The Bay Area’s summer amphitheater season may be coming to a close, but not without a final week of shows punctuated by a crushing trio of rock and roll heavyweights co-headlined by Judas Priest and Alice Cooper on their “Shield of Pain” Tour.
While the previous day’s torrents of rain had subsided leaving a soggy lawn for the general admission folks, that didn’t appear to stop the fans from rolling out for a final outdoors bruhaha. And while the clouds looked a bit ominous leading up to Corrosion of Conformity’s 6:45 set, the evening kicked off as planned even as COC stared out at a lot of empty seats as the crowd maneuvered their way through the after work traffic.
Empty seats or not, COC delivered their swampy version of heavy metal with aplomb, seemingly oblivious to the folks constantly filtering into the amphither. Afterall, it’s rare that this band is playing to a seated venue of this size. That said, the band delivered a crushing set that most certainly upped the humidity on an already unseasonably soggy evening.
A quick change-over and it was time for original shock rocker Alice Cooper to take the stage. A black curtain dropped to reveal Alice’s Attic as he emerged from fog at the back of the stage in his signature top hat and swinging a sword as he made his way to the front of the stage where he joined the rest of his band.
The hour and 15 minute set mixed things up relative to the previous time he hit the Bay Area, hitting some tunes that have been skipped in the past at the expense of some of his tried and true hits (e.g. “Billion Dollar Babies”) but sacrificed nothing during the performance which delivered a job-dropping rendition of “Ballad of Dwight Fry” with Alice in a strait jacket followed by the 1-2 punch of “Cold Ethyl” and “Only Women Bleed” during which Alice was joined by his wife Sheryl for the first time. The crowd was on its feet the entire time eating it up with glee up until the final bows.
While a few folks called it an evening, there was no denying that the audience was eager for some Priest! As the minutes to their set time ticked down, the entire audience was more than happy to sing along loudly to Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” before the band finally took the stage through various doors and curtains to “Painkiller” before blasting into their opening number, appropriately “All Guns Blazing” from their 1990 release Painkiller, setting the tone for a celebration of the album’s 35th birthday.
In sharp contrast to Cooper’s theatrics, Priest brought no frills—just pummeling metal that the fans were happy to sing along to, fists pumping overhead. But mid-set the rain couldn’t be held at bay any longer and the skies finally opened up to wet the parts of the amphitheater that were uncovered by the soaring tents (basically most of the crowd). But the fans merely shrugged it off—after all, what price was a little water to see one of the most revered bands in heavy metal strut their stuff.
The twin guitar attack of Richie Faulker and Andy Sneap was ferocious while Ian Hill (bass) and Scott Travis (drums) held down the low end. Halford’s voice was on point, the high notes piercing the night air as he prowled the stage, occasionally pausing to lurk behind Andy or Richie during a solo as the massive video screens lit up the stage.
“Electric Eye” was a clear highlight for the crowd which was rewarded with guitar pics from Richie while Rob guided his aim. A quick break after “Painkiller” brought Halford back on his motorcycle for “Hell Bent for Leather” before the band closed out the epic set with the much-anticipated “Living After Midnight.”
ALICE COOPER
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY
