Before Sunset Junction or Sunset and Glendale, there was the Sunset Strip—an infamously raucous stretch of punk rock and metal venues perched on the edge of Los Angeles's most seductive boulevard. A hybrid of sleaze and glamour, it became the epicenter of L.A.’s alternative sound. So it’s no surprise that silver-screen superstar Johnny Depp and glam-rock icon Alice Cooper chose Lou Adler’s longstanding Sunset Strip hotspot The Roxy to launch the new incarnation of their band, the Hollywood Vampires.
On a recent week night, the Roxy’s audience—more vampire than Hollywood—twitched with anticipation anytime a drum or reverb echoed from behind the velvet curtain. At 9:00 P.M. sharp, the lights gave way to the roar of the MGM lion over Dracula’s Transylvanian theme song. This sonic homage to the band’s name built to a full rock sound as the curtain rose on this curated team of living legends. And for an hour a half straight, these boys had fun.
Bouncing around from Cooper’s own songs to John Lennon to Black Sabbath to the Doors, the Vampires—whose album debuted on September 11—put their own stamp on these classics and proved their talents have only improved with age. The band was rounded out by Joe Perry of Aerosmith on lead guitar, Matt Sorum of Guns N’ Roses on drums, Duff McKagan on bass, Tom Henriksen on guitar, and Bruce Witkin on keys. Despite the band members’ impressive rock résumés, the Vampires appeared as giddy as a young band allowed onstage and out of their garage for the first time.
Fresh off promoting his Oscar-buzzed film Black Mass at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals, Depp appeared calm and focused, occasionally smiling in the direction of a booth where new wife Amber Heard was sitting. The actor hung back onstage with understated control of his instrument, allowing Cooper and Perry to have the limelight, while he nonchalantly anchored the sound.
When surprise guest Marilyn Manson, Cooper’s self-proclaimed “little sister,” appeared onstage though, the goth rocker pulled focus to Depp. Embodying his androgynous charm, Manson flirtatiously copped a puff of Depp’s spliff and later grabbed him for a fang-filled kiss, leaving a visibly vampire-sized hickey on Depp’s neck for the remainder of the night. Later, Kesha made an additional cameo, taking the stage in a black coat and top hat to add some female range to the testosterone-heavy line-up, wowing the crowd with her rendition of “Whole Lotta Love.”
The after party took place upstairs at On the Rox, the legendary Adler-family hangout that has hosted V.I.P.s like Jack Nicholson, Henry Nilsson, and Elton John over the years. Family and friends like Shep Gordon and Jerry Bruckheimer were treated to Dobel Tequila as they mingled with band members into the wee hours.
You couldn’t help but notice there was something tame about the night—the rock edge still there, but embodied by a band of mature adults together to celebrate pride for the Angelino influence on rock n’ roll. While the Sunset Strip may reflect this notion these days—more Drybars, less dive bars—the Roxy was alive last Thursday as a time capsule of classic cool.
