REVIEWS...
The concert:
Go straight to the track list !
At last, it's finally here. The long awaited Alice Cooper Concert. ticket firmly secured in inner pocket, I arrive in London. With over two hours until the concert - nothing can go wrong now !!!
So why do I arrive 40 minutes after the doors have opened ? The day so far has already been particularly weird but now a missing Passport ! Why do you need a passport for an Alice Cooper Concert ? Don't ask !
The location is the London Astoria Theatre on Charing Cross Road. A small venue for Alice - there are possibly more ticket touts scrounging around outside than there are people queuing to get in ! The theatre itself is a dark, miserable dive. An ideal venue ! A bit reminiscent of the old, now sadly demised, Glasgow Apollo - only without the atmosphere. I take my stance at the back of the hall, next to the bar. Gone are the days of jumping around in front of the stage, now I jump around at the bar instead !
I was the one in the white 'Love it to Death' T-shirt holding the can of Red Stripe, no not the T-shirt(!), I was holding the Red Stripe the T-shirt was holding Pepsi !!! If, which I very much doubt, there was more than one person wearing such attire - then I was the good looking one !
One of the support groups will be 'BACKYARD BABIES' and if they Rock as Good on Stage as they do on CD, it's gonna be one hell of a show !
The first band were already on stage - I still haven't found out who they were, sorry ! They weren't too bad though. I could feel the vibrations shaking through my body - it was only when the girl next to me walked away that I realised it wasn't the band causing the vibrations !!! The band played on. A quick set change, another can of Red Stripe and Back Yard Babies hit the stage. NOW THEY KNOW HOW TO ROCK !!! With songs like 'Look at You', 'Let's go to Hell' and 'Bombed'. I'm ready to party !!! Okay the one or two, all right several, cans of Red Stripe may be taking affect - but these guys are good ! To me they sound a bit Skid Row/Hanoi Rocks. Their songs Look at you, which I can only describe as Footloose on Steroids, and Ghetto You, like 18 'til I die, just had me totally at their mercy ! They had an attitude and they meant business !
It's time ! B.Y.B. have left the stage, a quick visit to the toilet, another can of Red Stripe and we're ready ...
A CLOWN LIKE ALICE...
Shortly after 9 o'clock, the lights go down, the circus music starts, coloured lights come on and the clowns hit the stage !!! Cleaning, sweeping, messing around - you know clown things !!
Alice bursts from a box on the stage, the clowns fleeing for their lives, Hello, Hooray... The show's begun !
Alice has again chosen not to wear the legendary make-up. He's the showman with a band somewhat reminiscent of Billion Dollar Babies. They looked good and were packing a mean punch
Side-show is screamed out. Alice is in control, the audience is in his hands and he knows it ! Billion Dollar Babies, the sword, the notes, it's all so familiar but very acceptable to the ever eager crowd fighting for the notes as they're plucked from the sword. Another body bounces along the crowd towards the stage, the bouncers quickly grab the culprit and hurl him back into the crowd. The photographers chasing Alice's every move, trying to get that one shot !
No More Mr. Nice Guy blasts from the sound system but who is this man, Alice, Public Animal No.9... The clowns have returned. A blow up snake, a rubber snake. Alice is having none of it ! He quickly bursts into Be my Lover - The Boa's arrived and this ain't no fake... a few quick kisses and Alice is down to business, the jacket's off...
Is this man 50 ?
Lost in America is offered to an appreciative crowd. The lights dim and Alice takes the lead, literally, he struts up to the mike with guitar in hand. If he ain't playing it then it's a pretty expensive air guitar !
The gloves are put on as, can it be, From the Inside is brought to the stage. A song from an album sadly neglected. Alice continues with Only Women Bleed but no half naked women, no dolls, THE BLOODY CLOWNS ARE BACK !!!
Just as you thought it couldn't get any better cries of Steven start to echo around the hall. Steven, not a snippet this time - like so many times before, but the full version. It would have been nice to have also heard Years ago and The Awakening to finish the trio but what a joy it was to hear the masterpiece performed live once more !
I'm in party mode - I'm on a high, HALO OF FLIES, another full classic and one of Alice's best. I may have went a bit a loopy at this point but this was sheer perfection - Alice was on top form and didn't we know it !?
Darkness...
A pulpit, The Last Temptation, has arrived and Alice emerges from behind it - grey top hat and tails as he struts out 'Nothing's Free'. He continues in the Temptation mode with 'Cleansed by Fire' his cane thrown to a very happy fan who quickly hides the prize down their jeans !
The hat and jacket are again removed as Alice who's now wearing a red silk shirt, the crowd completely engrossed, blasts out the classic Poison.
The lights are dimmed again... the clowns are back - is there no end to them ? Cold Ethyl followed by Unfinished Suite. The clowns grab Alice and force him into a chair - is the dentist's drill coming out ? No but the make-up is !
Alice now donning his legendary black eye make-up is forced from the chair and into a coffin at the rear of the stage. Swords are thrust into Alice, he is shown writhing in agony, is this the end of Alice - but wait, that clown looks so familiar. The mask removed the suit drops to the floor, Alice in White top hat and tails can only mean one thing... The set is complete, no concert could finish without School's Out. the long awaited balloons are offered to the crowd. Alice leaves the stage !
Cries of encore, more...
Alice returns, silver jacket, mirror sun glasses ! Surely not !!! Alice performing Jailhouse Rock ? I don't imagine many performers could pull off such a stunt for their encore but for Alice it seemed the perfect song in the perfect setting -a captivated audience, captured, amazed and totally at Alice's command. My faith in Alice restored !
The glasses and jacket are removed. Alice finishes, whilst resting on a Trash Can, with Under My Wheels. The lights stay low. A familiar scene. Alice escapes from the back of the building, into his camper van, or should that be Cooper-Van(?), and is halfway to his hotel - the lights come on... See you next year, Alice !
My only regret was that Alice didn't kill the Bloody Clowns !!!
The highlights: apart from Steven, Halo of Flies and BYB singing Bombed ! It must have been the 44FF cigarette holding equipment ! I don't smoke - but I gotta get me one of those ! Anyone who saw it will know what I mean ! Now I know why the Marlboro Man always looks so serious !
Okay - the concert's over, the masses make their way to the exits. The bouncers ask us to leave, and again, and again.... So we leave and somehow I'm not sure how manage to find our way along Charing Cross Road to the station, via the customary Kebab Shop, of course ! A train to Dover, a boat to France - good job we found the passport ! Continue the party in France ??? Why not ?!
But that's another story...
Just one question - Where did Wednesday go ???
Davie Damnation !
