Review of Alice Cooper at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino
By CRAIG HAMMONS
The first time I saw Alice Cooper was in the gymnasium of Cal State Fullerton in 1969. He was on the bill with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. Spirit was the opening act.
The only real prop he had at that time was a small kid’s play house that he would go inside and stick his head out the window and sing “Nobody likes me.”
There have been a lot of changes over the years and now this is a big-time rock and roll show full of lights, dancers, costume changes, snakes, monsters and guillotines.
Alice had a legion of fans that came out to this desert oasis to see the man who has entertained them for most of their lives and showed us all that rock and roll can still be fun. Alice once said “From the moment I leave my house or hotel room, the public owns me. The public made Alice Cooper and I can’t imagine ever turning my back on my fans.” Alice is a true master of his craft and takes it to a level that cannot be matched. He has influenced many but no one can touch him.
Hitting the Links
When I was checking into the hotel I saw a group of golfers who had just come in from playing 18 holes.
I joked to the attendant that I bet Alice will be out on the course today and she said “He just finished up about an hour ago” and that was at 10 A.M. Not many rock stars can golf before breakfast and then rock before dinner.
Tonight Alice Cooper would welcome us back to his nightmare full of monsters, madness and mayhem. Anticipation was running high as the Alice look alikes, families and hardcore followers of the master of shock rock were ready for their idol to take the stage.
The curtains were a close-up of Alice’s eyes. The lights went down and the voice of Vincent Price came on introducing the “Black Widow.” As the curtains dropped, sparks started flying and Alice draped in a black hooded cape was front and center. Just his presence on stage made us minions feel we’re not worthy. Alice Cooper came fully loaded with his triple guitar attack of Ryan Roxie, Tommy Henriksen and the mighty Nita ‘Hurricane” Strauss. Off went the cape and he went right into “No More Mr. Nice Guy” prowling the stage like a venison of the deep.
‘Under My Wheels,’ ‘Billion Dollar Babies’
Alice kept the pace lively reaching into his bag of tricks bringing out some classics like “Under My Wheels” and “Billion Dollar Babies.”
They spend no time in between songs talking to the audience. This is a well-oiled rock, well timed rock machine full of energy and chemistry.
Alice may be the main attraction but the rhythm section of long time bassist Chuck Garric and drummer Glen Sobel kept this wild rock and roll train roaring down the tracks.
Alice brought out his boa constrictor Julius Squeezer to help him sing “Is It My Body.” I once saw his boa constrictor get sick and throw up on stage. He must have had stage fright. Next came “Woman of Mass Destruction” that led into Nita’s fierce guitar solo. She is a force of nature shredding the fret boards with her long blonde mane flying in the breeze as she finishes to a huge ovation.
‘Doctor Alice’
During “Halo of Flies” Glen Sobel’s drum solo mesmerized the crowd with skill and intensity. But before we knew it good old Doctor Alice was back in a full length, blood splatted lab coat, gas mask and strapped to an electrical gurney that ignites into “Feed My Frankenstein.” Entering stage left is a giant monster roaming the stage while everyone tries to stay out of its way.
The show only slowed down once when Alice came out and sat down on a trash can to sing one of his beautiful power ballads “Only Women Bleed.” He was later attacked by a frightening naughty nurse who gave Alice a shot and put him into a straight jacket to sing the “Ballad of Dwight Fry.” As he is later lead to a giant guillotine and beheaded at the end of the song. The crowd eats is up and the band goes into “I Love the Dead” with an audience singing along.
Alice who is a member of the Hollywood Vampires then paid tribute to some of the rock and roll legends we lost this year.
Gravestones of David Bowie and Lemmy were on stage as the band ripped into intense versions of “Suffragette City” and “Ace of Spades” with bassist Chuck Garric on vocals. It was a great gesture from a master showman and made for a very memorable moment in the show.
Now the energy in the room was at an all-time high as they kicked into two of rock and rolls biggest anthems “Eighteen” and “Schools Out.” With confetti, bubbles and giant balloons flying, Alice then introduced the band and only once did he ever break character when he said “playing the part of Alice tonight is me.”
For the encore, he brought out Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to beat each other up until they finally kissed during “Elected.” Alice wearing a red, white and blue jacket in front of an American flag backdrop said “we got problems all over America and personally, I don’t care.” This two hour, 25-song set full of energy and excitement left the crowd filtering out into the casino happy and proud to be a fan of the one and only Alice Cooper.
