REVIEW: Hollywood Vampires turn Cardiff Castle into rock ’n’ roll theatre

★★★☆☆

There are certain gigs where the music is only part of the appeal, and Hollywood Vampires at Cardiff Castle was absolutely one of them.

Before getting to the band, though, Cardiff Castle deserves some praise. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it: this is one of the best live music venues around.

I brought a friend with me this time who hadn’t experienced a Depot Live show at the Castle before, and they came away saying exactly the same thing. For a venue that can be absolutely packed, everything feels remarkably easy. Queues for drinks move quickly, the food selection is excellent, and somehow thousands of people inside a literal castle doesn’t turn into the logistical nightmare you’d expect.

Then Hollywood Vampires arrived.

And the biggest surprise of the night for me was Alice Cooper.

At 78 years old, his voice is ridiculous. Not “good for his age” — genuinely brilliant. He sounded powerful, controlled and immediately commanded the stage. If you went into this gig expecting Johnny Depp to inevitably steal the attention, Cooper very quickly reminded everyone that he’s spent decades mastering exactly this environment.

Depp, meanwhile, initially managed the impressive feat of appearing on stage without me actually realising he was there.

There were approximately seven million bandanas involved.

Once I finally located him beneath them, though, he grew into the show brilliantly. There’s an understated coolness to Depp as a musician. He doesn’t need to spend the entire evening screaming for attention, and surrounded by Cooper, Joe Perry, Tommy Henriksen and a stage full of ridiculously accomplished musicians, that actually works.

One of Depp’s vocal moments was particularly beautiful — dark, haunting and strangely cinematic. It genuinely felt like something that could have soundtracked one of the more solemn scenes in Pirates of the Caribbean. That’s an incredibly obvious comparison to make, I know, but standing inside Cardiff Castle listening to Johnny Depp sing it, the atmosphere made it almost impossible not to go there.

The band’s take on The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” was another massive highlight. Hollywood Vampires are arguably at their best when they’re celebrating the music that created them, and a set packed with tributes and covers makes complete sense when you remember the entire project was originally conceived as a tribute to rock stars who are no longer here.

There was plenty of spectacle too. Giant vampire fangs hung above the stage, while the enormous screens and video production gave everything a suitably theatrical feel. With Alice Cooper and an A-list Hollywood actor involved, you’d probably be disappointed if the production wasn’t completely over the top.

Even the audience bought into it. Pirates costumes, bandanas and various Jack Sparrow-inspired outfits were everywhere, and there was a genuinely celebratory atmosphere throughout the Castle.

My only real reservation is the material itself.

The musicianship is phenomenal and the production is enormous, but Hollywood Vampires’ original songs don’t always hit me in the same way as the classics they perform alongside them. Lyrically, there are moments that don’t quite match the quality of what’s happening musically on stage.

And that’s probably why, despite having a brilliant night, I’m not desperate to immediately see them again.

Hollywood Vampires feel like an experience. I’ve now had that experience, thoroughly enjoyed it, and I’m glad I did. For somebody who doesn’t regularly listen to the band’s records, I’m not sure there’s enough there to bring me back a second time.

But as a one-night rock ’n’ roll spectacle?

Absolutely worth it.

Hollywood Vampires delivered one hour and 45 minutes at a sold-out Cardiff Castle, with The Damned opening the evening, as part of their first UK live run in almost three years. 

And if nothing else, I walked away thinking one thing:

Alice Cooper has absolutely no business sounding that good at 78.