Wheatland, California’s Toyota Amphitheatre is my new favorite outdoor venue. Although this was supposed to be the final bombastic concert of the season, the three-headed beast featuring special guests Corrosion of Conformity (COC), and Co-Headliners Alice Cooper and Judas Priest didn’t deter them from bashing the stage! No doubt, desert rock and classic metal would blend in glorious fashion, I could not wait to capture the evening. The crowd featured mostly classic metal heads, but there were some solid younglings that feasted on what the marquee had on the menu!
Stoner Rock has been a staple of my music collection since 1994, at least. Although I do not see the world through “bloodshot eyes,” COC has had its place in my tape deck, CD changer, and now my playlist ever since. It takes two hands to count how many times I have seen these guys. The line-up has changed almost as many times! COC are touring with founding member Woody Weatherman – on lead guitar and backing vocals, Pepper Keenan – rhythm (and lead) guitar and lead vocals, Stanton Moore (Galactic, played on Americas Volume Dealer and their upcoming double album for 2026) – drums, and on bass (the garden gnome) Bobby Landgraf (Down live, Pantera’s bass tech) rounded it out). To think Pepper could have played bass for one of the greatest bands of all time, what could have been.
Thankfully, however, we have had his brand of songwriting and singing for thirty-plus years. These cats have grooved beyond their Punk rock/Hardcore roots to what they’re better known for today: groovey desert driving rock/metal. It astonished me that some of the fine folks on the expensive side of the barricade were not familiar with these cats.
They blasted their way through nine of some of their more memorable tracks “Bottom Feeder (El que come abajo),” “King of the Rotten,” “Seven Days,” “Señor Limpio,” “Wiseblood,” “Who’s Got the Fire,” “My Grain, Shake Like You,” and “It Is That Way.” In the end all I can say is that to this day, no matter the venue size, COC has yet to fail me.
Alice Cooper plays second to no one, not even to the mighty metal gods, Judas Priest, hence the co-headlining title! That being said Alice did play the role of main support, but with a major caveat. He played almost 20 songs from his legendary and nearly 60-year career. Which was a handful more than Priest. I’m not even a monster Alice fan, I recognize his contribution to shock rock, Progressive Rock, and Metal to be sure. Heck, I had never even heard “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” until it was released on the Shocker soundtrack, and it was covered by Megadeth!
This was my second time seeing him, and I was even more in love with the show this time. I have seen his stage when he brings out all the practical set pieces. It’s what a rock show is supposed to be. This time, although the majority of practical pieces were left in storage, and the visuals were amazing, and the band’s choreography was well rehearsed and executed to perfection.
Alice’s vibe, using archival footage as my only reference, seems to be as “shocking” today as it was over the course of his illustrious career. His face has been behind make-up for so long, he looks as young today as he did when he was shocking the music world all those decades ago. His voice… timeless. No way this guy is old enough to be my dad. I’m 55, mind you, and felt I was hearing an artist half his age. I do not believe that Alice even has the word “Punter” in his musical vocabulary. Talk about a career-spanning set of songs! The entire band plays and looks their parts perfectly. No one up there just came off the street. Pure Rock N Roll showmanship!
I know that bands are a living and breathing entity, so touring members sometimes find themselves sidelined for any number of reasons. Tonight’s show seemed to have all the core current members on stage: Alice Cooper, – vocals, Ryan Roxie – guitar & backing vocals, Tommy Henriksen – guitar & backing vocals, Chuck Garric – bass & backing vocals, Glenn Sobel – drums & percussion, and of course Nita Strauss lead guitar & backing vocals (and Alice’s wife Sheryl Cooper!)
While our time in the pit sadly seemed super short, this will be an opportunity that this “reporter” will not be able to forget. From the music to the showmanship Alice Cooper should be a study in professionalism and bands need to learn from this legend!
Alice Cooper setlist (via setlist.fm):
Who Do You Think We Are?
Spark in the Dark
No More Mr. Nice Guy
House of Fire
I’m Eighteen
Muscle of Love
Feed My Frankenstein
Dirty Diamonds
Caught in a Dream
Hey Stoopid
Dangerous Tonight
Poison
(Guitar solo)
Brutal Planet
Ballad of Dwight Fry
Cold Ethyl
Only Women Bleed
Going Home
Second Coming
School’s Out
Finally, after almost 40 years of trying to see the “metal god” Rob Halford and company live, the mighty Judas Priest has been finally checked off my bucket list. I have seen Halford, Fight, KK’s Priest, and Ripper, honorably, cover Priest, yet life just kept getting in the way and maybe now I know why. It was purposely put on hold until I had the opportunity to see them from the pit and to capture and share the memory.
After 50 plus years, Priest finds itself touring with long-time lead vocalist Rob Halford, founding member Ian Hill – bassist & backing vocals, kit basher Scott Travis – drums & backing vocals, Richie Faulkner – lead guitar and backing vocals, and Andy Sneap – guitars. This line-up has been touring for some time now. As many already know, legendary guitarist Glenn Tipton has been sidelined with debilitating health issues.
As I stated above, this is a Co-Headlining North American Tour with Alice Cooper under the moniker “Shield of Pain Tour.” This tour featured 13 bangers from much of Priest’s legendary catalog. There is no doubt that the songs that were left off the setlist were missed, but quickly forgotten as they played anthem after anthem. Not to bring up the past, but wow some of those tours, of decades past, must have been neck-breaking from all the headbanging and fist-pumping metal the classic lineup released!
As any metalhead know Rob Halford isn’t just any vocalist… He is a vocalist with a range that makes song birds want to be better song birds. He must not have considered still having to perform his vocal lines for over 5+ decades later! That being said, after experiencing the band live the 70+ year old singer has clearly kept a vial of enchanted water from the fountain of youth, safely stashed in his full length leather jacket!
The band features founding (I consider him horribly underrated) member Ian Hill on bass. The stage left fixture has been keeping the band in sync since the very beginning. Scott Travis has been behind the kit since the Painkiller era and has been considered one of the very best at his instrument for decades. Falcon Faulkner replaced original guitarist KK Downing back in 2011 and has been the permanent lead guitarist and fixture front of the stage and on all albums since. Rounding out the band is producer extraordinaire and guitarist Sneap. A constant in the music world took over for the ailing guitarist Tipton.
Priest only rested for a brief moment before dedicating Giants in the Sky, in particular to the late great Ozzy Osbourne, but featured many others in a beautifully created graphic. That was the calm before they brought on 1990s Painkiller! Arguably one of the last true metal masterpieces before the music world turned to the Pacific Northwest’s unnecessary angst and destruction of true rock music! All night featured songs that made me remember my youth… And nothing changed when the mighty roar of American two-wheeled muscle came roaring onto the stage!!! We were all hell bent on keeping the energy going, and although it was earlier than midnight, ten thousand strong stood strong through the last song, and we headed down the highway!!!
Judas Priest setlist via setlist.fm:
All Guns Blazing
Hell Patrol
You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’
Freewheel Burning
Breaking the Law
A Touch of Evil
Night Crawler
Solar Angels
Gates of Hell
Giants in the Sky
Painkiller
Encore:
Hell Bent for Leather
Living After Midnight
Buy Corrosion of Conformity music and merch here:
Buy Alice Cooper music and merch here:
Buy Judas Priest music and merch here:
WORDS AND PHOTOS BY ANTONIO PAGLIASSOTO
Follow his work here: