The godfather of shock rock, Alice Cooper is alive and well as he delivers one final masterclass in all things horror, rock ‘n’ roll, and stellar musicianship.
He’s 71, but you would never guess it. His band is full of incredible musicians, and the stage show is a theatrical masterpiece celebrating everything that society fears, both past and present. At times it’s undoubtedly comical with the giant inflatable babies and twenty-foot monsters in chains, but the message never gets lost, and it’s incredibly entertaining. On top of all that, you have one of the most celebrated catalogues in rock ‘n’ roll history to pull from as the centrepiece.
Cooper pulled out all of the stops for this one including the guillotine, Frankenstein, straitjackets, an insane mental ward nurse (played by his lovely wife), along with a cast of monsters and ghoulish tricks that ended with a shower of confetti and a full house of fans singing “Schools Out” at the top of their lungs. Joining Cooper on stage for the encore was none other than original Alice Cooper band bassist Dennis Dunaway who looked right at home jamming alongside the newbies.
The setlist that night pulled from Cooper’s incredible catalogue and didn’t discriminate between the ’70s, ’80s, or ’90s albums as there were gems drawn from each. “Roses on White Lace” from Raise Your Fist and Yell? Holy shit. I didn’t see that one coming. Not to mention, “He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask),” the theme from Friday the 13th.
Not only did we get some rarities from the ’70s, but don’t knock this man’s work in the ’80s. Another highlight was “Poison,” which sounded stellar and quickly reminded me of how much I loved that song when it first came out. The one thing that would have taken these songs over the top would have been for original axeman Kane Roberts (yeah, the muscle dude who plays the machine gun guitar) to come on stage and melt some faces.
Speaking of face-melting solos, Nita Strauss, Cooper’s current axe-lady, is on another level. Jesus Christ, she’s good. And she makes it look so easy as she pretty much destroys every other player in her path. She’s found a perfect balance between blistering solos and guitar worshiping yoga poses as theatrics and it works brilliantly within the context of the show.
The openers that evening were a bit random but equally impressive. Starting out the night with Wayne Kramer’s MC50. I’ve been dying to see these guys live since missing their headline set late last year in London. Kramer’s band featured Faith No More bassist Billy Gould, Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil, Marcus Durant of Zen Guerilla (who was terrific), and drummer Brendan Canty (Fugazi).
It was an absolutely blistering performance of all the MC5 classics, and holy hell Wayne Kramer still has the moves and the energy from their glory days. They were followed by a more subdued set by UK legends The Stranglers, which being from the US, I’m not super familiar with, but I did go buy a Stranglers record after the gig. I was digging all the songs, and while they are not the most exciting band to watch, the music makes up for the lack of movement.
While the great Alice Cooper owes nothing to no one as he’s continuously over-delivered to his fans over the past four decades, sadly he did announce that this is the last tour. Having seen the show several times over the past few years, I’m glad to see him go out on top as he should.
MC50
THE STRANGLERS
