Highwire Magazine

Massive crowds gathered outside the Honda Center hours before the Freaks on Parade Tour even began in anticipation of what would be a fantastic show. 

It was impossible to walk anywhere outside the stadium without maneuvering through masses of happy, laughing, and excited fans wearing their band t-shirts or Alice Cooper makeup. Of course, no show featuring Alice Cooper would be complete without the mandatory street preacher ranting into a microphone about how all of us sinners are going to Hell. Even the officers assigned to security couldn’t help but laugh because nothing could ruin this night for anyone.

Opening this insane show was Filter, with Richard Patrick (vocals, guitar) and touring members Jonathan Radtke (guitar), Bobby Miller (bass), and Elias Mallin (drums). They opened with “The Drowning” as smoke filled the entire stage and covered the band nearly the whole time they played. Though their set was too short, it was mesmerizing and memorable. They closed with ‘Hey Man Nice Shot’ from their 1995 debut platinum album, Short Bus. 

Up next was the legendary pioneers of industrial metal, Ministry, with Al Jourgensen (vocals), John Bechdel (keyboards), Monte Pittman (guitar), Caesar Soto (guitar), Paul D’Amour (bass), and Roy Mayorga (drums). Ministry always puts on a killer show; this night was no exception. They opened with Thieves and played some of my favorites, including “The Missing” and “Stigmata,” they even included an excellent cover of Black Sabbath’s “Supernaut.” They ended their set with ‘Goddamn White Trash’ from their upcoming album HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES, which won’t be released until next year. 

Alice Cooper needs no introductions. Alice Cooper is Alice Cooper and could walk out on the stage and perform acapella, and we would all thank him for the experience. However, he does not perform alone; he has assembled some of the most talented musicians to back him up: Ryan Roxie (guitar), Tommy Henriksen (guitar), Chuck Garric (bass), Glen Sobel (drums), and rock goddess Nita Strauss (guitar). Donned in his trademark makeup and circus-like outfit, he opened with “Lock Me Up,” as he threw a sword around, he showed us there was “No More Mister Nice Guy.” This exciting set included “I’m Eighteen,” “Billion Dollar Babies,” and “Hey Stoopid.”

The set was interrupted to screen a segment, “The Black Widow,” from Cooper’s 1975 conceptual television special Welcome To My Nightmare. The set closed with “School’s Out” from his 1972 record of the same name. 

The last to take the stage was Rob Zombie, accompanied by Mike Riggs (guitar), Piggy D. (bass), and Ginger Fish (drums). “Expanding The Head of Zed” played as 16th-century plague doctors drew the curtain. Zombie stood high above the crowd on his podium as he opened with “The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition).” 

Zombie ran back and forth on the platforms on the stage as he performed the set, which included his biggest hits and most recognizable songs such as “Feel So Numb,” “The Lords of Salem,” “House of 1,000 Corpses,” “Living Dead Girl,” and “More Human Than Human.” After “Thunder Kiss ’65,” Zombie surprised and delighted us with the trailer for his 2003 horror film House of 1,000 Corpses. Since this night sadly had to end at some point, I couldn’t think of a better way than with Rob Zombie’s 1998 “Dragula” from his debut solo album, Hellbilly Deluxe: 13 Tales of Cadaverous Cavorting Inside the Spookshow International.

View the full gallery here.