Concert Review: Rob Zombie And Alice Cooper (Coastal Credit Union Music Park)

BY CHRIS HOCKER

Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper brought their co-headlining Freaks On Parade Tour to Raleigh's Coastal Credit Union Music Park on Tuesday evening. Coming along for the ride were Ministry and Filter.

When you've got four heavy-hitters on a bill, you've got to kick things off a bit early. Is 6:15 PM too early to rock? Not for Filter. They did a great job setting the stage for the evening, playing three new songs as well as audience favorites like "Take A Picture" and "Hey Man Nice Shot."

When we saw Ministry last year, Al Jourgensen and crew perfomed from behind a chain-link fence. There was no fence this time, but plenty of smoke.

Ministry performed nine songs, including "Stigmatta," "N.W.O.," and "Just One Fix."

Although I've always been a fan, this was the first time I've seen him live. Big mistake on my part. Alice Cooper puts on a show. Equal parts concert and Broadway show, it's a hell of a ride.

In between rocking classics like "Under My Thumb," "Poison," "No More Mr. Nice Guy," and "School's Out" (which he interspersed with Pink Floyd's "Another Brick In The Wall Part II"), Alice could also be seen performing in a straitjacket and having his head chopped off in the guillotine by his real-life wife dressed as Marie Antoinette. Like I said, it's a hell of a ride.

What can we say about Rob Zombie that didn't already say after seeing last year's Freaks On Parade Tour? Not much. Still a killer show.

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CHRIS HOCKER, Editor

Strange Carolinas started as a hobby for Chris Hocker who often dragged his family to offbeat detours on family vacations. Hocker decided to start photographing and writing about these roadside attractions and in June 2014, launched Strange Carolinas with a story on Myrtle Beach's KISS Coffeehouse. In addition to chronicling over 400 attractions across the Carolinas, Strange Carolinas has also become an impressive music blog.