REVIEW: Alice Cooper welcomes audiences to his nightmare
ENGLEWOOD, N.J. — Generally speaking, Alice Cooper has two shows that he offers adoring fans: one as the opener (for the likes of Iron Maiden and Mötley Crüe) and one as the headliner. This reviewer has seen him open for a big band and offer a pared-down, one-hour set of the classics. This reviewer has also seen him as the headliner several times, and there’s simply no comparison. When the Coop is on stage with his backing band, with no rush to leave, the full-on talents of this shock rocker are brought to bear.
Cooper is currently touring the United States in theaters and performing arts venues on his Paranormal tour, and he made a recent stop at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, New Jersey. The 100-minute evening of rock music delighted the audience, even though the microphones proved faulty during “I’m Eighteen” and the encore, “School’s Out.”
Cooper and his band made their way through a set that featured many crowd favorites, including “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” “Billion Dollar Babies” and “Poison.” For each song, the singer paraded around the stage, reenacting various scenes of Halloween horror. There was a beheading, a Frankenstein experiment gone horribly wrong and plenty of cash money skewered on long swords.
The tunes from Paranormal, his latest album of new music, were represented with “Paranoiac Personality” and “Fallen in Love.” They fit in nicely with the more recognizable songs like “Feed My Frankenstein” and “Only Women Bleed.”
The stagecraft for the show has not changed much over the years, and that’s actually a good thing. The well-orchestrated concert has some set pieces that never grow old. Who doesn’t love seeing Cooper electrocuted and then come out as a monster at double the height. Perhaps the bubble show during “School’s Out” is a little too tame for the man in leather pants and deep, deep mascara, but, by and large, the show is a well-deserved hit with the crowd.
The backing band are exquisite and adrenaline personified. Among the ranks are Chuck Garric on bass, Ryan Roxie on guitar, Nita Strauss on guitar, Tommy Henriksen on guitar and Glen Sobel on drums. They perfectly complement Cooper’s singing, posing, posturing and theatrics. These guitarists, in particular, never miss a beat and never steal the attention from the man at the mic.
A night with Alice Cooper is a fun night out. He’s best enjoyed as the headliner; that’s when all of the spiders come out of the closet and all the sounds can go bump in the night.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Alice Cooper is currently on his Paranormal tour. Click here for more information and tickets.
