Now this is the sort of bill Rock fans dream of: not only do we get one of Rock’s all-time great showmen, but we also get a nice side-order of Kiss’ original guitarist Ace Frehley, who wisely cancelled a Festival date in the US to make this tour. Australia seems to approve too with these larger venues across the country all close to capacity. Tonight sees the national tour kick off at Perth Arena before the show hits the rest of the country and if this is an indication of what’s to come you better get those tickets as it just might be the show of the year!
An Alice Cooper show has been a must see event now for five decades since the great man first visited our shores in the 1977 and as generations of fans have come down to the shows over the years it’s always cool to see a good number of new younger fans in the crowd.
The music of course is timeless and unlike some ‘heritage acts’ who plow through the same old sets visit after visit, Alice always seems to have a new album out and is never afraid to mix up the set a little. Of course there are still the set-pieces, but an Alice Cooper show without them wouldn’t be the same would it!
Getting the crowd going Ace is as lo key as ever, taking the stage with his band and bursting into ‘Parasite’ which gets the blood pumping nicely before ‘Hard Times’ segues into ‘2000 Man’ that old Stones cover from his ’77 solo album. The set might be familiar and heavy on Kiss numbers but it’s a real crowd-pleaser and ‘Rip it Out’ takes me right back to being a kid an hearing it for the first time.
‘Love Gun’ and the searing ‘Rocket Ride’ (where I’m hit by a drumstick that bounces off my shoulder before I can capture it) are followed closely by a Chris Wyse bass solo intro to ‘Strange Ways’ which allows the band to towel down and Ace reappears with his made-up Kiss face on a fresh t-shirt.
One of the highlights of the set comes with the rarely-played ‘Talk to Me’ from ‘Unmasked’. And it’s all rock star poses for the home stretch of ‘New York Groove’ replete with a sing-along that gives me the goosebumps. ‘Shock Me’ follows and for a few seconds the stage is in complete darkness and Ace light-heartedly complains “You gotta give me some light because I can’t see what the fuck I’m playing” before he launches a few pics into the crowd. The set wraps with the Kiss classics ‘Detroit Rock City’ and the searing ‘Deuce’. It’s the best way to warm up for Alice.
Alice and band take to the stage as the curtain is whipped away amidst a shower of sparks as they launch into surprise opener ‘Brutal Planet’. It’s a great stage set strewn with weird masks, a large toy box and a cascade of toys spilling from it and the band line-up across the stage with Alice front and centre glowering as only he can.
The ‘Spend the Night with Alice Cooper’ tour is looking pretty good as we’re treated early on to some vintage classics in the shape of the evergreen ‘No More Mr Nice Guy’ and ‘Under My Wheels’ that see me screaming at the top of my lungs along with the rest of the crowd. ‘Lost in America’ follows, a great track from ‘The Last Temptation’ I’m so glad he keeps in the set, and it goes down equally well before ‘Billion Dollar babies’ sees the audience once again bust into song. That is followed by two unexpected gems ‘The World Needs Guts’ one of the essentials from ‘Constrictor’ and ‘Woman of Mass Distraction’ from the underrated ‘Dirty Diamonds’.
‘Poison’ comes quickly after, a great version that sees new guitarist Nina Strauss really going for it. Those three guitars give the song such a great deep rich sound you’re taken aback. It’s a real crowd-pleaser too especially for those that witnessed Alice’s late 80’s resurgence. Alice dons a top hat and conducts the guitars who line up behind him for a mighty and lengthy intro to the classic Alice Cooper Band track ‘Halo of Flies’ which is given an extended workout as Alice slips off the stage leaving the band to crank it up. There’s a great bass solo from Chuck Garric that turns into a Glen Sobel drum solo full of dancing spots and plenty of stick twirling. It’s one of the few times in my life I’ve actually found myself transfixed by what is normally the low-point of a rock show,but this is great – this is a real,proper rock show! And we haven’t even got to the set-pieces yet!
Alice returns in a blood-splattered doctors white coat as the toy box prop billows green smoke and the ‘Frankenstein’ apparatus appears. And as the apparatus is wheeled centre stage Alice dons a gas-mask and enters the smoke. The band launch into ‘Feed My Frankenstein’ as smoke and sparks fly and the monster emerges and lumbers across the stage. It’s such a cool part of the show you have to admire the spectacle.
As the song ends Alice plucks a life-size pink-haired ‘clockwork’ doll figure from toy box and the always cool and chunky riff to one of my favourite Coop’ songs ‘Cold Ethyl’ cranks out as Alice caresses and dances with the object of his desire, never has a song about necrophilia sounded so melodic!
We take it down a little as Alice pulls u a trash can and seats himself as ‘Ryan Roxie’ breaks out the double-neck and the pair kick off ‘Only Women Bleed’ which transports me right back to the 7″ single I treasured as a kid. It’s a great version and Cooper’s voice sounds strong as ‘Ethyl’ reemerges and dances across the stage as he croons the lament.
There’s a new song ‘Paranoiac Personality’ up next and it’s greeted by the crowd like an old favourite as onstage two sinister henchmen attempt to grab Alice and end up restraining him in a straitjacket. The Nurse character emerges and taunts him before plunging an oversized syringe into his back during the wonderful ‘Ballad of Dwight Fry’ – this is great theatre and epic rock at it’s best and even though we’ve seen it acted out many times before that’s all part of the fun and the spectacle. As Alice launches into the “I wanna get out of here” mantra he slips out of the straitjacket and attempts to strangle the Nurse, which as we all know results in the entrance of the guillotine and there’s more theatre as the guitars wail and Alice loses his head under the blade. Man this never gets old!
As Alice’s head is pulled from the basket the band launch into ‘I Love The Dead’ and I notice in the background drummer Glen Sobel is pulling off some impressive high throws in the gloom at the back of the stage! Smoke and showers of sparks end the song with a bang. Alice is back of course again for ‘I’m Eighteen’ performed with the obligatory crutch which he uses to add a fourth air-guitar to the real three on stage. The Alice Cooper band had such a huge sound and these current guys nail it albeit with more guitar and rather a lot more crunch!
The song ends with a mass of pyro and smoke to end a great night with Alice Cooper, there are thank yous and bows before an alarm bell announces the sole encore ‘School’s Out’ which sees a final costume change with Alice splendidly attired in top hat and cavalry jacket. There’s also an added surprise though as Bob Geldoff joins the band for the final song.
If you only get to see one big rock show this year then this is the one. Alice in 2017 is in stunning form and has never sounded better.
Catch Alice on the rest of his Australian Tour!
