28/10/2012 Alice Cooper's Night Of Fear @ Wembley Arena

Subject	Alice Cooper's Night Of Fear @ Wembley Arena
DateCreated	10/30/2012 3:38:00 PM
	So off to Wembley I go - too wet and miserable to bike it so I take the car. It's actually not very far as the crow flies, but shit to get to via public transport. Being stung once in the past for 'Official' parking at the venue was enough - I'm sure it's a much bigger rip-off now. On past visits to see bands at Wembley I've used a cheeky parking space in a nearby pub car park - free and always managed to find a place. I've always made a point of going to the pub after the gig to buy a (non-alcoholic) drink and something to eat so I'm not taking the piss and can claim to be a customer. On arrival at the Green Man today I find the car park already full - probably because there has been American 'football' at the stadium today. The bloke in charge of the pub car park says he might be able to find me a place but it will be £20! For just 3 hours???? I thought being charged that amount to park at Sonisphere in a field miles form the campsite was seriously taking the piss, but at least that was for two or three days - not 3 hours! Needless to say, I don't have much luck driving round looking for a space - hundreds of other people have the same idea. It's all residents permits only or Pay & Display - £9 for three hours. Generally I refuse to pay for parking anywhere - I never used to have to so I don't see why I should be ripped off now when nearly everywhere was free once. Eventually I find a quiet spot in a slip road - Pay & Display but I can't see a machine. The first machine I see in ten minutes walk away. And it's raining. And Duff McKagan's Loaded are already on stage. Sod it - I'll take a chance.... After getting lost in Wembley, then spending ages trying to park I arrive at Wembley Arena just as Duff & Co finish their set. The reformed Ugly Kid Joe are on next. Apart from their dire cover of 'Cats In The Cradle' which I hope they aren't going to play, I only know two Ugly Kid Joe songs. Unfortunately they do play 'Cats In The Cradle. I don't know how close this is to the original lineup but the band play well and sound good, even if they don't look remotely like rock stars. Leave the shorts at home guys - it's cold and it's pissing down with rain - who are you trying to kid? They might look crap, but they play 'Neighbor' and 'Everything About You' so I'm happy. Then at the end they introduce a 'special guest' - it's Duff McKagan and together they tear through 'Ace Of Spades'. Job done! Between bands I have a wander round and try to soak up the atmoshere - if Wembley Arena can ever have any 'atmosphere'? To be fair the Alice Cooper crew have made an effort to give the place a Halloween vibe by placing some appropriate props in the foyer as well as hiring a large number of 'zombies' to mingle with the crowd as in previous years. The scariest thing I see between bands is the bar prices! Just as well I don't really feel the need for a drink as I'm driving - at £4.50 for a pint of watery yellow piss they can stick it where the sun (or moon) don't shine! This is my second totally booze free gig in a row - I can see this becoming more of a regular thing as venue bar prices continue to go up.... And so onto the main event - Halloween has arrived in London 3 days early. One thing you can always be sure of from Alice Cooper - a spectacular show! Tonight is no exception. Alice Cooper gigs are always good value for money and the ticket price is very reasonable compared to many other bands who give a far less exciting show. Naturally we get most of the expected hits tonight. And the snake. As well as Alice himself being possibly rock's greatest ever showman, he always has a terrific band too - easily good enough to go out on their own if they wanted to. My pictures are a bit rubbish as I wasn't close enough to the front and my cheapo camera had trouble focussing in the lighting - apart from which I wanted to concentrate on enjoying the show instead of messing around with my camera. Hopefully I've at least captured some of the atmosphere if not the detail of the show. Unlike some well known bands Alice Cooper changes things round to make sure we get a different show on every tour -there is always something new. This time round there is a new Frankenstein set-piece - involving Alice being tied to a sort of board thing like an electric chair and getting fried. He goes up in smoke and turns into a giant monster! In another change for this tour the show is divided into three parts. Part one is mostly hits and a few other lesser known songs. Then there is the new 'Hollywood Vampires' section where Alice plays some covers in tribute to some of his late friends and L.A. drinking partners: Jim Morrison (Break On Through), John Lennon (Revolution), Keith Moon (My Generation) and Jimi Hendrix (Foxy Lady) featuring an amazing performance from Orianthi on guitar who is a pretty foxy lady herself as well as being a great addition to the band for the last year or so. The final part of the show goes back to Alice's own hits and some of his more recent material like 'I'll Bite Your Face Off'. with loads of confetti, smoke, and balloons - I'm sure no one goes home disappointed - I certainly didn't. And I didn't get a parking ticket either.