Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Pure theatre and the exotic pleasure of the captivating soul. There are many ways you can perhaps look at the life and performances of Alice Cooper, undoubtedly, he is first and foremost a showman, the ringmaster to whom nobody can rival, except maybe P.T. Barnum himself.

However, there is more to Rock’s great entertainer than the sparkle of illusion and the darting moves offered by the uniform of the one who brought the likes of Jenny Lind to the stage. As the crowd at the Leeds Arena lapped up songs such as No More Mr. Nice Guy, Raped And Freezin’, Fallen In Love, I’m Eighteen, the exceptional Billion Dollar Babies and Muscle Of Love took centre stage, as they proclaimed themselves to be the works of art that they have always been, the storyteller and the showman took off the brakes of the Alice Cooper show and allowed with a beaming grin the full effect of the carnival to take place.

As with any arena show there are times when the eyes don’t quite know where to fix their steely and determined gaze to look, the abundance of colour, the side show, the full appetite of warmth, volatile shimmer and the pound of the passionate musical thrust dictating, imploring the audience to look this way and that, to not miss out on the appearance of the actors and the effects but to also, with a sense of the narrow field view, to take note of the purpose of the evening, that of the lyrical masterpieces opening up and the music supplied by the band.

It is always to Alice Cooper’s credit that the show is one of performance, the repose of guitarist Nita Strauss for example shines so brightly that shades are not enough, the story within the tale as Frankenstein’s monster takes the applause and cheers, the danger of Poison as it plays out with just as much a warning as it did when it was first released to rabid acclaim; it is all this that goes in within the rings of the circus, of the event of the stage that theatre and the experienced Rock entertainer hold court, and how the crowd revel, quite rightly, in its pomp and scintillating ceremony.

A hugely enjoyable evening, a night of graft and pleasure all rolled in to one enormous show.

Ian D. Hall