Thursday 26 May 2022.

Wednesday 25 May 2022... I went to two events tonight. 6pm to 7pm MICHAELANGELO PISTOLERO - private view - Simon Lee Gallery. 12 Berkeley Street, Mayfair, London W1. This artist gained prominence in Italy back in the 1960s and 1970s. Here he is presenting a series of mirror paintings that reflect on themes of captivity, isolation and restriction at a fractured moment in contempory history. Complimentary wines and beers for all the guests. It is on here until 02 July 2022. then a hop on the tube at Green Park to... ---------- ALICE COOPER + THE CULT live at The 02 Arena. Another great classic rock pairing are playing a co-headline UK arena tour. I have seen both band's many times over the past 40 odd years. I saw two shows by Alice Cooper at Wembley Arena back in May 1975. First band on will be CREEPER Fri 27 May – Manchester, AO Arena Sat 28 May – Glasgow, The SSE Hydro Mon 30 May – Birmingham, Resorts World Arena Wed 01 June – Leeds, First Direct Arena This year is the 50th anniversary of Alice Cooper UK number one hit classic "Schools Out" 1972 - 2022. Alice Cooper continually delivers live, not just incredible music but awesome spectacle with guillotines, monsters and gore - wreaking havoc on stage nightly. Classics like “Under My Wheels,” “I’m Eighteen,” “Schools Out,” “Poison,” “Billion Dollar Babies,” and “No More Mr Nice Guy” are staples and there are surprises every night, effortlessly drawn from one the greatest catalogues in rock and roll. Co-headling this once-in-a-lifetime event, The Cult has revelled in a controversial and storied career. Emerging from the darkly romantic UK post-punk scene; Ian Astbury (vocals) and Billy Duffy (guitar), debuted with the album “Dreamtime” in 1984 and have embarked on a sonic exploration from post punk to goth, to psychedelia, through hard rock. --------- Level 4 is closed off as unsold, so maybe Alice is touring the UK too often these days. A few of the blocks at the rear of Level 1 are only half full. Maybe the promoters had guessed it, hence no big video screens showing live footage. THE CULT arrived on stage at 7.45pm and played for 75 mins. I have a great seat on the stalls floor ,a dozen rows in front of guitarist Billy Duffy. The stalls seating blocks all stand up as plenty of The Cult fans here. Lots of stage chat from Ian Astbury as he tries to get the crowd hyped up. Ian still seems to have a wild streak in him, but he is still a great frontman. Billy Duffy plays killer guitar riffs all through the set, and is just mesmerising. Plenty of classic The Cult songs played including "Rain" and "She Sells Sanctuary". A great set. Full setlist played by THE CULT tonight... Sun King Automatic Blues Sweet Soul Sister Soul Asylum Edie (Ciao Baby) Aphrodisiac Jacket Lil' Devil Wild Flower Fire Woman Revolution Rain She Sells Sanctuary Love Removal Machine ALICE COOPER arrived on stage at 9.30pm and played for 85 mins. It is a co-headline tour but Alice Cooper has certainly got a headliners production , as the stage is a full monty polystyrene castle, plus his usual macabre theatrical stunts as he has three different 12ft monsters, the guillotine, the face paint, the top hat, the cane, a few costume changes, the straight jacket and more. His daughter helped him out on a couple of songs ,with acting roles. Not much chat from Alice as he whizzed the many songs played. Only time he really spoke to the crowd was during the band introductions at the end. The band are meticulously rehearsed are they pull every rock pose cliche going. Blonde stunner guitarist Nita Strausse certainly went down well with the crowd. Alice Cooper always delivers a top notch show. A great show...a superb pair of rock bands playing together. Full ALICE COOPER setlist played tonight... Feed My Frankenstein No More Mr. Nice Guy Bed of Nails Hey Stoopid Fallen in Love Shut Up and Rock Go Man Go Under My Wheels Guitar Solo (Nita Strauss) Roses on White Lace I'm Eighteen (John Lydon sung this song for his Sex Pistols audition) Poison Billion Dollar Babies Devil's Food (band vocals only) Black Widow Jam (with Drum Solo) Steven Dead Babies I Love the Dead (band vocals only) Escape Teenage Frankenstein Encore: School's Out (with Chris Wyse) (with Another Brick in the Wall part 2 snippets) Giant balloons thrown out as Alice stabs them , to cover the crowd in ticker-tape.

Posted 26th May 2022