lots of fans had their faces painted to look like Alice Cooper.

Opening the show was Filter. They came out onto a smoky stage, lit with mostly blue and pink lights, and started the night with “The Drowning”, which was originally released as a bonus track on The Trouble with Angels album. Richard Patrick is the only original member of the band and commanded the center of the stage. They have had a laundry list of members over the years. Filter brings their mix of rock music with a digital edge into the 2020’s with a solid fanbase. During the middle of their six-song set, they played “Take a Picture” off of their platinum selling release Title of Record. Filter closed their set with their most well-known song “Hey Man Nice Shot”.

Filter is:

Richard Patrick – lead vocals, guitars, bass, programming, keyboards

Live and Session members:

Jonathan Radtke – Guitars, backing vocals

Bobby Miller – Bass, backing vocals

Elias Mallin – Drums

Setlist:

1.The Drowning

2.For the Beaten

3.Obliteration

4.Take a Picture

5.Welcome to the Fold

6.Hey Man Nice Shot

Next up was Ministry, one of the premier industrial metal bands form the 80’s and 90’s. This time was different from the last time I saw them in that there wasn’t a chain link fence barrier between the band and the crowd. It was great this time, but the blinding spotlights on the keyboardist and drummer along with zero lighting on the rest of the band made for a difficult photo shoot from the soundboard. The drummer, Ray Mayorga, was sporting a mohawk, goatee, and an evil grin and put on a rockstar performance. The keyboardist was charismatic with his mohawk and smile. Al Jourgensen let fans sing into the mic during “Burning Inside”, he put on a stellar performance, utilizing the whole stage. Jourgensen got on the guitar for “N.W.O.”. and they played “Just One Fix”, and finished the night with their new single, “Goddamn White Trash”. The fans were on their feet for the entire performance. To quote one concertgoer, “They were effin’ loud!”.

Ministry is:

Al Jourgensen – Lead vocals, guitars, keyboards, programming, harmonica, bandolin, production

John Bechdel – Keyboards

Monte Pittman – Guitars, backing vocals

Cesar Soto – Guitars, backing vocals

Roy Mayorga – Drums

Paul D’Amour – Bass

Setlist:

1.Theives

2.The Missing

3.Deity

4.Stigmata

5.Supernaut (Black Sabbath cover)

6.Burning Inside

7.N.W.O.

8.Just One Fix

9.Goddamn White Trash

Before the curtain drop, two people dressed in black with leather beaked masks, looking like executioners walked across the stage ringing bells. Then the curtain dropped. There was a second curtain that was a newspaper article titled “Banned in Connecticut!, Alice Cooper”, “Trial Set: For Deeds Against Humanity”. You could see a silhouette of Alice behind the curtain. His stage set was much more minimal than usual as they weren’t headlining. Alice Cooper always puts on an amazing show with great sound and good lighting. Instead of the huge castle stage set, they just had a Victorian looking video wall and two mobile staircases with platforms on top. They had many of their usual theatrics, such as the straight jacket scene during “Ballad of Dwight Fry” along with the guillotine, and the giant Frankenstein monster came out during “Feed My Frankenstein. They brought one of the staircases front and center decorated with American flags and Alice climbed on top to sing “Elected”. At the end of the song red, white, and blue streamers and confetti shot into the audience. Alice’s voice sounded phenomenal! I was amazed, that through all of his acting on stage, he managed to not get winded or miss a note. Well, I guess, since he is seventy-five, he should have no problem.

Alice Cooper played a long seventeen song set including almost all of the fan favorites. “Feed My Frankenstein”, “Billion Dollar Babies”, “I’m Eighteen”, Poison”, and “School’s Out” were my favorite songs of the night. Nita Strauss is back on tour with the band after some time off to tour with Demi Lovato. Everyone was glad to see Nita back and she got to off show talents with a solo. Glen Sobel is a master behind the drum kit, I even caught him throwing a stick about 20 feet in the air. Ryan Roxie is a showman and has such charisma on stage. “Mr. Beasto Blanco“, Chuck Garric makes sure to throw some horns while sticking his tongue out (his signature pose). And guitarist, producer, songwriter, and Hollywood Vampire, Tommy Henricksen is nothing short of amazing. If you have ever been to an Alice Cooper show, you know what it means when you hear the school bell ring! It’s time for “School’s Out”, everyone’s favorite. He performed this eight-minute version, with a mashup of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in The Wall part 2” and band introductions as well. “The Coop” always puts on a high production feast for the ears and eyes and never disappoints.

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

Setlist:

1.Lock Me Up

2.NoMore Mr. Nice Guy

3.I’m Eighteen

4. Under My Wheels

5.Billion Dollar Babies

6.Hey Stoopid

7.Lost in America

8.Snakebite

9.Feed My Frankenstein

10.Poison

Tape “The Black Widow” segment from Alice Cooper: The Nightmare

11.Nita Strauss guitar solo

12.Black Widow Jam

13.Ballad of Dwight Fry

14.Killer (partial; band only)

15.I Love the Dead (partial; band only)

16.Elected

17.School’s Out

This was my first time seeing Rob Zombie and I was blown away. With all of the over-the-top theatrics and videos playing all over the stage it was a sensory overload. Not long before the show we were advised that we wouldn’t be able to photograph from the pit in front of the stage, due to its small size and the pyro being used. This ended up being to our advantage as I feel we were able to get some better angles, especially when he was up on the skylift drum riser at the beginning of the show. For the second song, “Dead City Radio”, Rob comes down to stage level and sings from behind a podium like prop with a pentagram on the front of it. During the fourth song, “Well, Everybody’s Fucking in a U.F.O.” there are videos of U.F.O.’s and alien abductions playing on the huge screen behind the stage as well as all over the rest of the stage. Then a sixteen-foot alien monster comes out and parades around the stage.

I just had to include this in between song banter from Rob in this review. “I was out here earlier watching Ministry and I thought, ooh, it’s nice and cool out here tonight, how the fuck did that happen… It’s all hot again! Aaah, maybe it’s the fire! 25 years ago, I made this here record (Hellbilly Deluxe) and everyone said, “congratulations on your career suicide, enjoy obscurity mother-fucker”, and I said “aaaahhh… fuck you”. Actually, funny story. Everybody thought it was the stupidest thing they ever saw. Except, I called up one person who I thought would understand. It wasn’t my mom, it wasn’t my dad. I called up Alice Cooper and I said, “Hey Coop, this is what I’m thinking of doing”. He goes “I totally understand, go fucking do it”, and I did and here we are!” A twenty something foot robot inflates behind the drum kit and a huge devil monster starts roaming around the stage as they play “Superbeast”. The crowd was singing “Hey Yeah” as flames were shooting up from multiple areas around the stage. I was about 14 rows back and could feel the heat.

Throughout the entire set there is nonstop energy from the band utilizing the whole stage in their performance to the non-stop video screens, flames and monstrous characters. They left my favorite three songs for last, “More Human Than Human”, Thunder Kiss ’65” and “Dragula”. They were nothing short of amazing. If you want to see an unforgettable metal performance I highly recommend seeing Rob Zombie.

I think I’m still coming down from the adrenaline rush that is The Freaks on Parade Tour! From Filter and Ministry to the amazingly tight musicians of Alice Cooper’s band and his theatrics to the over-the-top sensory overload of Rob Zombie, if you want to experience what a real heavy metal show should be, this is there it’s at! You can catch them on this tour through September 24.

Rob Zombie is:

Rob Zombie – Lead vocals

Piggy D. – Bass, backing vocals

Ginger Fish – Drums

Mike Riggs – Guitars, backing vocals