Rob Zombie — death metal heavy, horror movie director — is a tease.
When asked about his
, he brags: "Expect, without a doubt, the greatest spectacle you'll ever see."
But asked for specifics, he gave away few details.
"We'll do every possible gag, gimmick imaginable. Giant robots and everything," he said. "But I don't like to give it all away."
All right, Zombie, have it your way. He doesn't need to promote the show much. For metal fans, the Zombie-Cooper combo, "the Gruesome Twosome," as the show's poster calls them, is musical manna. Even Zombie knows that.
"It's always seemed like a very obvious idea," he said. "It's a perfect match. It's hard to find acts together where everyone can enjoy the entire evening."
The two are on a 19-city tour that has four more stops after the Baltimore area. Each plays a 75-minute show without sharing the stage.
Zombie will pick and choose from his entire catalog for his half, and also play some songs his band's never performed live, such as an often-requested ditty or two from his movie "House of 1,000 Corpses."
Though they've known each other for over a decade, Zombie and Cooper hadn't found the time to schedule a double-billed tour until this year. Zombie first discovered Cooper sometime around 1972, when he was in second grade, he said. While many think of runny mascara and "School's Out" when Cooper is mentioned, Zombie loved the rocker's ballads.
"Not cheesy rock ballads, really beautiful ballads," he said. "His band were real innovators."
Performing in the same bill with him is a treat for Zombie. Recalling a show earlier this year, the author of "Scum of the Earth" even got nostalgic.
"My band was on stage, and Alice was standing on the side watching us," Zombie said. "He'd just finished his set. He still had on his makeup, but with the lighting, he looked 25, just like I remembered him. That was kind of trippy."
Musically different — Zombie described himself and Cooper as different as "Star Wars" and "2001: a Space Odyssey" — what the two share now is a sensibility.
"We know it's a show and the audience needs to be entertained."
. Doors open at 3 p.m. Tickets are $40-$75. Call 877-435-9849 or o to ticketfly.com.
—Erik Maza