After the lackluster performance Filter gave at Welcome to Rockville 3 months ago, I was not surprised to here things had not improved as they busted through the tail end of their set as we tromping across the sprawling parking lot. They left the stage as we stepped into the venue, so it only a matter of getting to our seats before Ministry took the stage before sunset. They were the loudest band of the night, and given the nature of what they do rightfully so. Their set was relentless with only song titles spat out by 64 year old Uncle Al, who voice got the job done, though with really only cyborg barking required the bar was not very high when it came to his vocal demands.
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Al was joined onstage by to former members of Prong guitarist Monte Pittman and Keyboardist John Bechdel, along with Paul D'Amour, the former bass player of Tool. The set list was generally pretty predictable with the staples that have made the seminal industrial act's aggressive sound so commanding on stage over the years, and the proved to be equally effective, though the smoke machines while the sun was still shining down, to did help the band visually, as the production aside from video screens on either side of the stage adding some visual texture. The sets strongest songs includes the pounding opener "Thieves", along with "Stigmata" , "Burning Inside" , 'NWO" and "Revenge" which was the only song that needed an introduction as it's from the band's first album "With Sympathy" when they had more of a Depeche Mode like New Wave sound, those elements were still in place, but guitars gave them more heft and Al's vocals were delivered with the leathered lungs his hard living has gifted him with. They close with "Goddamn White Trash" the first single off their upcoming album, which got a mixed response given the fact they were in Florida, there was muttering after the set that Al was being mean. Perhaps he was but mean sounds good on him.
Alice took the stage , after a screen declaring he had been banned in Florida lowered. He opened with a brief version of "Lock Me Up" from "Raise Your Fist and Yell" and transitioned into "No More Mr Nice Guy". It was largely a streamlined stage show weighing heavily on greatest hits. His band has become a taunt machine with the fleet fingers of Nita Strauss, killing it with explosive solos. The only surprise is he did bring out the snake for "Snake Bite" from "Hey Stoopid" . He played three songs from "Hey Stoopid" and only drew from "Billion Dollar Babies" more with four songs, though one of those being the jam version of "I Love the Dead" which plays after Cooper's execution scene. Cooper's voice was strong and he actually sounded better vocally than when I saw him at Ruth Eckerd Hall. He is always great live even when not relying on some of the more theatrical elements., which felt like who ever put the tour together, I am guessing the answer is Rob Zombie's management. Zombie's career would not exist without Cooper and we are about to get into Rob's set soon enough, but both musically and vocally Cooper's camp had them outclassed at every turn.
Cooper said very little aside from introducing his band, and really the only wink in the direction of the recent media controversy around him was in the closing lyrics to "Elected" where he states "everybody has got problems/ and personally I don't care" which sums up why he is bullet proof from being cancelled by journalists trying to lure him into conversations that have nothing to do with his music, he states his opinion and leaves it at that, no further defense needed, as he is no stranger to controversy, yet he is capable of having an audience of 14,000 still eating out of his hand. Being also worth 50 million, helps with his apathy, as at75 and still being able to rock a huge crowd is really a victory lap. If you are a fan , I assume you have already seen him live, though he is history lesson in how to rock for any generation.
Rob Zombie's show has moved into more of a Vegas level multi-media spectacle as when I saw him in 2019 with Marilyn Manson. Eventually his set worked it's way into White Zombie songs, but while there is a uniform feel to his radio friendly brand of industrial rock, there is a big hooky anthemic feel that works well live as it's high energy. His solo work has begun to stand the test of time with songs like "Superbeast" and "Living Dead Girl" proving to be a fun time. Half the show was accompanied by the coinciding music videos to the songs playing along on towers of video screens that littered the stage. Amid all of this the most musical substance came from former Marilyn Manson drummer Ginger Fish, who kept the songs moving even when he was grooving to electronic tracks and samples. Zombie's impressive stage presence that found him dancing around the stage at 58 years old was a feat, given the Florida heat and bright lights. His voice was not that great, but much like Ministry the bar was low when it came to vocal performance. It might be best described by the conversation I overheard to older people having as I left, the woman said to her husband "So he is like a rock n roll rap" and I can see how she reached that conclusion. Zombie might have put on the best spectacle of the night, Alice Cooper's band was armed with more musical talent. This was my third time catching Zombie, and not sure I need to catch him again.
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