By Chyrisse Tabone, Rock At Night Tampa
Live Review: Alice Cooper at Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, Florida – February 7, 2022
Alice Cooper needs no introduction, however here it goes: Father of Horror Rock, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (2011), 28 studio albums, and over 50 years of shock rock glory. In February 2021, he released Detroit Stories, a collection of hard rock and blues rock songs, paying homage to his birthplace and a city that has always been loyal to the band. Detroit, with its gritty blue-collar roots and being the home of the MC5, Iggy Pop, Bob Seger, and Ted Nugent, has rock & roll flowing through its veins as much as the soul sounds of Motown.
When I heard Alice was taking the Detroit Stories Tour to Florida, it was as if my youth was rolling into town. The neighborhood kids in Westland revered the man with the painted white face and black eye hollow makeup as much as the next Halloween freak. He personified the dark side—the shock of glam rock, Saturday afternoons watching Sir Graves Ghastly, the antithesis of syrupy pop music—and he even owned a pet snake named Eva Marie Snake. He was the Bad Boy to those little girls at school that loved David Cassidy and Donny Osmond. As my uncle would don a top hat and drive his Firebird to Cobo Hall, I would think, “If only I were old enough to see him in concert.”
So as an adult, every time I have seen Alice Cooper in concert, I never forget my roots or gratitude.
Alice Cooper and his stellar touring band performed at Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, on February 7, 2022. The concert began with metal-masked stage hands removing the curtain to reveal a two-story brick façade back-drop—essentially a mini-castle with skeleton accoutrements. Smoke spewed at floor level as Alice Cooper walked on stage holding a cane, sporting a top hat, and buccaneer-style garb. The band, comprised of Ryan Roxie, Tommy Henriksen, and Nita Strauss on guitars and Chuck Garric on bass danced, pranced, and vogued as Cooper belted “Feed My Frankenstein”, “No More Mr. Nice Guy”, and “Bed of Nails”. Drummer Glen Sobel’s massive kit was perched on an elevated platform as he wildly played at the left side of the stage. It was a tightly choregraphed frenzy that entertained and mesmerized.
In what seemed like a rock opera of classic hits, Cooper displayed thespian agility as he raised the mic stand, swung a riding crop, sword, or pointed at the audience with his cane. The audience stood at attention throughout the concert, pounding fists in the air, and mouthing the lyrics to each favorite like “Eighteen”, “My Stars”, and “Poison”. With no banter between songs, each one segued into another, as fluid as a rock opera on Broadway.
As Strauss displayed her virtuosity on electric guitar during a solo, a concert-goer behind me audibly said, “She fuckin’ shreds like no other.” Indeed.
Sobel performed a very impressive drum solo as well, proving again, that Cooper has the best musicians from both a technical and theatrical standpoint.
What makes an Alice Cooper concert rip-roaring fun is the campiness of the whole affair. From the straight-jacket during “Steven”, the guillotine in “I Love the Dead”, to the giant inflatable walking baby in “Billion Dollar Babies”, the concert is a tongue-in-cheek rock & roll horror show—and God, how does it do it at age 74?
A personal highlight was the Velvet Underground’s song “Rock & Roll” which substituted “Detroit” for “New York City.” I felt like the song was personally speaking to me. Another song “Go Man Go” was sheer rock & roll heaven. The song can be found in the Detroit Stories album and features Wayne Kramer of The MC5 ripping it up on electric guitar.
The crowd was visibly pleased with the concert and got exactly what they came for—a rock & roll horror show and entertainment at its very best.
**Special thanks to the lighting person who made my job easy as a photographer.
PHOTO GALLERY
I grew up in a household full of rock music, studied journalism in college, and then became a scientist.Although my science career has served me well, music has always played a major role in my life. I grew up reading "Creem" magazine; I play several musical instruments as a "hobby";and it seems a camera has always been in my hand. Now, I am combining what I love the most--music and photography--serving as editor of Rock At Night. I travel between the US and UK seeking my dream! My motto: life is short...no regrets. Chyrisse
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