Feb. 13, 2015

ALICE COOPER REVIEW – San Antonio Express

Alice Cooper Blows The Majestic To Pieces

SOURCE & ORIGINAL POST:  SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS
HECTOR SALDANA

Thumbing his nose at authority, convention and Father Time, Alice Cooper still can’t think of a word that rhymes.
Which was absolutely fine for 1,800 fans at Majestic Theatre on Wednesday.

The ‘70s and ‘80s shock rocker turned on at least one teen cholo with a bandana draped over his eyes, sexed-up women in heavy goth makeup and several aging fans sporting a calaveras look worthy of Day of the Dead.

Gerard Velasco, 18, was among the fired-up crowd, calling Alice Cooper’s music “a breath of fresh air,” compared to the current scene. He was accompanied by his dad, who never saw Cooper back in the day.

The younger Velasco would never have taken such an opportunity for granted. “It would have been fantastic to be there in the ‘70s,” he said. “It would have been great to be there.”

What did he think about it? “It’s everything I imagined. It all just fits together,” Velasco said.

Cooper actually left little to imagination, delivering his trademark theatrics in full make-up and costumes. He opened with “Hello, Hooray” and “House of Fire,” all of it fueled by three electric guitars, bass and drums.

The multi-generational audience was on its feet from beginning to end. If ZZ Top is ageless (the bearded trio played the venue last month), then Cooper is eternal and making the argument that his ‘70s pop metal — which influenced glam, big-hair rock, goth and even some of the punk movement — trumps the blues when it comes to commercial appeal.

“No More Mr. Nice Guy” came early, setting the stage for Cooper’s tongue in cheek gore, from “I’ll Bite Your Face Off” to “Billion Dollar Babies.”

It’s impossible to prove, but a quick survey of the audience downstairs and up top, seemed to indicate that (per capita) there were more smiles than usual. That’s because Cooper, 67, is highly entertaining, energetic and buffered by cool pyrotechnics.

But he’s no clown. More than 20 years ago (and 20 years past his heyday), Cooper was singing “Lost in America,” with prophetic lines such as “I can’t go to school ‘cause I ain’t got a gun.” Then there’s “Hey Stoopid,” which can be seen as Sid Vicious’ epitaph or a remake of Paul Revere & the Raiders’ “Kicks.”

One of the rue highlights was “Welcome to My Nightmare” with the star of the show sporting a real, live boa constrictor wrapped around his neck and right arm. He kissed it a couple of times, too. That went the same for his bullwhips and walking sticks.

Cooper promised that the “Raise the Dead Tour” would live up to its name, and he honored four of his favorite friends from the wasted old days — Jim Morrison, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix and Keith Moon. His band dusted off the Doors’ “Break on Through,” the Beatles’ “Revolution,” Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady” and the Who’s “My Generation.”

Nostalgic, yes. But Cooper’s been doing these songs since he was a teen and he sang them with joy.

Cooper closed his 23-song set with “I’m Eighteen,” “Poison” and “School’s Out.” There are plenty that prefer his “Feed My Frankenstein” and “I Love the Dead” reputation but it’s “School’s Out,” which taps into (and updates) the attitude of Chuck Berry’s “School Days” and which can still speak to the pogo-dancing teens at the Majestic on Wednesday.

School’s been blown to pieces.