Live Review : Alice Cooper + Primal Scream + The Meffs @ AO Arena, Manchester on October 17th 2024

For all his household name and national treasure status, Alice Cooper is still very much an enigma. There are two distinct personalities at play. On the one hand, he is a Vaudeville showman, hawking around his macabre freakshow designed to shock and scare in equal measure. On the other hand, he is the custodian of probably one of the finest musical songbooks of the rock 'n' roll era. An Alice Cooper live performance is a fine-tuned balance between the two. As he sings in ‘Hello Hooray’ (sadly AWOL from tonight’s setlist) “Ready as this audience that's coming here to dream, Loving every second, every moment, every scream”. You go to Alice Cooper for a Circus of Horrors but packed with tracks that have perminated themselves into the rock lexicon. He is a living legend, with the musical credits to back up those credentials.

Live Review : Hollywood Vampires + The Tubes @ AO Arena, Manchester on July 8th 2023

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.

Live Review : Alice Cooper + The Cult + Creeper @ AO Arena, Manchester on May 27th 2022

Initially, it seems that Creeper have the odds well and truly stacked against them. There are barely a thousand people inside this gigantic arena for their 7.00 PM start and the seating set-up is reminiscent of those cringe-worthy times at school that your mates' band played assembly. Additionally, a wholly unscientific mid-set survey, conducted by the band, shows that the vast majority of people present don't have a Scooby who they are. However, Creeper have two secret weapons.