Tag: Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper Raised the Dead at Turning Stone

Before Alice Cooper even took the stage at Turning Stone, fans were on their feet. They expected the show to be jam packed with entertainment and wanted to see every second of the performance.

The sold out show on Monday October 21 drew a diverse group to Verona; tweens to those in their 60s came to see Cooper’s brilliantly choreographed production. The show started with Hello Hooray (1972) and Cooper set against a backdrop of raining fire. The first act featured ten songs including old favorites No More Mr. Nice Guy (1972) and Department of Youth (1975). About half of the songs performed date from the 1970s but that didn’t bother the fans.

The guts and gore that brought Cooper his fame were very much part of the show, especially during the second act. Things that most people squirm about: snakes wrapped around a neck, an electric chair, a guillotine, a straight jacket, are what the crowd loved best. The elaborate stage sets are reminiscent of a really good Broadway show, only better because Cooper incorporates smoke and pyrotechnics. The costumes were dynamic and fit in perfectly with the whole aura of grotesque nightmare and the abnormal. Cooper had total control of the stage at all times; he and his band were totally in sync.

One advantage to being on the short side is that with a full house standing in front of me, I couldn’t always see everything. Which meant — I could hear better. What I heard was a surprisingly strong voice — from the first note to the last. Not only was Cooper very much on his game, but every member of his band is super talented. This team of performers was top notch. And the third act heightened that.

Act 3 began with Alice rising from the dead in the same graveyard where his “dead, drunk friends” are buried. He brought those “friends” to life when he performed Break on Through (Jim Morrison), Revolution (John Lennon), Foxy Lady (Jimi Hendrix), and My Generation (Keith Moon). The stage backdrop, featuring gigantic tombstones for each rock ‘n roll icon, along with Cooper’s amazingly perfect cover was an electrifying tribute.

Cooper finished the show with three hits, I’m Eighteen (1970), Poison (1989), School’s Out (1972), loads of energy, awesome pyrotechnics, and confetti. At no time did the fans in front of me take their seats, and they were right, every bit of the show was worth seeing.

Set List
Part 1: Hello Hooray (1972), House of Fire (1989), No More Mr. Nice Guy (1972), Under My Wheels (1971), I’ll Bite Your Face Off (2011), Billion Dollar Babies (1973), Caffeine, Department of Youth (1975), Hey Stoopid (1991), Dirty Diamonds (2005)
Part 2: Welcome to my Nightmare (1975), Go to Hell (1976), Man Behind the Mask (1986), **Feed my Frankenstein (1992), Dwight Fry, Killer/ I Love the Dead (2009)
Part 3: Break on Through (1967), Revolution (1968), Foxy Lady (1967), My Generation (1965), I’m Eighteen (1970), Poison (1989)
Encore: School’s Out (1972)

October 29, 2013
Alice Cooper Raised the Dead at Turning Stone

Before Alice Cooper even took the stage at Turning Stone, fans were on their feet. They expected the show to be jam packed with entertainment and wanted to see every second of the performance.

The sold out show on Monday, October 21 drew a diverse group to Verona, from tweens to those in their 60s who came to see Cooper’s brilliantly choreographed production. The show started with “Hello Hooray” (1972) and Cooper set against a backdrop of raining fire. The first act featured ten songs including old favorites “No More Mr. Nice Guy” (1972) and “Department of Youth” (1975). About half of the songs performed date from the 1970s but that didn’t bother the fans.

The guts and gore that brought Cooper his fame were very much part of the show, especially during the second act. Things that most people squirm about: snakes wrapped around a neck, an electric chair, a guillotine, a straight jacket, were what the crowd loved best. The elaborate stage sets are reminiscent of a really good Broadway show, only better because Cooper incorporates smoke and pyrotechnics. The costumes were dynamic and fit in perfectly with the whole aura of grotesque nightmare and the abnormal. Cooper had total control of the stage at all times; he and his band were totally in sync.

One advantage to being on the short side is that with a full house standing in front of me, I couldn’t always see everything. Which meant — I could hear better. What I heard was a surprisingly strong voice — from the first note to the last. Not only was Cooper very much on his game, but every member of his band is super talented. This team of performers was top notch. And the third act heightened that.

Act 3 began with Alice rising from the dead in the same graveyard where his “dead, drunk friends” are buried. He brought those “friends” to life when he performed “Break on Through” (Jim Morrison), “Revolution” (John Lennon), “Foxy Lady” (Jimi Hendrix), and “My Generation” (Keith Moon). The stage backdrop, featuring gigantic tombstones for each Rock n Roll icon, along with Cooper’s amazingly perfect cover was an electrifying tribute.

Cooper finished the show with three hits, “I’m Eighteen” (1970), “Poison” (1989), and “School’s Out” (1972), loads of energy, awesome pyrotechnics, and confetti. At no time did the fans in front of me take their seats, and they were right, every bit of the show was worth seeing.

Set List
Part 1: Hello Hooray, House of Fire, No More Mr. Nice Guy, Under My Wheels, I’ll Bite Your Face Off, Billion Dollar Babies, Caffeine, Department of Youth, Hey Stoopid, Dirty Diamonds
Part 2: Welcome to my Nightmare, Go to Hell, Man Behind the Mask, Feed my Frankenstein, Dwight Fry, Killer/ I Love the Dead
Part 3: Break on Through, Revolution, Foxy Lady, My Generation, I’m Eighteen, Poison
Encore: School’s Out

October 29, 2013
Alice Cooper’s Extreme Theatrics Give Life to The Palace Theatre on July 19

The Palace Theatre got schooled in Rock and Roll and theatrics from Alice Cooper on July 19^th, as Alice put on a show that included his signature prop cane being thrown into the crowd along with money with his face on it, as well as strait jackets and a monstrous Alice-Frankenstein stalking the stage. The faithful fans in the crowd got all the hits and screamed for more once he was done.

Coming out to the notes of “Hello Hooray” and following that up with hits “House of Fire,” “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” and “Under My Wheels”, the crowd got going right off the bat. His band played hard every moment of the evening with all three guitarists absolutely slaying their instruments. They each got their own moment in the spotlight with their section of solos and jamming after “Dirty Diamonds.” Alice worked in songs from many of his albums throughout the night, but made sure to keep the focus on Welcome to My Nightmare and Billion Dollar Babies, much to the crowd’s delight.

During a one-two punch of “Devil’s Food” and “Feed My Frankenstein” Alice continued his theatrics by having a snake around his neck in the first and having a giant Frankenstein monster stalk the stage during the end of the second. During “Killer”, the guillotine came out and Alice’s head was chopped off, much to the delight of the crowd. There was then a four song medley where he paid tribute to what he called his “drunken dead friends” by covering “Break On Through (to the Other Side)”, “Revolution”, “Foxy Lady” and “My Generation.”

Cooper then played three of his biggest hits to close out the show: “I’m Eighteen” was followed by “Poison”, and had the entire crowd singing along with Alice. To close out the show, “School’s Out” rang through the Palace Theater and sent everyone home with a smile on their faces. Alice is still definitely a performer to go see if you have a chance, especially if you love a little theater mixed in with a lot of rock and roll.

Setlist: Hello Hooray, House of Fire, No More Mr. Nice Guy, Under My Wheels, I’ll Bit Your Face Off, Billion Dollar Babies, Caffeine, Department of Youth, Hey Stoopid, Dirty Diamonds, Welcome to My Nightmare, Go to Hell, Devil’s Food, Feed My Frankenstein, Ballad of Dwight Dry, Killer, I Love the Dead, Break On Through (to the Other Side), Revolution, Foxy Lady, My Generation, I’m Eighteen, Poison

Encore: School’s Out

July 25, 2013