What better place for vampires to land than in a historical castle in the centre of Cardiff!
Hollywood Vampires came in for the kill and aren’t we glad they did. At this point you might be wondering what I am talking about and that is understandable, so let me explain. Just like how some members of Boyzone and Westlife combine to make Boyzlife and how sometimes McFly and Busted combine to make McBusted, this is a similar situation apart from this is pure rock. Here we have a member of Aerosmith, two members of Alice Cooper Band (including Alice Cooper himself) and then also thrown into the mix we have Hollywood actor, Legend and ex Pirate of the Caribbean, Johnny Depp. Yes this is a super exciting combination and I was more than willing to attend the castle this evening to see how this played out. I was not disappointed.
Each rocker took it in turns to take the spotlight for one or two tracks significant to them. Each shined ridiculously. There were dedications to the greats of the past and moments that will forever be iconic e.g the mix of Schools Out For Summer and Brick in the Wall accompanied by oversized balloons that surfed the crowd untill meeting their death at the end of Alice Coopers Cane.
Although there were huge personalities and tight leather trousers all over the stage, it was clear that a large portion of the crowd were there to feast their eyes on Johnny Depp and he definitely gave his Savage advert a run for it’s money. Lets just talk about his voice. It was low, hauntingand beautiful all at once. Not a disappointment. A highlight was his rendition of Heroes with apt graphics behind adding to the emotion of the song.
Another stand out moment and crowd pleaser was Walk this Way but the finale song was Silver Lining, which I must admit felt a little strange after the playlist of the night.
A mention has to go to support act The Damned, who could easily have stood side by side with the Hollywood Vampires themselves and the crowd enjoyed tracks from them like Smash It Up and Street of Dreams. They definitely set the tone for the night by shouting mid set “We’ve Still Got It You Bastards!”.
The smoke, the cigars, the huge inflatable fangs and the epic drum solo with never be forgotten and live forever in the castle walls.
