Tonight Toni and I were finally able to see Alice Cooper in one of his world famous nightmare induced concert performances. I have been a fan of Alice Cooper since the early seventies, when I (as every teenager since) cranked School’s Out as loud as possible on the last day of school. He is the godfather of shock-rock, and he was everything you weren’t supposed to like when you were a kid, but couldn’t get enough of.
This isn’t the first time that I have seen Alice Cooper in person, only the first time I have seen him perform. Back in the late 80’s, one of my co-workers won a contest from a local radio station in Seattle, where Alice Cooper would come out to your work and you could meet him and have him sign some autographs. I was unprepared and didn’t have any standard, appropriate signing material like an album or poster. The company I worked for at the time was a big software company (and still is) so I grabbed something that was readily available (a 3 1/2″ floppy disk) and rushed out to meet him. All 5 of us (huh..what a bunch of losers I worked with at the time..it’s freakin’ Alice Cooper for crying out loud!) waited in the front of the building when he showed up in his long stretch, white limousine wearing his iconic white coat and tails with top hat. I handed him my 3.5″ floppy disk, he took and looked at it for a few seconds and ask what the heck it was…funny…I bet if I handed him one today he would ask the same thing…doesn’t actually seem that long ago.. but I guess it’s been over 30 years. Another connection I had with Alice Cooper was a good friend of mine from High School (who was an incredible drummer and played in one of the most popular bands in high school Fifth Angel) happened to be Alice Cooper’s drummer in the mid to late eighties and for a stint in 1999.. Small world.
The concert was great. He did not stop singing/performing once during the show other than a short break during the obligatory drum solo. My favorite Alice Cooper song has to be No More Mister Nice Guy which they performed flawlessly tonight. The whole first half of the concert was filled with the early mega hits such as Hello Hooray, No More Mr. Nice Guy, Under My Wheels and Billion Dollar Babies. in the middle of the show, they performed a great tribute to some of the great musicians who have passed on including Break On Through by the Doors, Revolution by John Lennon and the Beatles, Foxy Lady by Jimi Hendrix (which Orianthi – lead guitar just dominated!) and My Generation by Keith Moon and the Who. The show did not disappoint in the shock-rock department. It was filled with Pyrotechnics, Horror theatrics with guillotines, scary un-dead nurses and severed clowns heads. There were even bubbles, confetti, beach balls and streamers…the only thing missing was the boa-constrictors that he traditionally draped around his neck while performing.
Definitely a must see show once in your life, although I would personally see him again..He is a great performer, still can sing and has a ton of energy that you can tell he puts every bit into the show.
bryonsconcertblog 
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