Forget about the sports bars, born-again Christians, golf and Arizona, Alice Cooper is still a tried and true rock and roller. In Austin on Thursday Cooper exorcised his demons through a 90-minute set that encapsulated why he is one of the most influential performers to ever hit the stage. Sure, the set was a romp through rock nostalgia, but damn the songs are timeless. Big hits like “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” “Ill Bite Your Face Off” and “Billion Dollar Babies” held up and resonated just as strongly after being given the hair metal treatment from Cooper’s band of young gun musicians. The songs sounded polished and modernized with the rapid fire drum fills of Glen Sobel and the glitzy guitar work courtesy of the triple ax attack put forth by Tommy Henriksen, Ryan Roxie, and Nita Strauss. Some of us may dig his music with a little bit of grit and roughness but, if anything, seeing Cooper’s songs played by a different generation of musicians makes his influence on metal and rock as a whole that much more apparent.
Under Cooper’s leadership each song was given his signature “Shock Rock” touch, with all the classic theatrics that put him on the map. The setlist itself is tailored to a live show that feels as much like a dramatic performance at it does a rock concert. Given his age and the fact that much of his famous onstage antics have been outdone by sicker, crazier performers all of whom were influenced by him, there is still a novel entertainment value to seeing Alice Cooper have his head chopped off in a guillotine or chased onstage by a ten foot Frankenstein. Somewhere between “Hey Stoopid” and “He’s Back (Man Behind the Mask)” he even brandished a whip, providing visual proof that maybe every band could benefit from having a whip onstage.
Alice Cooper could never make another album in his life and fans would still come to see him. Songs like “Feed My Frankenstein”, “Eighteen” and “School’s Out” – the latter of which closed the show – may sound a tad cheesy after so many years, but they still hit you with the power of being anthemic rockers capable of speaking to a universal itch for rebellion in all of us. Cooper knows what his fans want and gives them exactly that in his current live performances. If there was one unfortunate part to the show it was a 4-song stretch that included covers of The Doors, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and The Who. None of the songs felt relevant to Cooper’s own legacy and catalogue, and briefly turned the band into a schlocky Vegas stage act. It’s not easy building a setlist that adequately covers a career of more than fifty years, and playing random covers felt like a waste of precious space. Lucky for us, the band pulled a save in closing out with a vicious “Poison”, “Eighteen”, and “School’s Out”, ending on a confetti filled high note and safely reaffirming Alice Cooper’s place in the pantheons of rock and roll.
All photos by Arthur VanRooy.
One Response
I was just watching the concert of Alice Cooper in Austin Texas what an excellent concert!! Brought me back 30 plus years ago what a great artist he is!!