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On stage: Alice Cooper



- BYH 2004 - June 2004 - Balingen (D) -
- Alice Cooper & Whitesnake - Nov. 2008 - Essen (D) -
- Alice Cooper & The Other - June 2010 - Bonn (D) -
- Alice Cooper - Nov. 2013 - Marksville, LA (USA) -


www.alicecooper.com









- Alice Cooper - November 2nd 2013 - Marksville (LA), USA, Paragon Casino -

















Alice Cooper hasn't played Houston since his Theater Of Death tour in 2010. Since then, he's had tours with Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson, but never made it back to Houston. So, when I saw I could take a bus trip to see him at the Paragon Casino in Marksville, Louisiana, I was all over it. The ballroom had normal theater seating even though the show was general admission. The first six rows were roped off for VIPs and I began the show two rows behind the VIPs. A few songs in, security allowed us to be a rock and roll crowd and I ended up spending most of the show on the barricade.

As for the show, there was no opener. Lillian Axe had opened the last three times I saw Alice, so I wasn't completely shocked to see Steve Blaze in attendance. It was his home state after all. I did find it strange that the venue started playing Alice Cooper songs as show time approached, Vengeance Is Mine, Wicked Young Man, What Baby Wants, and Gimme among others. The lights went down to the music of Only Women Bleed leading into Steven. The curtain came down and there was a shower of sparks as the band opened with Hello, Hooray. They kind of scaled back on the theatrics, ripping through four more Cooper classics. Of course during Billion Dollar Babies, he shook $100 Alice Cooper bills out in the crowd off his fencing sword. Then he was 'drinking' out of a gallon sized coffee mug during Caffeine, and threw out Mardi Gras beads during Dirty Diamonds. The band, guitarists Ryan Roxie, Tommy Henriksen, and Orianthi, bassist Chuck Garric, and drummer Jonathan Mover sounded great, as did Alice. Other trademark gags - the boa constrictor, the guillotine, the relatively new FrankenAlice, were all there. The new twist for this show, once Alice came back from the dead, he 'brought other dead rock stars back from the dead', actually a tribute to a few dead rockers, by playing covers from The Doors, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and The Who. The show ended to School's Out in a whirlwind of bubbles and confetti. That was my ninth time to see Alice Cooper over the years and he never disappoints.


Setlist:
Hello Hooray
House Of Fire
No More Mr. Nice Guy
Under My Wheels
I'll Bite Your Face Off
Billion Dollar Babies
Caffeine
Department Of Youth
Hey Stoopid
Dirty Diamonds
Welcome to My Nightmare
Go To Hell
Man Behind The Mask
Feed My Frankenstein
Dwight Fry
Killer/I Love The Dead
Break On Thru
Revolution
Foxy Lady
My Generation
I'm Eighteen
Poison
School's Out




Jody Hickman

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- Alice Cooper & The Other - June 21st 2010 - Bonn (D), Museumsplatz -





The Other - live in Bonn

The Other - live in Bonn

Alice Cooper - live in Bonn

Alice Cooper - live in Bonn

Alice Cooper - live in Bonn

Alice Cooper - live in Bonn

Alice Cooper - live in Bonn

© Gisela Schmitz

A lot of people were waiting for doors open when we arrived. A little later it was time to open the doors and let the people in. The open-air stage and a good part in front of it were covered, so the light show works even in day light - and in case it rains the people in front won't get soaked. Very nice.
When The Other started their show at 7PM some fans gathered in front of the stage while others were having a drink while the horror punk rockers played. Unfortunately the sound wasn't very good, depending where you stood the vocals or guitar drowned and the drums were too loud all over the place. When the guys entered the stage they came in their horror masquerade, looking like coming right from a horror movie set! Rod Usher and his mates describe their sound as horror punk, but it's more metallized punk rock presented in a Halloween horror outfit. Some fans were celebrating the band right from the start, other watched them slightly puzzled. After The End Of The Time Rod Usher thanked everybody for not being afraid of them and they headed into Der Tod steht dir gut! Songs like Lover's Lane and Beware Of Ghouls should follow. Especially We Are The Other Ones was most welcome by their fans - and even some others started to sing along the refrain. The band tried to entertain the fans of Alice Cooper, but even as their horror show fits, musically The Other didn't fit that well.
During the change over some fans were grabbing a beer while others were waiting impatiently for the show. Finally at about 8:30 PM the spectacle was kicked off! The master of shock rock began the show with School's Out. Alice name was split up in single red letters and used as a kind backdrops. Even if the sound improved, the vocals partly weren't loud enough, especially when the guys were doing backings. Next in line another hit - No More Mr. Nice Guy. For I'm Eighteen he returned with a crutch pimped up with bones. Time to start changing the outfits... While the guys delivered the sound and cheered up the fans, Cooper grabbed an Army hat and a wipe for Wicked Young Man. Time for some masked fighters to entered the stage and attack the master. First they stabbed him, then they put him into a reddish straight jacket. At Ballad Of Dwight Fry they kept him lying on the floor while some assailants wheeled the guillotine onto the stage - and at the end of the song they decapiteted Alice Cooper. The guillotine was a highlight of the show for decades, but this was just the first time Mr. Cooper died tonight! Jimmy deGrasso's drumming and Chuck Garric's heavy bass groove led into Go To Hell. Alice Cooper reappeared liking a bit like a voodoo priest or kahuna... He picks up the head from the basket in front of the guillotine. What a show!
When they played Guilty a girl came on stage in a bloody white dress, just to get slapped in the face, then was knocked down. At Cold Ethyl Alice picked up a doll, smashed 'her' on the floor, just to pick her up again and to tango with her. Kissed her. From the first line the audience was singing along their smash hit Poison. And at the end nurse Tiffany came onto stage to give him a poisonous injection, a lethal injection. But he came back! Waving a bottle of liqueur, acting drunk while the nurse was standing in the background taking notes. During From The Inside guitarist Damon Johnson took over the center stage for a solo while the nurse was pulling Alice away, then she wheeled him back on stage. Time for Nurse Rozetta. Led over to Be My Lover where took one of Rozetta's stockings, pulled it over his head and a little later strangled her with her stocking! Only Women Bleed - I Never Cry began with acoustic guitars, Alice sat down with her, little later the masked ones dragged him to the gallows pole. And she's back, kicking away the box Alice Cooper was standing. Hanging became death number 3. The gallows pole was pulled away, time for some solos. First Keri Kelli, then Damon Johnson, followed by a drum solo by Jimmy DeGrasso. They headed into an instrumental with dual leads as well as a guitar solo dueling part. Towards the end the henchmen were rolling a gangway onto the stage. Alice Cooper standing on top of it in a spider jacket. The Black Widow and Vengeance Is Mine were performed in the spider jacket and when he climbed down the gangway some henchmen came close and were killed by the spider. When a box will baby dolls and necklace were roll onto stage, everybody knew, it's time for Dirty Diamonds and Billion Dollar Babies. As usual quite a few necklaces where thrown into the audience. Alice was toying around with the baby dolls and a sword, then a sword-through-box was wheeled onto the stage. 'Dead' nurse Tiffany appeared again and pushed him into the sword box. The last time he got killed tonight was accompanied by Killer. When Alice Cooper reappeared he wore a short showing stabbing marks and when he got into Be My Frankenstein a cyclops appeared behind him and attacked him. Lying on the floor he was singing Under My Wheels. The end of the set, so he introduced the band. "She's beautiful, she's dead and she hates me... nurse Tiffany!" he introduced the actress, just to continue... "And me, me, me, me!" while he performed the way he died that night.
But it didn't took long til they reappeared to do some more! For Elected Mr. Cooper returned in silver tails and a silver top-hat, waving a German flag. Coincidence? Or did someone told him about the presidential election we are facing? Anyway, it was fun! With School's Out they closed the set and again they through big, colorful balloons from stage. And so the circle closed. Another great performance of Alice Cooper's Theatre Of Death!
Okay, the sound could have been better, but the show made up for it. A lot of classic the fans want to hear, but it would be nice, if he would return with Along Came A Spider show and after a break doing the classics? I bet Mr. Cooper would come up with a nice, show for Along Came A Spider.
If you missed Alice Cooper this time, he's touring with the Theatre Of Death for awhile and will return to Europe later this year! Check out his website for tour dates!




Claudia Ehrhardt

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- Alice Cooper, Whitesnake & Five And The Red Ones -
- Nov. 21st 2008 - Essen (D), Grugahalle -







Whitesnake: David Coverdale

Whitesnake: Doug Aldrich

Alice Cooper live

Alice Cooper live

Alice Cooper live

Alice Cooper live

© Claudia Ehrhardt


More photos?
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At a Friday night Whitesnake and Alice Cooper should stop in Essen, I arrived when the support Five And The Red One were almost through their set. A sudden cold storm with snowing caused delays and the trains were late, but by car it wasn't much easier to get there. Anyway, the six guys offered some rock tunes and announced that their album Mother Bomb Phoenix just hit the stores. From the new album they played Road To Nowhere, a slow tune with a bluesy touch. They played one more track, an up-tempo rocker, and then they had to leave the stage.
Then it was time for Whitesnake who came to present their Good To Be Bad album live. They kicked off with Best Years, but soon it became obvious that these aren't their best years... The band is tight and especially the Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach on guitar are at their best. The second song of Whitesnake was a classic - Fool For Your Loving -, but then they returned to their latest album with Can You Hear The Wind Blow. Whether it were problems with the microphone or whatever, it seemed that David Coverdale wasn't singing live - at least not the whole set. And so after a few songs some fans left to grab a beer or two. Songs like Love Ain't No Stranger were welcome and especially this one which was dedicated to the deceased Mel Galley. Another new one and then Doug Aldrich picked up the acoustic to start The Deeper The Love. Is This Love? was split into 2 parts separated by a long guitar solo duel of the guitarists. Too long for such a short set - and nothing really new. Later David Coverdale introduced the band and they head into Ain't Gonna Cry No More. The stringers carried the show, David Coverdale tried to entertain the fans, but didn't succeed totally. Seems it was one of his dogs days. Towards the end the fans warmed up a bit by songs like Ain't No Love (In The Heart Of The City), Give Me All Your Loving, Here I Go Again and as closer Still Of The Night. During the change over fans talked about the show they just saw and many were disappointed. Discussions wether it was live or playback or if keyboarder Timothey Drury were taking over leads were raised. The answer only the band - and their crew - will know.
And then the lights went out... You first saw the shadow of Alice Cooper behind a curtain... and then a murder scene. Alice Cooper started his shock rockical with actors and visual effects and It's Hot Tonight! The master is dragging a blood stained doll with him and the show began. With No More Mr. Nice Guy he offered one of his classics right at the beginning. And the fans went crazy! At the end of this one his walking stick was thrown into the audience. They headed into Under My Wheels and at I'm Eighteen the master came back with his legendary crutch. His young band is tight and they rock the house! With Feed My Frankenstein Mr. Cooper offered another classic, but he also presented some new tunes. At Dirty Diamonds he gave away necklaces to the girls in the front row. The female actors were Alice Cooper's daughters Calico and Sonora who acted as the Asian killers at Woman Of Mass Distraction, first with fans disguising the machine guns, then bringing Alice Cooper off stage. Time for the guys to step forward! Bassist Chuck Garrie started a solo while guitarists Jason Hook and Keri Kelli joined drummer Eric Singer and was standing on the drum raiser attacking snare drums. The four-stringer even beat his bass with a drum stick! Then it was time for Eric Singer to add a solo. A bit later the others joined him again for an instrumental part. A zombie fight took place during Welcome To My Nightmare. Alice Cooper is dragging a doll across the stage and slamming her down, later he tangoed with her. Abandoned her. For Only Women Bleed he sat down on the stairs to the drum raiser and the doll came alive for a modern dance / ballet performance. Then Alice Cooper caught her, choked her. Later in the show he was pushing a baby stroller over the stage - and then stabbed a baby doll. And then he ended up in a straight-jacket. A gallows been brought on stage and they hanged the master. No guillotine this time. The gallows was taken off stage and soon after Alice Cooper returned dressed in a white tailcoat. Big balloons were pushed into the audience and then they burst a confetti shower came over the fans. Time to introduce the band. For the encore he chose Billion Dollar Babies and Poison! The fans were singing along loudly. And when the horror show was over the fans were happy, even if everybody missed one or the other song. A great show with actors, artistic acts and lots of great music.
And so Alice Cooper saved the day! The master of shock rock delivered a fantastic performance and almost made one forget about the Whitesnake show. The resume for many was that they will go to see Alice Cooper when he comes back, but will think hard about spending money on another ticket for Whitesnake. An evening full of music, but also with ups and downs.




Claudia Ehrhardt

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