ALICE COOPER // BRIGHTON CENTRE, BRIGHTON
Alice Cooper treats Brighton to a dramatic theatrical extravaganza, complete with Mutant Babies and Guillotine!
Alice Cooper performing at Brighton Centre - 08.10.2019
Pic:ture by // Michael Hundertmark photography
★★★★★ (5/5)
You can tell when there is a big show is about take place in Brighton when there are more than the usual punters milling around the city centre, sometimes even the day before a show or even coming as far afield as Europe or even the United Sates for the likes to just see Alice Cooper performance.
Spanning in Alice Cooper’s long career ‘The Ol’ Black Eyes is Back Tour, celebrates Alice Coopers 50 years using his stage name. He has been around performing before 1969 on other incarnations and sprung to fame in the 1970’s with rock classics such as ‘Schools out’ and half a century later the icon and his music are still going strong.
You will know the show will not disappoint with fans queuing early at Brighton centre complete with Halloween style costumes, memorabilia and make up!
First on as part of tonight’s bill are MC50, a pure Rock ’n‘ Roll super group incarnation of the original Detroit MC5, consisting of original guitar hero ‘Wayne Kramer’, Soundgarden guitarist ‘Kim Thayil’, Faith No More Bassist ‘Billy Gould’, Drummer ‘Brendan Canty’ and fronted by San Francisco singer Marcus Durant. Their take the stage with ferocity and a punchy 40 minute set, including punk classic ‘Kick out the Jams’ and a roaring electrifying version of ‘Looking at you.’ The screeching guitars with vocal mix certainly got the crowds in the mood for tonight’s show to come, early on with an electric performance with Kramer throwing around his trademark stars ’n’ stripes guitar around in mannerly fashion.
The Stranglers arrive on stage as the ‘Waltz in Black’ into tape is played, dressed in their trademark black clad, hold they own with songs ‘Nice ’n’ Sleazy, ‘Golden Brown’ and ‘peaches’ spanning their long punk and post- punk career. The two key remaining founding members, Jean Jacques Burnel and Brighton born Dave Greenfield did give the audience a show to remember. They topped off their set with everyone in the audience singing along to’ No More Heroes’ Tonight is a reminder that The Stranglers were very much a big part of the punk wars with the rolling aggressive base lines and trade mark rat walk.
As soon as two black masked men unveil the curtains, Alice Copper strides on stage from this theatrical castle like set brandishing a Caine and clad in leather trousers. Very much an Elizabethan theme complete with smock and top hat, tonight’s show is quite theatrical with the horror set pieces and disturbing zombie like babies. With the opener ‘Feed My Frankenstein’ the three guitarists, Nita Straus, Ryan Roxie and Tommy Henriksen strut along the length of the stage delivering big riffs and high kicks. Chris Wyse filled the slot on the UK dates for Chuck Gerric. Nita Straus, with her swift fingers and playing style even gets her own solo. Alice Cooper still holds his own with the older hits and breakthrough 1970 hit, I‘m Eighteen’, even as he leans on his Cain.
Disturbingly in a horror set manner and ‘Dead Babies’ being played, the giant zombie like creature walks on stage with Cooper disappearing in a puff of smoke when he kisses a ghost bride. In a glam rock style Alice Cooper gets his head chopped off by a gelatine and in a very disturbing fashion is restrained in a strait jacket from attacking a doll with a meat cleaver, which has been part of his act for quite a while now. Alice cooper has not stopped producing music either with just releasing the ‘Breadcrumbs’ EP.
Tonight’s show is played out in a mammoth ‘phantom of the opera’ themed set piece with the vast catalogue of hits played out which also include metal anthem ‘poison’ and rock classic ‘schools out’.
The final set piece saw original Bass player Dennis Dunaway on stage complete with confetti cannons and giant balloons tumbling down onto the crowds, with loud cheers and audience loving every minute, comically trying to burst them.
Alice cooper has shown tonight that he can still deliver a rock like pantomime with great theatrical showmanship with his younger band members at hand and very entertaining with the songs about sex, death and his trademark horror make up!
SETLIST: | ALICE COOPER, BRIGHTON,CENTRE,BRIGHTON - 08.10.2019
· **Intro**
· Frankenstein
· No More Mr Nice Guy
· Bed of Nails
· Raped and Freezin’
· Fallen In Love
· Muscle of Love
· He’s Back (The Man Behind The Mask)
· I’m Eighteen
· Billion Dollar Babies
· Poison (Solo)
· Roses on White Lace
· My Stars
· Devils Food, Black Widow
· Steven
· Dead Babies
· Escape
· Teenage Frankenstein
Encore:
· Under My Wheels
· School’s Out