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#1261
14th February 2020, 06:50 AM
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It would appear that You Gov recently ran a poll on 'The most popular hard rock & metal music artists in the UK' The results are surprising: 1: Led Zeppelin
2: The Foo Fighters
3: Nirvana
4: AC/DC
5: Alice Cooper
6: Thin Lizzy
7: Iron Maiden
8: Kurt Cobain
9: Black Sabbath
10: Ozzy Osbourne
Other acts on the list are: #11 - Deep Purple #14 - Def Leppard #16 - Motorhead #17 - KISS #18 - Metallica #19 - Van Halen
__________________ People try to put us down Just because we get around Golly, Gee! it's wrong to be so guilty  |
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#1262
14th February 2020, 07:21 AM
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[LIVE MUSIC REVIEW] ALICE COOPER AT ADELAIDE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE WITH SPECIAL GUESTS AIRBOURNE AND MC50 - Teo "The original godfather of shock rock, Ol’ Black Eyes himself, Alice Cooper is back in town. The often-imitated-but-never-bettered singer and self-proclaimed “vaudeville performer” is the embodiment of a musical living legend and, last night, he returned to Adelaide for the second show of his Aussie ‘Ol’ Black Eyes Is Back’ tour. Once feared for his wild and crazy antics yet also a performer on The Muppet Show, Alice’s performances are always a blueprint for what a rock show should be: pure entertainment. Entertainment is what we get, opening with MC50, Wayne Kramer’s continuation of the classic MC5, which is a blast of rock showmanship. While you would consider this a supergroup, featuring members of Soundgarden and Faith No More, it is Kramer who oversees this rock space station as they ‘Kick Out The Jams’ to an already quickly filling theatre. Aussie larrikins Airbourne are a nod to the old-school barroom boogie that has made so many of this country’s rock bands iconic. They are energetic and lively with their anthemic choruses such as ‘Stand Up for Rock N Roll’ and ‘Boneshaker.’ Meanwhile, leader Joel O‘Keefe’s penchant for running through the crowd while riffing away delivers more entertainment than you can headbang your wavy hair to. The ringmaster of last night’s horror circus, though, is the man affectionately known as The Coop. Opening with the Wayne’s World classic ‘Feed My Frankenstein,’ the three-guitar attack is as gargantuan and celebrated as Frankenalice, a 12-foot-tall Alice Cooper Frankenstein monster that appears throughout the set. ‘No More Mr Nice Guy’ had never sounded so alive while bringing out some of the more obscure tracks. ‘Raped And Freezin’’ and ‘Fallen In Love’ are greeted like long-lost friends as Cooper leads the crowd the way a bullfighter leads his partner in their game of danger. He goes to every part of the stage and connects with as many faces as he can, never once stopping to catch his breath. The stage design is the ‘Nightmare Castle’ set, which allows band members to play atop the turrets with stage lights disguised as chandeliers. The sensory overload of sounds, feels and visuals reaches high voltage as notorious silver screen serial killer Jason Vorhees of Friday the 13th appears to slay a selfie-loving teenager, met with a raucous cheer from the audience. The composing guitar styles of blues-lover Ryan Roxie and shredder Nita Strauss add texture to classic tracks such as ‘I’m Eighteen’ and ‘Under My Wheels,’ making the performance as vibrant as ever. Any casual observer of Alice Cooper knows that the show’s main protagonist will be beheaded after committing a dastardly act. Despite having now witnessed this scene multiple times, the audience still thinks of this as one of rock’s most iconic moments. There is still time for Frankenalice to cause more mayhem on stage again before ‘Schools Out,’ with Alice finishing the show wearing a Port Power shirt under his Australian flag-adorned white suit. Amidst the giant balloons bouncing around the arena, the streamers and loose ‘Billion Dollar Babies’ banknotes, it’s easy to forget that ‘The Man Behind The Mask’ is a 72-year-old family man. Last night, however, the performer who told a captivating story through music, drama, tears and laughter is Alice Cooper; the original and best shock horror master of musical vaudeville entertainment."
__________________ People try to put us down Just because we get around Golly, Gee! it's wrong to be so guilty |
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#1263
16th February 2020, 06:31 AM
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New article from the Herald Sun "Why Alice Cooper is a Michael Buble fan  Alice Cooper is using his Australian tour to raise money for the bushfire appeal. “It’s the least I can do,” Cooper told Confidential. “I feel like the fourth pestilence. You guys have got fires, floods, the virus and now Alice Cooper.” The OG shock rocker is donating 10-per-cent of profits from his tour merchandise to bushfire charities and will perform at Fire Fight Australia concert in Sydney on Sunday. Cooper will play Department of Youth, I’m Eighteen, Poison and School’s Out at the event. “It’s a really diverse bill,” Cooper said. “When are Olivia Newton-John, Alice Cooper and Michael Buble ever going to be on the same bill together again? People who come to see Alice Cooper have probably never seen Michael Buble, the guy’s a great singer, he’s like a Sinatra. It’s good they’ll get infected by a lot of different people.”  At his own headline shows – including Rod Laver Arena tonight, Qudos Bank Arena Saturday and Brisbane Entertainment Centre Tuesday – Cooper gets local firefighters on stage. ”We’ve heard stories as we’ve toured across Australia about people whose houses were wiped out by the fires, it was like an atomic bomb. So I get some firefighters up to take a bow, they’re the real heroes.” Cooper, born Vincent Furnier, turned 72 just before the start of his Australian tour. “It used to be that we all tried to get to 30. Most of my friends didn’t make it: Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix — they all died at 27. We all thought you’d retire at 30. Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, all those 70s hard rock bands are still playing. Nobody expected me to be in this good shape at 72. “I’m in two bands now, the Hollywood Vampires (with Johnny Depp and Joe Perry) and Alice Cooper. Both high energy shows. At 72 I’m the only guy up there not breathing hard. Physically I’m the guy in the best shape. I didn’t smoke cigarettes, that has a lot to do with it. I was a long distance runner at school. I quit drinking 37 years ago, I’ve been happily married for 44 years, I think all that has a lot to do with your stress levels. I have no stress. I don’t have any financial problems, all my kids are great, I have grandsons now.”  The rock icon is continuing his tradition of playing golf every day while in Australia – he has an impressive handicap of five. “When you do anything six days a week you’re going to get pretty good at it,” Cooper says. “We hijacked golf basically. It used be an old man’s game. I had to find a new addiction because all the other ones were killing me. I used to drink two or three beers before I got out of bed. Now I’m at the golf course at 6.30 in the morning. But golf and Alice never meet. The two are so far apart. In the morning, I never think about Alice. At night, Alice the character hates golf. If you had golf clubs on stage he’d think they were weapons.” Fire Fight Australia will screen on Foxtel and Channel 7 on Sunday from 1pm. Will there be an Alice Cooper movie, ala Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman? “I’m up for it. My story is even more diverse than anybody elses. When we came to LA we were introducing hard rock and theatrics. Other bands didn’t like it because they saw the future. We can’t just stare at our shoes anymore. Then everyone jumped on the bandwagon, you had a Bowie and an Elton. Everyone was waiting for that door to open. We just have to find someone to play me in the movie.” What about your bandmate Johnny Depp? “If only he was just a little better looking. Johnny Depp is the nicest person on the planet. Everything you read about him is so titled the wrong way. He’s the healthiest he’s ever been, he’s so generous, it’s amazing how opposite he is to how the media portray him. Certainly he’s very eccentric, but could not be nicer to everybody. And he’s a great guitar player. The night Joe Perry got sick Johnny played all his leads. He was a guitar player before he was an actor. He loves being in a band more than he loves doing movies. I said don’t quit your day job though, we can’t pay you $25 million a show.” Have you met his dogs Pistol and Boo? “They were at every session when we recorded. They were like our mascots. As I said when all the problems came up with the Australian politician, they’re terriers not terrorists.” Elton and Kiss are retiring, have you got an end date in mind? “The day they quit showing up is the day I quit. I’ll go on as long as I can go on. I talk to bands who say they aren’t doing more albums. What about your fans? Your fans deserve to hear new music.”
__________________ People try to put us down Just because we get around Golly, Gee! it's wrong to be so guilty |
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#1264
16th February 2020, 06:12 PM
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Alice at the Fire Fight Australia concert - February 16th, 2020. 1 - Department Of Youth. 2 - I'm Eighteen. 3 - Poison. 4 - School's Out. nosferatu42 likes this.
__________________ People try to put us down Just because we get around Golly, Gee! it's wrong to be so guilty |
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#1265
17th February 2020, 07:00 AM
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Apologies, but it's the Daily mail Alice Cooper, 72, proves he's still the 'prince of darkness' as he wows the crowd with energetic performance at the Fire Fight Australia bushfire relief concert in Sydney "Iconic performer Alice Cooper is known as 'the prince of darkness'. And the celebrated rock star proved he still has the moves as he delivered an energetic performance at ANZ Stadium in Sydney on Sunday evening. The 72-year-old - real name Vincent Damon Furnier - wowed the crowd at the Fire Fight Australia bushfire relief concert.  Alice went through a costume change - first taking to the stage in a red ringmaster's jacket with black tassels and a number of medals as adornments. He paired it with a white puff shirt and a number of necklaces, as well as three black belts with chunky buckles, including a giant skull. The American singer, who is in town for his Ol' Black Eyes Is Back tour, carried the black cane he's known for, with leather pants completing the Gothic look.   He wore his classic makeup, with his eyes blacked out and dark lines on either side for a horror movie effect. Alice, who sang a number of his classic hits including Poison, with gusto, then changed into a white jacket with an Australian flag on the back. He switched over to a white cane and a matching white top hat, pointing at jubilant fans in the crowd.  The event featured artists including 5 Seconds of Summer, Olivia Newton-John, Michael Buble, Conrad Sewell, Daryl Braithwaite, Delta Goodrem, Illy, Grinspoon, Guy Sebastian, Hilltop Hoods and k.d. lang. Comedian Celeste Barber, whose Facebook fundraiser has now raised more than $50million for bushfire victims, is hosting the event. Less than 24 hours after they were released, promoters TEG Dainty confirmed that all 70,000 tickets, which cost between $70 and $100, were sold out. Ticket profits will go to several organisations assisting those affected by the recent bushfires including fire services, Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery, and the RSPCA Bushfire Appeal."
__________________ People try to put us down Just because we get around Golly, Gee! it's wrong to be so guilty |
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#1266
18th February 2020, 06:58 AM
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Live review ALICE COOPER + Airbourne @ Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne 14/02/2020 | Heavy Mag "There were probably some seventy-two year olds in Melbourne last night tucked up nicely in bed by 7.30. There were probably some others trying to work out whether or not they should wear the red or beige cardigan tomorrow. Then there was one seventy-two year old man named Alice Cooper. He was taking centre stage at Rod Laver Arena, rocking out like a man half his age with a hard rock that has to be seen to be believed… oh and he had some giant babies, masked psychos and a huge Frankenstein with him. Yes as Melbourne can attest to this morning age has certainly not wearied Mr Cooper at all. Sure he isn’t jumping off speaker stacks any more but he can certainly still bring his audience one hell of a show… and that was something that we were all a witness to last night. By the time Cooper hit the stage last night the audience was already pumped to the max. Victoria’s own Airbourne had already seen to that. If you have never seen the lads from Warrnambool live then you have really done yourself a disservice. How these guys aren’t already as big as their mentors AC/DC is beyond me. Their catchy tracks delivered with electric ferocity live is something any serious music fan must see. Last night the lads certainly delivered. At one point they had Rod Laver Arena resembling London during The Blitz as air raid sirens sounded and search lights darted this way and that. The highlight of their set though was when Joel O’Keeffe left the safety of the stage during “Girls In Black”, ran through the crowd and then scaled the banister of level 2 all while still playing guitar and not missing a beat… you want showmanship – you certainly get it with these guys. That showmanship then continued with Mr. Cooper himself. Not to be outdone he brought his very own Nightmare Castle set with him. A set complete with chandeliers, two levels and more fire torches then on the set of Survivor. But if you thought the set was impressive that was nothing compared to what happened when the music started. Cooper is now at a point of his career where three generations of fans now turn up to his shows. A quick look around the arena last night and it was very easy to see those in their sixties still decked out in their early Cooper T-Shirts, people my age who also got into the legend’s music through their parents album collection and then the younger generation just as eagerly excited as their parents. There was even one primary school aged kid their last night wearing a jacket that not only boasted an Alice patch, but also patches for Soilwork and Kreator… respect young Sir, respect. None of those three generations would have left Rod Laver last night disappointed as Cooper once again delivered the showmanship and brilliant live show that has seen him at the top of his game for 50 years. The true testament to how well the show engaged with the audience was that not only did the fans sing along with the hits like “I’m Eighteen,” “Poison,” “Department Of Youth” and “Schools Out,” but how that singing continued even with slower tracks like “My Stars.” The last time I saw Alice live it seemed like the theatrical side to his show had died off a little, last night he proved that wasn’t the case though. Last night he had a masked psycho kill fans who ‘invaded’ the stage during “He’s Back (The Man Behind The Mask),” his bloodied bride appearing during “Rose On White Lace.” Then of course there was the epic performance of “Steven” and “Dead Babies” ending with Cooper being put to death before ultimately returning to the stage. An Alice Cooper show though is just a glorified Dracula’s performance though. No, Cooper has surrounded himself with one of the finest bands in the world. When you have Nita Strauss, Tommy Henriksen and Ryan Roxie delivering the goods like they did last night on guitar and then joined by Glen Sobel who delivered a literal ground-shaking drum solo on “Black Widow Jam”, then your band is something pretty special. Perhaps though my highlight of the night was Cooper himself picking up the harmonica and playing soulfully alongside his band as he brought a haunting sound to the very catchy “Fallen In Love”. If there was anybody out there dumb enough to suggest that Cooper’s time is up, then that was the time that showed it certainly isn’t. Cooper last night showed Melbourne that there is still life in ol’ black eyes yet. A stunning band, entertaining theatrics and tracks that had people singing along all night, that is all you really want from a show like this. Perhaps Joel O’Keeffe best summed it up last night when he said “As long as I’m still alive, as long as you’re still alive, rock ‘n’ roll will never die!”"
__________________ People try to put us down Just because we get around Golly, Gee! it's wrong to be so guilty |
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#1267
18th February 2020, 07:01 AM
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Live review Ol’ Black Eyes Alice Cooper Performs In Melbourne | Noise11 "At 72 Alice Cooper can kick the arse of any musician half his age. Well, maybe not his opening act Airbourne. They kicked everyone’s arse … but that’s another story. Friday was St Valentines Day. Rock’s favour ghoul celebrated the most romantic way he could, by having his wife chop his head off. Who’s that girl? Who’s that girl? She’s Sheryl. Sheryl Cooper, Alice’s wife of 43 years, has been his decapitator since 1975. In times when Sheryl has been unable to tour, their daughter Calico has filled in. I first saw Alice Cooper 45 years ago in Sydney and nearly every Australian tour ever since. If I went back 45 years from the first time I saw Alice I’d land in 1930’s Vaudeville. Harry Houdini escaped from a straight-jacket. Alice is still doing it. Maybe not much has changed in 70s, just the technology. The Alice Cooper setlist is designed to weave a story about building insanity. Right from the tortured soul in ‘Feed My Frankenstein’ who becomes ‘No More Mr Nice Guy’ and loses the off switch in ‘Bed of Nails’ to became the killer in ‘Under My Wheels’ before his life becomes a Nightmare. Each tour has a varied setlist but the story has remained the same for the past 50 years. The current Alice Cooper band features Nita Strauss, who is apparently a direct descendant of Johann Strauss, Tommy Henriksen, who also plays with Alice’s other band Hollywood Vampires and Ryan Roxie, a graduate of Slash’s Snakepit and on drums Glen Sobel, who is also a member of Hollywood Vampires. They even gave a subtle nod to AC/DC. An Alice Cooper show audience knows no age. This audience is literally packed from people aged 7 to 70 (and then some). Every Alice Cooper show is a complete theatrical as well as rock experience. Every Alice Cooper show has songs you’ve known for decades but in this case a few deep cuts such as ‘Raped and Freeezin’ and ‘My Stars’ which most of the audience would never have heard live in Australia before. There is one more show to go in Brisbane."
__________________ People try to put us down Just because we get around Golly, Gee! it's wrong to be so guilty |
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#1268
24th February 2020, 06:55 AM
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Live review Alice Cooper, Airbourne @ Rod Laver Arena | The Music  "It’s a bizarre mix of generations and demographics as the crowd trickle their way into Rod Laver Arena - from the old guard squeezing into their original tour Ts from the '80s to the eyeliner-laden teens getting their first taste of a living legend. One thing’s for sure: black is the mandatory uniform. Between the rain and the hordes of punters, many are unfortunate enough to miss the legendary MC50 crew. A rotating roster of megastars from the US rock scene, the celebratory line-up features members of the original MC5 band commemorating the 50th anniversary of their seminal Kick Out The Jams record - which paved the road for the booming US punk and garage scene. The group seem a little out of place opening a show that thrives on over the top and ridiculous theatrics, but the guys definitely haven’t lost a thing in that half-century. An ungodly number of Marshall stacks and supercharged light beams are wheeled onto the stage, which can only mean one thing: Airbourne have arrived. Fresh off the back of their fifth studio release, the boys from Thornbury via Warrnambool are a little more than ecstatic to be back home for the night. Ready To Rock starts the set at an 11 and the band keep rising from there: from bassist Justin Street thrashing his long locks like a windmill in Burnout The Nitro to frontman Joel O’Keeffe hoisting himself aloft a railing after running straight through the crowd. It’s pub rock with an arena spectacle; AC/DC meets Def Leppard. All the pompous insanity that you could possibly want from a stadium gig - and it’s ****ing glorious. A curtain falls over the stage bearing a giant rendering of those infamous painted eyes - red spotlights beaming into the pupils. The chilling, carnivalesque sounds of Years Ago begin an overture as the lights fade and the curtain falls, revealing a full castle set complete with skulls, coffins and weaponry. Nothing out of the ordinary for an Alice Cooper show. The band kick off those stellar harmonies that open Feed My Frankenstein before Cooper bursts onto the stage in all his gothic glory. Getting straight into an immense double-header of No More Mr Nice Guy and Bed Of Nails, Cooper has clearly curated a very special setlist for this tour. It’s all the classics the crowd have come to expect, but peppered through a sea of old and new, lesser-known hits that even the die-hards weren’t expecting. This show is fan service of the highest order, and a chance for Cooper to go back through his incredible back catalogue. One of the more surprising aspects of the show comes in Cooper’s enduring abilities as a songwriter. For all the classics the punters are going wild for, they’re just as loving and eager for his new work. 2017 track Fallen In Love gets a wild reception from the crowd and is seemingly just as loved as the proceeding Under My Wheels - a track now coming up on its own 50th anniversary. His tenure as the dark king of performance rock is far from over, and fans couldn’t be happier. While guitarist Nita Strauss shreds that phenomenal solo on Poison, every band member gets their chance to shine. Cooper has recruited what is arguably his best backing band yet, and the team are an electric explosion of technical flair and terrific showmanship. Between the masked murderers that run wild on stage and the giant inflatable baby that terrorises the set, the group still hold their own as a spectacle to behold. Drummer Glen Sobel manages to pull the crowd into the palm of his hand with an extended drum solo while the band and Cooper head off for a quick costume change, delighting punters and showing that while there’s a clear star of the show, these supporting players aren’t phoning it in. After a ridiculous and extravagant set of tunes amid something that could’ve come straight out of an old Dracula’s dinner theatre, Cooper and co return for one final punch of rock’n’roll brilliance. There’s not a single person in attendance that doesn’t recognise the opening of AC/DC’s Dirty Deeds (Done Dirt Cheap) - recreated perfectly by guitarist Tommy Henriksen - before the team take a sharp turn and dive into Department Of Youth. The sound of a ringing bell echoes through the arena before the powerhouse riff in School's Out sets the crowd alight with excitement. Airbourne’s Joel O’Keeffe suddenly appears out of nowhere to take the first solo, before the group sneak in a phenomenal snippet of Pink Floyd’s Another Brick In The Wall. This mash-up shouldn’t work, but it does. After half a decade in the game, Cooper hasn’t lost a single atom of that ferocious rock star capability for which he has become known. The 72-year-old is as spry and chaotic as the snake-wielding youngster that terrified conservative parents back in the ’70s. He’s a kitschy haunted house actor in the body of a bonafide legend, and that’s exactly how lit should be."
__________________ People try to put us down Just because we get around Golly, Gee! it's wrong to be so guilty |
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#1269
24th February 2020, 07:01 AM
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Live review Alice Cooper @ Brisbane Entertainment Centre | Scenestr "What’s black, white and dead all over? Alice Cooper, keeping nightmare rock fully alive.  MC50 ('60s American music scene stablemates with Alice) and our very own Airbourne all the way from Warrnambool have joined the ‘Ol’ Black Eyes Is Back’ tour. Airbourne worked super hard to get the crowd excited (it was a seated Brisbane Entertainment Centre on 18 February) and eventually got a decent response, after their intense stage antics that included frontman Joel O’Keeffe playing on the auditorium floor, on chairs and on speaker stacks. Not so Chuck Berry, but a little Chuck ‘Very’. Joel and Airbourne also made a huge point of letting us know how hard the road crew worked. #thankyouroadcrew Ol’ Black Eyes steps out and a couple of tracks in, he has an incitement to decree. “As long as you are alive, as long as we are alive, rock & roll will never die.” At 72, he sure is living that mantra.  The show isn’t as slick-sticky-gloss as you might think it could be. It’s smooth and sinewy, like that part of the chicken bone you’re not completely sure you’re meant to eat but it feels good anyway. Hearing it live is a good reminder that part of what you hear in vintage recordings is the technology – live, these pieces of art-music-history are brought right into now. On stage there’s a low rise across the front of the stage (someone say ‘catwalk’?) that is perfect for Mr Cooper to parade along in front of and schmooze with the guitarists, and for them to put one foot up on for some particular shreddage. Sounds dainty, but it is defensibly dirty good.  A giant pop-art Alice puppet wanders out as well as other characters: a henchman, a ‘Jason from Friday the 13th’, a tourist that gets fake-murdered (it’s just a show, people – the man himself gets decapitated as well), a couple of overall-clad men with fat, baby faces, a gothic bride in white and mother in black, both played by The Mrs Sheryl Cooper. The set is a cross between a dungeon, a pirate ship and a medieval fortress. So many levels and spotlighting opportunities make for an engaging visual on a physical, not just concept, level. The pirate vibe kicked in especially when Alice and his sparkle-sleeved guitarist, Tommy Henriksen, were duelling - guitar with harmonica - at the front of stage. ‘Fallen in Love’ is a particularly timeless banger. I guess they all are when you are the undead. “I used to be a stud, now I’m a powder puff ‘cause I’ve fallen in love and I can’t get up.” It dawns on me during the show, thanks to its absolute obviousness here, how the style of many rockers is actually quite pirate-esque (certainly this band has a lot to do with Hollywood Vampires; search that to read about Johnny Depp’s music career). Is music a buried treasure? Are pirates just vampires? #thinkingemoji “I’ve got you under my wheels, my Brisbane wheels,” croons Cooper with his charismatic croak. This stage show spectacular was gritty, meaty, so-chunky-you-can-carve-it coffin rock but be assured he’s not dead yet. “Raise your hands if you’re poison!” he summons. . . and we all oblige, confusing and hilarious as that notion is. “You’ve had your chance to be all alone, but you’re not alone. He’s back - the man behind the mask.” All three guitarists and the bassist stand staggered behind one another early on in ‘He’s Back’, bopping like leather-clad minions under Daddy Vampire’s spell. Nita Strauss (or ‘Hurricane Nita’, a nickname she calibrates by spinning around the stage and rapid-fire fingers) is atop the fortress, a glittery executioner’s hood over her face as she tears strips off the riffs. The only woman on stage all night who wasn’t getting pretend-murdered or taking photos of it, or already dead.  Speaking of paranormal weather events and/ or climate change, we need to take a minute to honour the drum solo. The drum solo was incredibly epic. Out of this world and inducing multiple cowbell-isms. With all due seriousness, bow your head to your keyboard and type in ‘Glen Sobel’. You’re welcome.  The bass player, Chuck Garric, rejoins Glen and Alice Cooper is led out onstage in a straitjacket, followed by a blow-up Billion Dollar Baby that is too kooky to describe. The four-piece harmonies the band adds are phenomenal, including Nita, Chuck and the other two fantastic guitarists Ryan Roxie and Tommy Henriksen. It really felt like a family of talented individuals working for a common cause. Certainly they played at the Fire Fight Australia benefit concert while they were in Sydney. For a further contribution to Australia’s landscape they even segued in a little AC/DC ‘Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap’ at the start of the first encore track, ‘Department Of Youth’, then sent us home with ‘School’s Out’ including a snippet from Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick In The Wall Pt 2’. “May your nightmares be horrifying,” was the final blessing he bestowed. Thanks, Mr Cooper, yours too."
__________________ People try to put us down Just because we get around Golly, Gee! it's wrong to be so guilty |
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#1270
24th February 2020, 07:10 AM
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Live review Alice Cooper delivers a horror show in Auckland | Stuff "Alice Cooper is holding a machete in his right hand and a baby doll by the neck in his left while he howls, "Goodbye, little Betty." As he raises his machete and prepares to deliver a killer blow, two fully grown man-babies rush Cooper, bundle him into a straitjacket, then force his head down into position on a giant guillotine. As the guitar rush of Dead Babies comes to a close, an executioner shouts, "Die!" and Cooper's head is lopped off, only to be picked up by a giant mutant baby who celebrates his decapitation by smacking it like a bongo drum. He may be 72, but Alice Cooper's still got it.  Ridiculous? Of course it is. Cooper is one of the original shock-rockers, a horror conductor who's been delivering tongue-in-cheek nightmares like last night's one at Auckland's Trusts Arena for seven decades now. At this point, as Cooper heads to Christchurch for the next leg of his Ol' Black Eyes Is Back world tour, it's as good a time as any to note that the golf-loving, leather-clad Californian rocker is 72 years old. Yep. He's 72, and he's still rocking hard. In a week when Elton John walked off stage early in Auckland with walking pneumonia then postponed the rest of his New Zealand shows for a year, and both Ozzy Osbourne and Swedish metallers Opeth postponed North American tours over health concerns, it's pleasing just to see Cooper arrive on stage looking a picture of health. Sure, there are a few nods to the years behind Cooper, as well as his fans. Outside the venue, friends greeted each other in whispers, and it was so quiet you could barely tell a rock show was about to go down. Inside, the queue for free water was as long and orderly as the one for beer, while chairs were laid out and numbered in an orderly fashion. Yes, a sit-down heavy metal show is a first for this reviewer, and it might have been a first for Trusts Arena too.  Thankfully, once Cooper arrived on stage at the polite time of 8.50pm, those seats were abandoned and fans soon clamoured to get near the front and set about the important business of rocking out. So did Cooper. He arrived for his "nightmare castle" dressed the part, delivering Feed My Frankenstein and No More Mr Nice Guy in tight leather pants, a billowing red shirt, black gloves and boots. His voice is raw and pockmarked, perfect for the kind of 70s-flavoured riff-rock delivered by Cooper's impressively energetic band, including guitarist Nita Strauss who occasionally threatened to steal the show with her infectious enthusiasm. But this wasn't just geriatric theatrics. It didn't feel like Cooper was going through the motions, despite, at 72, it's a miracle he can pull those leather pants on himself. He didn't just make it all the way through his Trusts Arena show in front of a few thousand last night; he seemed to be fully enjoying himself. As a result, the show got better as it went on. During Raped and Freezin', Cooper shook his hips, clapped his hands, then waved a red flag around like a matador. On Fallen in Love, he added flourishes of harmonica, and on Muscle of Love, he shook his maracas like he was doing free weights on fast forward at the gym.  Hilariously, during I'm Eighteen, a song that's 49 years old, he brandished a crutch as a joke, waving it around, using it as an air guitar, then throwing it away casually over his shoulder. By the time the bizarre baby-themed duo Billion Dollar Baby and Dead Babies arrived, with ghoulish figures overwhelming the stage and a cannon shooting streamers over the front rows, Cooper had fully warmed to the task. And he wasn't done yet. For School's Out, he invited Elton John's band member Davey Johnstone on stage to let him have a go at finally finishing a show. "Elton says hi," joked Cooper as he waved the crowd goodbye. Now that's how ageing old rockers really get things done."
__________________ People try to put us down Just because we get around Golly, Gee! it's wrong to be so guilty |
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