Roll up, roll up! The undisputed king of Grand Guignol-rock entertained and shocked a full house at his recent gig at Gothenburg’s Lisebergshallen. During a 60-minute gore-drenched spectacle, Mr. Cooper delivered everything his fans expected from his Theater Of Death show, plus so much more.
The night started with support acts Roxie 77 and Electric Boys (please read my Electric Boys review here on Music-News). After the Boys had finished with their electrifying and much applauded performance, it was time for Alice the Malice to make his big entrance.

What an entrance it was! Getting’ straight into action with ‘School’s Out’ (albeit only played partly), the next song was ‘Department Of Youth’, which was swiftly followed by ‘Eighteen’ and ‘Wicked Young Man’. Although clearly no longer young (Alice turns 62 in February!), his stage persona is without doubt still wicked after all these years. The same can be said for his energetic performance. In one of his serial killer incarnations, he fancies himself as a spider-like creature killing his prey, complete with an eight-legged costume to match his warped fantasy. At other times and sporting various outfits (including a straitjacket), the tables were turned and he found a sticky end under the guillotine and the hangman’s rope, not to mention being spiked to death. Alas, in true B-movie horror tradition, he rose from the dead time and time again to deliver the next batch of songs and to have some fun with the props.

The lightshow changed as frequently as the Coop’s costumes, ranging from nocturnal blue tones to blood red - all the while shrouded in eerie artificial mist (commonly known as dry ice). The onstage mayhem was shared by bassist Chuck Garrick, as well as Keri Kelli and Damon Johnson on guitar. The hexmaster of ceremonies truly scored gold with this dynamic trio, for not only do Chuck, Keri and Damon possess considerable musical skills, they also are eye candy to look at – a smart tactic to lure a younger generation of fans onto the Alice Cooper bandwagon. Indeed, as he gets older, his hard rock metal sounds, as well as his band, seemingly keeps getting younger.

Speaking of eye candy – the male of the species also got their share, namely in the shape of suspender-clad nasty nurse Rozetta (somewhat resembling Magenta from the Rocky Horror Show). Having taken great pleasure in torturing Alice with a gigantic syringe, the dastardly deed provided the trigger for his hit ‘Poison’. Later on, after having wheeled him across stage in a wheel chair, she performed some provocative bump ‘n’ grind moves, culminating in her stripping behind a semi-transparent screen. As a special thank you, Cooper throttled her to the tune of ‘Only Women Bleed’.

The set list was completed with all the hits the punters wanted to hear – from ‘Welcome To My Nightmare’ to ‘No More Mr. Nice Guy’ to ‘Under My Wheels’. Alice not only delivered the goods, but also turned each song into a little Vaudeville act. For the encore, the song of choice was once again ‘School’s Out’ – only this time played fully and with Ryan Roxie (Roxie 77) joining as a guest musician. For the grand finale, the crowd got showered with balloons and confetti (what, no entrails?!) and so the Theater Of Death had died for the night!

(Feel free to read the Alice Cooper UK-interview by my colleague James Coplin)