Torrential thunderstorms around the UK and particularly here in Manchester threaten to wreck the evening before it gets underway with a half hours delay in starting, allowing more time for the drenched and sopping wet people to purchase a 2 pint pot of beer, grab the nibbles and take up a seat in the sold out show tonight.

Just after 8.00 pm the lights go down, and an enthusiastic cheer echoes around the AO Arena signalling the entrance of The Tubes. Dressed in rather colourful suits, the 1970’s San Francisco quintet kick tonight off nicely. Well, that should have been the plan, but by the third song and a cover of Frank Sinatra’s ‘That's Life’ the audience are bored rigid. Not because the music is crap, more so it simply just doesn't fit the mood. Featuring no less than 4 of their original members, Singer Fee Waybill ditches his shirt early doors for a leather jacket, then goes topless and dons a feathery fetish mask for the next number. To see someone the age of your grandpa flexing his tits and gut isn't a pretty sight and the exodus to the bog and bar begins. Uncomfortable gazes loom through the arena as he hits one flat note after another and it borders on the embarrassing. Musically it’s interesting enough and super tight throughout but it’s somehow boring and folks just don’t get them. If you thought things couldn't get any worse, they did. After a great but pointless drum solo by Prairie Prince, our leader re-appears dressed like a twisted Dolly Parton stretched on a rack for some utterly dreadful and pointless Rocky Horror style reason. The end couldn’t come soon enough.

The Tubes at the AO Arena in Manchester on July 8th 2023 ©Johan

The Hollywood Vampires certainly need no introduction. Elder statesmen of rock and acting royalty they most certainly are, and with a reputation and pedigree that precedes them it’s an almost a lump in the throat rising moment watching some of your heroes as they take to the stage. Hiding behind the red lights blowing up at the front, the Bella Lugosi intro tape and video playing on the backdrop creating the building atmosphere barely audible to loud screams heard rippling through the arena. As the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse are unveiled to the crowd one by one, a loud cheer and many shrieks as Johnny Depp takes stage right, dressed like an old tinker. He nods in appreciation. Joe Perry, ever the guitar God is dressed like a Pirates extra raconteur, guitar slung low. Tommy Henrikson looks like a walking corpse, brandishing his weapon of choice and then from nowhere, standing in the middle appears the man himself; Alice Cooper.

Right from opener ‘I Want my Now’ It's fun, entertaining and rather very good. Tonight would always be about entertainment and Alice shows exactly why there are few and far between to rival him in the business. A real bone fide legend, he holds the crowd throughout. The Vampire’s set is a heady mix of covers and stuff off their 2 albums making up the majority of the set. The songs blend together effortlessly and if you didn’t know the songs then who wouldn’t have known what was what. The atmosphere is pulsating and electric throughout. ‘Raise the Dead’ follows before ‘I’m Eighteen’ is unleashed and the place is truly banging; the embarrassment of the support becoming a distant memory now as the crowd are whipped into further frenzy with a segue of ‘Five to One’ with The Door’s classic ‘Break on Through’. Their own material stands really strong and with each member adding their own unique twist on songs like ‘The Boogieman Surprise’ and ‘My Drunk Friends’ before Joe Perry takes to the mic and Alice to the guitar for ‘You Can’t Wrap Your Heart Around a Memory’. Who knew that the talents of Mr Depp lay far more than just playing drunk pirates? The guys a great guitar player and his voice actually pretty damn good too. That distinct keyboard fluttering of ‘Babba O’Riley’ threatens to blow the roof off the place but that could well have been reserved for the stonking AC/DC classic in ‘The Jack’. Tonight may be more about musical theatre perhaps, but it’s incredibly entertaining for certain with Alice playing the role of ringmaster to perfection. It’s one of those gigs that may not have been on your musical radar to watch but are actually rather relieved that it ended up on it. There’s an addition of touring musicians that take the members to seven up on the stage and their input and quality underpins the whole performance. Recent single ‘Heroes’, complete with its poignant David Bowie backdrop ensures a suitable sing-along before Johnny takes the mic to introduce Jeff Beck’s best friend- his famous white strat and presents it to one of the very few people to give it musical justice as Joe Perry rips it to pieces with a wonderful tribute to the late great guitar God. The place is truly alive and there’s still plenty of quality left in a couple of Aerosmith covers including ‘Walk This Way’ sandwiched alongside the heavy thudding Killing Joke classic; ‘The Death’ and ‘Resurrection Show’. Times starting to get the better of the evening as ‘A Train Kept A-Rollin’’ ends the set before a fitting end to a brilliant show with a thundering ‘School’s Out’ combined with a section of ‘Another Brick in The Wall’ brings the whole place to a standing ovation- and rightly bloody so. The Vampires have collected their quota of blood this evening without breaking into much more than a sweat.