Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper spark fight over Mansfield monsters

Music

The Freaks on Parade Tour offered fans of all ages a veritable smorgasbord of sights and sounds, satisfying the crowd in Mansfield.

MANSFIELD — When it comes to the shock rock genre, Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper are a pair of entertaining creatures.

Cut from the same sharp cloth, the two hard rock and horror enthusiasts pulled out every trick in the book during an electric co-headlining set Friday night at the Xfinity Center.

The “Freaks on Parade Tour” offered fans of all ages a veritable smorgasbord of sights and sounds, satisfying the crowd of approximately 15,000 in attendance.

“It’s almost Halloween,” Cooper said. “May all your nightmares be horrible.”

Godfather of shock rock, Alice Cooper had the crowd eating his hands. Aged 76, he took the lead in this terrifying tango. He entered the stage by cutting the front page of a newspaper that proclaimed him “banned from Massachusetts”, before launching into the concert’s intro, “Lock Me Up”.

Dressed in a red velvet jacket and black top hat, Cooper went straight to the point when it came to dishing out the hits. He delivered a lethal dose, jumping into the anthem “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” before backing it up with the boundless energy of “I’m Eighteen.” Cooper tapped into an old-school style, diving into early ’70s singles “Under My Wheels” and “Billion Dollar Babies” with equally frenetic enthusiasm.

Ever the showman, Alice added his own touch of theatrical humor, oscillating between vaudeville and the macabre. At one point, the raspy-voiced singer appeared to impale an annoying paparazzi with his microphone stand. The ageless rocker also got to show off his boa constrictor, before cavorting with a 12-foot Frankenstein monster.

Alice paid tribute to Jason Voorhees from “Friday the 13th”^th” Jason made his singing debut with a slick rendition of “He’s Back (the Man Behind the Mask).” He got some help from the big guy himself, who appeared after an overzealous fan rushed the stage. The hockey-masked monster came to the singer’s rescue, machete in hand. Jason appeared to slit the intruder’s throat to the delight of the bloodthirsty audience.

Perhaps the biggest pop of the set came when Alice took a shot of “Poison,” a song written in 1989 at the height of the glam metal era.

Cooper was accompanied by a solid veteran band. Lead guitarist Nita Strauss got to show off her fretboard magic, proving that even girls can shred. She was rounded out by Cooper’s longtime bandmate Ryan Roxie on guitar, as well as Tommy Henrickson. Bassist Chuck Garric and drummer Glen Sobel held down the back end, the five of them jamming out.

Amidst the chaos, Alice returned to the stage in a straitjacket for the “Ballad of Dwight Fry.” This was another vintage track from 1971’s “Love it to Death.” The song reached a triumphant climax with Cooper literally losing his head on the guillotine. But as history has shown, you can’t kill Alice Cooper. He reemerged pledging his political aspirations on “Elected,” before dismissing his class with “School’s Out,” setting the bar high for the zombie crew.

Haverhill native Rob Zombie picked up Cooper’s severed head and ran away with it.

The dreadlocked singer made a bold statement from the start, performing from a raised pulpit bearing his name on the pyrotechnic opener “Demon Speeding.” Guitarist Mike Riggs added a touch of fire on the energetic rocker “Feels So Numb,” before switching channels for the stunning “What Lurks on Channel X?” in the background of a large array of televisions that littered the stage.

Following an act like Alice Cooper is no easy feat, but Zombie was up to the task.

What Zombie lacked in stage props and presentation, he more than made up for in sheer production. Everything was bigger, bolder, louder and in keeping with the spirit of the evening, more scary and colorful. Zombie basked in the glow of the chaos he created, bathing the audience in a sweeping wall of sound, eye-catching graphics and plenty of pyrotechnics to boot.

Zombie’s band was accompanied by several giant screens showing images of everything from serial killers to Japanese cartoons, alien encounters, go-go dancers and classic B-movie madness. The singer also managed to bring out several mascots, including a giant 12-foot robot monster, several demonic mentors and a group of confetti-gun-wielding ghouls, upping the ante in terms of sheer absurdity.

Drummer Ginger Fish took flight on an elevated drum pole, maintaining the frenetic pace of “The Satanic Rites of Blacula.” But with all due respect to Zombie’s solo, his signature White Zombie numbers “More Human Than Human” and “Thunder Kiss ’65” continued to be crowd pleasers. Their infectious cadence and crackling drone created a ripple effect that permeated the crowd.

Zombie kept the momentum going until the final stretch, resurrecting “Living Dead Girl,” before hitting hard with “Dragula” for the encore, capping off a memorable monster medley from Mansfield.

Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie setlist at Xfinity Center, September 6, 2024:

Alice Cooper

Lock me up (partial)

No more nice guy

I am eighteen years old

Under my wheels

Billion Dollar Babies

Hi Stoopid

He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask)

Snake bite

Feed my Frankenstein

Poison

Guitar solo (Nita Strauss)

Black Widow Jam

Ballad of Dwight Fry

Killer / I like the dead

Elected

School’s Out (featuring a sample of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2”)

Rob Zombie

Demon Speed

Super-Charger Heaven (White Zombie cover)

I feel so numb

Well, everyone is in a UFO

What’s Hiding on Channel X?

Stunning

The Lords of Salem

Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown

The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition)

Drum Solo (Ginger Fish)

The Satanic Rites of Blacula

More Human Than Human (White Zombie cover)

Undead Girl

Thunder Kiss ’65 (White Zombie cover)

Dragula