Some 30 years after his last appearance in Victoria, the showcase and spectacle which is Alice Cooper descended upon The Q! Centre for a very loud, very grandiose performance.
The 68-year-old the godfather of shock rock kicked off the show in a shower of sparks for The Black Widow and went straight into No More Mr. Nice Guy with a whip of his cloak.
Tho’ Alice is “up there” in age, he showed energy and stage presence unbecoming of a senior citizen, expertly twirling batons, being tied up in (and escaping from) a straight jacket, fighting off zombie nurses, and being decapitated, all with a smile (terrible scowl?) on his face.
His incredible band makes up for any possible decrease in energy Alice might be showing these days.
But the powerhouse of performer was Nita Strauss. See her hair-whipping prowess in the photos below, and check that surname: she’s distantly related to composer Johann Strauss, but with a slight difference in musical style to, say, The Blue Danube.
The show was tight, unrelenting, and LOUD. And the crowd was singing along to most every tune, most notably No More Mr. Nice Guy, Billion Dollar Babies, Feed My Frankenstein, and School’s Out.
But it wasn’t just Coop songs performed at this Coop show. Alice paid tribute to David Bowie with a cover of Suffragette City, The Who’s Keith Moon, performing Pinball Wizard, and Lemmy from Motörhead, which led nicely into a cover of Ace of Spades.
The Alice Cooper stage show is something every rock fan should see. Seeing as he tours six months out of any given year, this shouldn’t be too difficult. However, he is quite possibly nearing undead status, so jump on your next opportunity. It’s one we won’t soon forget.
