ALICE COOPER, WEDNESDAY 13

I had gotten a copy of the new Wednesday 13 cd from Gigante Media for review and absolutely fell in love with it. In the e-mail they asked if I would be interested in covering a show for a live review. I said “F**k yeah!” and found out they would be playing The Roseland Ballroom in NYC, so I asked to be put on the guest list to cover the show. A huge thanks goes out to Clay at Gigante for hookin' me up with a couple tix. Yeah! Wednesday 13 in NYC. I couldn't wait. It wasn't till about two days later that I went on their site to find out what time the doors opened, and discovered that they weren't headlining this show. They were opening. FOR FREAKIN' ALICE COOPER!!! Faaaaaaaaaaaaawwwk.

This show capped off an exhausting Rocktober in which I had already covered four other shows. One more trip under the Hudson for a performance by a true American icon, not to mention my best friend and assistant photographer, Donna's, all time favorite rock'n'roller. It was a full house and a much older crowd than I was used to and I had to wait about a half hour for the guest lists to arrive, but I finally got in and (politely) pushed my way up front to where Donna had already claimed a good spot, front and center, under where Alice's mic would be. I'm not sure if the crowd was too familiar with Wednesday 13, but after tonight they would be. They were freakin' awesome!!! They hit the stage runnin' and never stopped jumpin' and stompin'. Shiiiaaat. Me either. They opened with some older stuff, including “Very Bad Things”, which was a favorite of mine. They rocked!!! They did some of my favorite new ones from Fang Bang. Of course the single, “Home Sweet Homicide”, “Faith In The Devil” and the one I wanted to hear most, “Happily Ever Cadaver”. Wednesday had an awesome stage presence and his usual witty charm was ever present. They did an energetic cover of “R.A.M.O.N.E.S.” and finished with The Murderdolls classic “I love to say Fuck”. For me, it was an amazing set of high energy rock'n'roll and I'm sure they made some new fans as well.

The house was full by now, waiting for the legend to appear. The roar was deafening when he walked out. He opened with a new song that I wasn't really familiar with, but then immediately kicked into “No More Mr. Nice Guy” which removed the Ballroom roof. I literally had goosebumps in the presence of a true rock legend. He did an awesome mix of old and new and rocked the house. “Welcome to My Nightmare” was amazing. His band kicked some serious butt too. He did “Feed My Frankenstein” in which he collected body parts and placed them in an upright coffin, all but the head. “Billion Dollar Babies”, “I'm Eighteen”. F**k yeah. Classic. His daughter joined him in the theatrics with the straight jacket and an amazing “Only Women Bleed” leading into “I Love The Dead” while the mighty guillotine, was brought out and Alice's head placed within as his daughter took her revenge and let go the blade, then dancing happily around with the bloody head. Freakin' nuts!. She placed the severed head into the coffin with the other body parts and the coffin filled with smoke. Then…Are you f**kin ready!! Alice faaaahhhreakin jumps out of the coffin in a white tuxedo and white top hat as the guitars kick into the opening of “Schools Out” and the crowd sang the song, thunderously, and ratlled the walls. I turned around and the house lights came on, lighting up the crowd, as every person in the building sang out loud. IT WAS FREAKIN' AMAZING!!!!! He ended with “Under My Wheels” to cap an absolutely amazing performance. The crowd roaring, the ladies screaming, Alice remains at the top of his game and still going strong as he brought down the Roseland house.
Raaaaaaaaaawckin' it. Like no other. It was exhilerating, being in the presence of a true American legend. F**k yeah.

Check out the awesome pics from the show of both bands in the Metal Centre Gallery.