Alice Cooper is one artist I never tire of seeing, and at the age of 71, you wonder how many more opportunities you’ll get. Sorry, Alice, but death comes to all of us. However, I’m sure he won’t mind as here we have one performer who has made death a trademark by including large parts of it in his act.

Yes, I had no hesitation buying tickets to see the man and the occasion was made even more enjoyable by The Stranglers being the support. One of my favourite bands and the 20th time I had seen them. Great they were, too (as always), but this gig was not about them. It was a night for The Greatest Showman.

With the latest incarnation of touring band, including Chuck Garrick (Bass), Ryan Roxie (Guitar), Nita Strauss (Lead and Rhythm), Tommy Henricksen (Rhythm and Lead) and Glen Sobel (Drums), we were immediately treated to a massive opener of Feed My Frankenstein (Complete with giant monster). Then came No More Mister Nice Guy and if any neutrals in the audience were unsure what they were in for, they now knew. Assisted in theatrics by Mrs. Alice Cooper (Sheryl Goddard) as the nurse, this wasn’t just a rock show, it was musical theatre, hard-core.

Notable numbers for me were Eighteen, Poison and He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask), the latter complete with machete wielding maniac who slays groupies onstage. Then we had the grand medley of Steven/Dead Babies/We Are the Dead. As I say, theatrics in the extreme but nobody was complaining as two macabre giant babies in work clothes led Mr. Cooper to the guillotine. But enough of the effects, even if you couldn’t see, this was one of the best audio experiences going, and such atmosphere.

Then, into the encore and Under My Wheels before the grand finale of Schools Out with a little bit of Another Brick in the Wall for good measure. This finale lasted nearly ten minutes with huge dead baby balloons flying around the audience, plus ticker tape and streamers. We didn’t care. This was great and such was the performance, it simply flew by.

Alice Cooper certainly knows how to put on a show, and it was great to see many young people in the arena, including an under-10 next to me who jumped and sang with the rest of them.

I still wonder how many more times we can expect to see Alice Cooper, as with so many of that era, but if you never have seen them, I recommend it. At least once.

Cheers.

Antony N Britt