By: Sean Sauder
I may have just seen the best show I'll see in 2006. I can't imagine anything that could top Alice Cooper's performance at Taste of Minnesota in St. Paul. Over 30 years since first shocking the music world with his outrageous stage antics, Alice Cooper still sounds great, still looks great, and still knows how to put on a top notch theatrical rock show. I wasn't fortunate enough to see Alice and the original Alice Cooper Band in the 1970's, but I did see him on his excellent "The Nightmare Returns Tour" in 1986, and he hasn't lost a step since then.
Tonight's show started at 7pm, so the entire show was performed in daylight. I couldn't help but think how the show might have looked after dark when able to utilize all the stage lights, but I enjoyed it just as much in the light of day; there’s nothing better than an outdoor rock show on a beautiful Minnesota evening.
The band took the stage in Phantom of the Opera masks while, appropriately, music from the infamous musical played as the intro. Alice finally emerged amidst a cloud of fog and the band ripped into a partial version of "Department Of Youth" before taking off the masks and cranking out a rousing rendition of "No More Mr. Nice Guy." Alice has assembled a great live band for this tour which includes drummer Eric Singer, also the current drummer of KISS, replacing Peter Criss.
Most of the first half of the show alternated between the older, classic hits and more recent material, covering the 1990s through 2005's Dirty Diamonds album. Of course, the crowd went crazy for the classics like "Billion Dollar Babies" and "Be My Lover," but "Lost in America," from 1997's A Fistful Of Alice, was one of the highlights of the night for me:
I can't get a girl 'cause I ain't got a car
I can't get a car 'cause I ain't got a job
I can't get a job 'cause I ain't got a car
So I'm looking for a girl with a job and a car
"I'm Eighteen" was another highlight from the first half of the show, and I found myself pumping my fists in the air along with the chorus of the song – the first time I'd done that in years.
After an instrumental version of "The Black Widow" and a short drum solo, Alice re-emerged in different makeup, and the more theatrical portion of the show began. The second set included such favorites as "Welcome to My Nightmare" and "Only Women Bleed." A wide variety of the props and illusions that are trademarks of an Alice Cooper show were on display - live python, crutch, cane, sword, strait jacket, body parts, a coffin, and of course, the guillotine, where Alice was beheaded. Alice's daughter, Calico, had a significant role in this part of the show, playing various characters that torment Alice. The timeless anthem, "School's Out," was the last song of the set.
Chants of "Alice! Alice! Alice!" brought Alice and the band back to the stage for an encore, which included the 1989 hit, "Poison," and Calico making a hilarious return appearance as Paris Hilton during "Wish I Were Born In Beverly Hills." She pranced around the stage with her designer bag and little dog while photographers snapped pictures of her. Suddenly the dog lunged at her throat and "Paris" ended up a bloody mess. One of the photographers then threw her over his shoulder and carried her off stage, with the backside of her panties exposed that read, "That's Hot." As Alice introduced the band and thanked everyone for coming to the show, "Under My Wheels" ended the evening.
If you ever get a chance to see Alice Cooper, don't pass it up – it’s one of the best rock shows you'll ever see.
Set List:
Phantom Of The Opera Intro Tape
Department Of Youth
No More Mr. Nice Guy
Dirty Diamonds
Billion Dollar Babies
Be My Lover
Lost In America
I Never Cry
Woman Of Mass Distraction
I'm Eighteen
You Drive Me Nervous
Is It My Body
Go To Hell
The Black Widow
Drum Solo
Feed My Frankenstein
Welcome To My Nightmare
The Piece
- The Awakening
- Steven
- Only Women Bleed
- Steven
- Ballad Of Dwight Fry
- Killer
I Love The Dead
School's Out
Encore:
Poison
Wish I Were Born In Beverly Hills
Under My Wheels
(Thanks to SICKTHINGSUK for helping me fill in the blanks of "The Piece" for this setlist)
Photo by IzzyHigh.
Location Info:
Taste of Minnesota
Artist Info: Alice Cooper
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