Photo – Rob Rizza

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As I skulked to my seat, beer in hand, I couldn’t help but feel like there was no way I could properly understand what I was about to witness, without committing to years of embedding myself in the ‘scene’. As soon as Ace Frehley and his band mates took to the stage, I was captivated by the pure skill and mastery of their respective instruments. These were veteran rockers, and it was obvious through their ability to naturally work the crowd with their antics and showmanship. Ace delivered a rock show light on gimmicks and over-the-top theatrics. He was there to give the fans exactly what they wanted, classic KISS songs brought to life with his unexaggerated stage presence and heavy emphasis on gratuitous solos. Far from a prima donna, Ace was more than happy to share the lime lite with his companions. Drummer, Scot Coogan, was the first to step up with a fantastic performance of the KISS original, Love Gun. Next up was bassist, Chris Wyse, with Strange Ways following his absolutely FILTHY bass solo (seriously, I needed a shower after that solo). While Richie Scarlet didn’t step up to the mic, he made a point of living up to his moniker of ‘The Emperor of Rock ‘n’ Roll’ by engaging in a playful form of musical one-upmanship with the band, making his way across the stage to duel with Ace and Chris on a regular basis. As Ace’s set drew to a close, he didn’t show any sign of letting up, seamlessly transitioning from crowd favourite, Shock Me into a generous guitar solo that sent his Les Paul spewing literal smoke from his fingertips. Despite being a somewhat cheesy way of showing off his famous guitar chops, it was a unique way of drawing attention to the tasty riffs he was treating us to. The set was closed out with Deuce, Scot Coogan once again taking to lead vocals before teasing the crowd with the promise of Alice Coopers imminent arrival.

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Back in my seat and feeling much more confident in my presence at the show, the crowd was faced with a huge curtain featuring those iconic eyeliner heavy eyes with spiders in place of pupils. After a warning not to look into his eyes, lest our souls become his plaything, we were informed that we had been selected to spend a horrifying night with Alice Cooper. And with that the curtain dropped to the tune of Brutal Planet, and Alice stepped out under the veil of sparkler fountains to raucous applause. Where Ace and his comrades made a point of getting down to some good old fashioned Rock ’n’ Roll without the theatrics, Alice went hard out with props, costumes, and pyrotechnics, wielding his cane with such precision and skill, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was just an extension of his own hand. Although the age gap between Cooper and his band mates was noticeable, they seemed to be equally comfortable playing to the theatrics of the evening. As the show continued, it became clear that this was an intricate performance, everyone on stage worked like clockwork to ensure the crowd remained captivated.

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Photo – Rob Rizza

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After burning through some classic songs like No More Mr Nice Guy, Billion Dollar Babies, and Poison the show seemed to change gears. As the band moved into Feed My Frankenstein, two stage techs dressed in costume as to avoid breaking immersion wheeled out a huge slab that looked like it was taken directly from Dr. Frankenstein’s lab. Half way through the song, Alice was dragged by the costumed henchmen to be hooked up to the slab, a switch was pulled, smoke slowly followed and sparks began to fly. Once the smoke had cleared, he was gone, I barely had time to process what I’d just seen before an 8ft Frankenstein’s monster burst on the scene from stage left and started harassing the rest of the band, going so far as to chase guitarist Nita Strauss around the stage while singing the song in a deep baritone. Following this, the crowd was treated to seeing Cooper serenade a clockwork doll to the tune of Cold Ethyl before having her come back as a real girl and dancing with him throughout Only Women Breathe. After this tender moment, Cooper brandishes a knife and stabs his clockwork ballerina. As soon as this happened, police sirens started to wail, and the band moved into Paranoiac Personality, the only song at this show from Alice’s 27th album, Paranormal.

This segment of the show seemed to take on an arc, after killing the doll, the two costumed stage techs returned to put him in a straitjacket (ensuring he could still hold his microphone). Alice is tormented by the infamous Nurse Sheryl throughout the song, before breaking out of his bindings to stab her. Unfortunately for him, she survives this attack, and he is swiftly punished, with a huge guillotine being dragged out. After being dragged kicking and screaming throughout The Ballad of Dwight Fry, Alice Cooper was beheaded before a screaming crowd. With the trauma still fresh in the audiences mind, Nurse Sheryl rushed in to grab his still warm head to taunt the audience. Fortunately for us, the head was only a prop and Alice Cooper was alive and well.

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After a few more songs, the band said their goodbyes and thanked everyone before returning to the stage with Ace Frehley in tow to perform Schools Out for the encore. Despite the huge confetti filled balloons Cooper was popping with his sabre throughout the song, I could not take my eyes of Ace. His laid back presence on the stage was a stark contrast to Cooper and his band mates. While the rest of the band played like there were thousands of people in front of them, Ace looked like he was jamming in a friends garage, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

One of the most notable features of the performance was Coopers ability to make you forget about the thousands of people crowded around you. Alice Cooper does not play to arenas, he plays to you, every element of the performance felt intensely personal. The use of props never distracted from the performance, be it a fencing foil covered in money, a knife being thrown into the stage, or Coopers signature cane, they were all used to enhance the delivery of his songs. One of the most entertaining parts of the performance was Coopers relationship with his band mates, despite performing for a packed entertainment centre, he did not hesitate to have a bit of fun on stage. At one point going so far as to playfully chastise guitarist, Tommy Henriksen for showboating before gesturing that it was Strauss’ turn to get on the podium. These moments may seem insignificant, but it just serves to show how comfortable Cooper and his band is on stage. Where so many bands just stick to the script and barely interact on stage, these guys couldn’t help themselves when it came to goofing around. It stands to reason that Cooper would be comfortable on stage, having a career spanning five decades. He doesn’t show how long he’s been doing this, there’s still a fire in his eyes, and he loves putting on a show for everyone. Many modern performers seem to have lost this passion, sometimes it seems as though they’re only there for a paycheck, not Alice, he’s having too much fun for that malarkey.

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Photo – Rob Rizza

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AMNPLIFY – RL

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