By: Rob Cavuoto
Alice Cooper made a grand entrance at the Mayo Center for the Performing Arts in NJ this past Saturday, appearing on stage amidst a curtain of fireworks to his opening song, “Hello Hooray.”
Donning a red and black stripped suit and wielding his signature cane, he paced the stage like a menacing ringmaster about to unleash a bizarre freak show on his loyal subjects.
By the look on his face, you knew that tonight was going to be spectacular, and so began the nearly two-hour show that is Alice Cooper’s Raise the Dead Tour.
Like a fine wine, Alice only gets better with time and never disappoints. If you’ve never experienced one of his shows, be prepared and forewarned that it can get pretty gruesome.
Throughout the performance Alice is chased and tortured by evil henchmen and ghouls while a psychopathic nurse puts him in a strait jacket, medicates him and proceeds to stab him!Somehow he manages to escape all of this mayhem, only to get his head cut off in a guillotine.
The stage resembles a Fun House gone wrong, covered with bloody body parts, trash, torture devices, and clown masks. All of this mayhem is choreographed to Alice’s biggest hits from the last 40 plus years.
When I asked Alice about his high energy show, he replied:
“When the curtain goes up, it’s an all-out assault on the audience. My show has a reputation for being different from anything you’ve ever seen. Even if you’ve seen a show before, there will be some new aspects or songs that will be different. When I get off stage, I’m exhausted, and then I know I gave that audience everything I have!”
The set list reads like a greatest hits CD with such classics as “Under My Wheels,” “Billion Dollar Babies,” “Poison,” “Elected,” and of course, “I’m Eighteen.”
Highlights for me were, “House of Fire,” “Hey Stoopid,” “Man Behind the Mask,” “Caffeine,” [from Welcome to my Nightmare 2] and “Feed my Frankenstein,” where Alice slips on a gas mask and transforms in a 10 foot monster to stalk his band.
Let’s also not forget when he sings “Welcome to my Nightmare,” with a snake wrapped around his neck.
A break from the macabre comes as Alice pays tribute to some of his dead friends; Jim Morrison, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, and Keith Moon by covering “Break on Through,” “Revolution,” “Foxy Lady,” and “My Generation.”
I can only imagine that these songs will appear on his pending cover CD due out March 2014.
Let me tell you that his band sounds fantastic! They are a tight knit group that helps Alice escape from his nightmares; they include Ryan Roxy, Tommy Henriksen and Orianthi on guitar.
Chuck Garric who has been with the band since 2002 is on bass and Glen Sobel on drums.
Each member received his own time in the spotlight while Alice prods, pokes, and taunts them.
Nonetheless, it’s evident that Alice is still a force not to be reckoned with, stemming from charisma that hasn’t changed since the ‘70s.
He still packs the vocal ability fans expect, dresses the part, and commands the stage.
