Oct. 30, 2015

REVIEW – Alice Cooper rocks Plymouth

SOURCE – Western Morning News

By WMNHFinch | Posted: October 30, 2015

  
Alice Cooper has said that when he set out on his career at the end of the 1960s it was against a backdrop of peace and love. What the industry needed was a villain and he was it.

The shock rocker has gone on to have more than 40 decades at the top. He is an icon of rock and part of that appeal is a twinkle in his eye. His brand of blood and gore is designed to shock and make you smile at the same time.

That’s why Plymouth Pavilions was packed out on a rainy Thursday night for his Halloween Show.

Who can pass up the chance to see a living legend when he turns up on your doorstep?

There were plenty of hits, including Poison, Feed My Frankenstein and School’s Out. But even if you don’t know every tune, then you know Alice Cooper and what he stands for. Here is a performer who pioneered a grandly theatrical brand of hard rock that draws on horror movies, vaudeville, and garage rock.

From the moment Alice, now 67, appears on the stage, wrapped vampire-like in a cloak, he has the audience in the palm of his hand. The show thrashes to a spectacular crescendo featuring a giant monster and then an execution in which our anti-hero loses his head, This is high camp gore with all the fun of a ghost-train fairground ride.

But it’s not just the tricks that are the treat. There is exceptional musicianship at work here. This genre of rock music is entrenched in our psyche. The top hat costumes, huge guitar licks and rousing choruses are so recognisable that it was no surprise when Cooper took a cameo in rock spoof Wayne’s World. The world feels affectionate towards Alice Cooper, he is our pantomime villain. And he chooses an ever-changing band of musicians who really are worthy of sharing the stage.

In macabre tradition, Alice paid musical tribute to his dead friends Jim Morrison, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix and Keith Moon during the show. He performed versions their hits while their tombstones took centre stage. It was brilliantly done and served as a reminder, if any were needed, that Alice Cooper has known anyone and everyone over the decades. He really is a true legend of rock.

Read more: http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/REVIEW-Alice-Cooper-rocks-Plymouth/story-28084337-detail/story.html#ixzz3q4UQmIkb
Follow us: @WMNNews on Twitter | westernmorningnews on Facebook