Alice Cooper
Hordern Pavilion
Sydney, AU
October 21, 2017
Alright.
If we have to start off by dancing out that Alice Cooper is the architect of not merely shock-rock by introducing horror elements but theatrics in rock’n roll in general and the massive impact he most likely had on informing the sound of your favourite bands, even unbeknownst to them, then stop reading.
It is also not a the most guarded secret that the man behind the moniker Alice Cooper is a witty-as-Wilde and sociable personality outside the confine of a stages, whose endeavours and accomplishments transcend having shaped the sound and look of heavy metal: Film actor, golfer, restaurateur and accomplished radio DJ with his enjoyable classic rock show
March 2017 marked the fortieth anniversary of the entity known as Alice Cooper first incarnated on terra australis and to celebrate the occasion, he and his worthy constituents return for seven-date national tour.
Now, witnessing Alice Cooper hold court is a delight under the worst circumstances, but tonight’s show exceeded expectations: His grandly theatrical brand of hard rock was delivered pitch perfectly by a tight band (the charismatic three guitar ensemble of Nita Strauss, Tommy Henrikson and Ryan Roxie, backed by longtime bassist Chuck Garric and drummer Glen Sobel are a force to be reckoned with and great engaging performers) and framed within the context of a stage show that was calibrated at just the right level.
Despite tested and tried vaudevillian elements and less than subtle, intentionally clichéd nods to horror elements, e.g. guillotines, fake blood galore, the fed Frankenstein parading the stage, the ride through Alice’s fun house was calibrated at exactly the right level and electrocutions, sword wielding, a ballad performed restrained in a strait jacket and other shenanigans made for a scripted and dramatic show that was a feast for both eyes and ears.
Apart from songs off his latest album Paranormal, the set was paved with his extensive catalogue of hits and anthems, including “I’m Eighteen,” “No More Mr Nice Guy,” “Elected,” “Poison,” culminating in a celebration of “School’s out” with a lapse into a Pink Floyd classic.
Fifty years in the game, nearly seventy years of age, top hat and tails intact and still on top of it – Alice Cooper in 2017 – a spectacle like no other that just does not get old and one you want to have in your books.
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Photos by KAVV
