Alice Cooper & Ace Frehley
27th October 2017
Trusts Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Matt Henry Mendonca.
Two of rocks’ biggest names appeared on stage last night and with a combined age of one hundred and thirty five years between them it is of no surprise that they know exactly how to entertain an audience.
Leading the predominantly black clad fans into the evening’s macabre frivolities was none other than the ‘Space Ace’ himself, former lead guitarist and founding member of KISS, Mr Ace Frehley. Accompanied by his small band of rather outrageously talented musicians, Frehley took to the stage amidst roars of delight from the decent sized crowd in attendance. Unfortunately sitting on padded chairs with their sturdy chrome frames was obviously too comfortable to pass up for most, with fans (bar one or two die hards, hair flailing and goats raised high who would occasssionly rise to their feet and give thanks to their rock deity in the form of a hair windmill) remaining seated throughout the set, the effect sadly one that seemed to zap the energy out of the show a little.
The swagger of the opening track ‘Parasite’ started it all off with a hiss and a roar; regrettably Frehleys’ vocals let him down a tad; often sounding like your drunken uncle performing bad karaoke, it was exasperated by the vocal mix at the arena tonight which instead of smoothly blending with the instrumentals seemed to instead unpleasantly enhance the harsh twang. Following ‘2000 Man’ Frehley addressed the audience “Auckland, it’s great to be here; by my watch it’s been two years!’ that infamous cackle pouring forth from his lips. After mentioning that he had walked past the president of Ireland in the lobby just over an hour ago (huh?) Frehley jumped into one of only a couple of his solo tunes that he would play tonight – ‘Rip It Out.’ While there is no denying that Frehley is indeed still up there as one of the greatest rock guitarists in the world, his set just failed to truly ignite the crowd; it was only when the foursome broke into the 1977 KISS track ‘Love Gun’, that the atmosphere itself appeared to take a sharp intake of breath. Was this due in part to the amazing vocal talents of drummer Scot Coogan? Quite possibly; his voice encompassing that wonderful rock infused crooning style that KISS became synonymous for on so many of their songs. Coogan took the track and absolutely ran away with it – the appreciative applause from the audience letting him know just how well he did. Not to be outshined, bassist Chris Wyse provided a Sabbath infused bass solo that would have inspired at least half a dozen kids in the audience tonight to beg their parents for lessons; before singing ‘Strange Ways’.
“New York, New York – so bad they named it twice” Frehley shouted to the audience both ‘New York Groove’ and ‘Shock Me’ perking them up a little more as Frehley broke out his infamous Les Paul with LED lights followed by his custom Gibson Les Paul that emits smoke – Frehley taking his time as he strode up and down in front of the audience leaving a trail of smoke behind him, his fingers working fast enough to have probably provided the smoke themselves. Of course it wouldn’t be an Ace Frehley show without a rendition of ‘Detroit Rock City’ (Coogan again taking vocal duties) lead guitarist Richie Scarlett – always a delight to watch – really letting it all hang out for the penultimate track of the evening. There was an irony to the lyrics however as no matter how many times that chorus told the fans “Everybody’s gonna leave their seat” they just wouldn’t. Finishing on ‘Deuce’ it was nice to see many of the fans finally rising and applauding Frehley and his crew as they lined up and took their bows – an array of drum sticks, guitar picks and sweaty hand towels being thrown into the front sections.
A curtain adorned with a pair of glowing eyes and spiders for pupils soon looked out across the audience as stage hands hurriedly worked behind it in silence. Lights dropping, eerie music and spoken word seeped through the speakers; the audience waiting and watching, anticipation poised on their lips. And then there he was – the Godfather of Shock Rock in all his glory was before them all, cane in hand, large skull belt buckle perfectly dead centre on his black velvet pants. In stark comparison to the support set – the audience leapt to their feet and there they remained for the entirety of the show; look alike versions of Cooper dotted about the room mixing and mingling with Dads enthusiastically singing and nudging their young sons as they relived the first time they heard or saw Cooper live.
At the age of sixty-nine Cooper shows no signs of slowing down yet, and while his shows maybe very similar to ones you have seen in the past, Cooper keeps them fresh by having fun with the set lists – hitting you with tracks that you wouldn’t normally expect to hear. Don’t worry there are still plenty of the big ones in there to satisfy any greatest hits version fan. ‘Brutal Planet’ started the show off tonight, it’s deliciously psychotic sounding guitar riff and heavy bass line electrifying the audience and setting the pace for the rest of the evening. Creepy mannequins and babies heads decorated the stage – a giant pink toy box sitting just behind Cooper looking rather intriguing. It’s always the little touches with his shows that make it all worthwhile and looking off to the side of the stage it was great to see the roadies and guitar techs dressed as ghouls in full skeleton outfits.
Running through the first few songs – a nod to Australia being thrown in with the track ‘Department of Youth’ which did rather well on the charts in Australia back in 75’ – and the audience is yet to see any major theatrics. Sure a creature in the toy box has appeared a couple of times to either remove or replace Cooper’s jacket and it wouldn’t be ‘Billion Dollar Babies’ without Cooper and his rapier of notes being gleefully shaken over the first few rows; but let’s face it, it’s blood and gore this audience longs for. In saying that there is certainly no shortage of visual delights; the four piece band alone providing many a sight to behold as they move about the stage with ease, their fingers commanding their instruments at all times. While Chuck Garric on bass and Ryan Roxie are important indeed it is hard to drag your eyes away from guitar virtuoso Nita Strass in her ‘Ego Kills Talent’ singlet. Her solo before ‘Poison’ award winning on all levels. Coming in a very close second would be the one and only Ryan Roxie, his distinctive fashion flair and love of the guitar both easily visible tonight. “You’re all poison” Cooper declares at the conclusion of the song, the audience cheering like there is no tomorrow. Disappearing offstage it is up to drummer Glen Sobel to regale us all with a drum solo that included twirling drumsticks and multitudes of cowbell (be still my beating heart).
Cooper reappearing from inside the toy box, dressed in a long white doctors coat splattered in blood; those who have seen him before knew exactly what was coming, for those that didn’t they were about to have their jaws taken and placed firmly on the floor before them. A giant electric chair complete with smoke and sparks and a ten foot Frankenstein signalled the descent into madness when it came to Coopers on stage mayhem. Ethyl made an appearance in the form of a life size doll (“She’s cool in bed, she oughta be, cause she’s dead!”) and it was nice to see that she had had a costume upgrade since her last appearance on stage here in Auckland when Cooper supported Motley Crue in 2015.
Probably one of his best known ballads ‘Only Woman Bleed’ lulled the audience into a more pensive state before he took them into his latest track ‘Paranoiac Personality’ off his new album Paranormal released earlier this year. With more than just a nod to the Living Colour song ‘Cult of Personality’, the song with its familiar riffs appeared to go down well with the fans. Arriving at the wonderful ‘The Ballad of Dwight Fry’ which normally features Cooper’s daughter Calico in the role of the disturbingly violent nurse it was an absolute thrill to see his wife Sheryl Cooper once again reprise the role. Yes that’s right ladies and gentleman that crazy lookin woman who could place her foot on Cooper’s straitjacketed shoulder with ease is none other than Mrs Cooper herself! Delighting in the murderous scene the two worked so well together it was hard not to have a grin a mile wide while watching them interact. Culminating in Cooper’s head being removed via giant guillotine – still as impressive as it has always been – and then held aloft with a microphone by a leather clad ghoul and the audience completely dissolved into an ecstatic pool of whoops and cheers.
Finishing the set on ‘I’m Eighteen’ complete with blood stained shirt and crutch in hand, Cooper and crew farewelled the audience in a shower of sparks; the word encore already falling from fans lips before the band had even left the stage. And what better encore to end a show full of blood, death and the deranged with than one that features confetti, giant coloured balloons and bubbles. Yes bubbles. Cooper closing the evening one last time with the classic ‘Schools Out’ featuring a nice little Pink Floyd ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ insert.
The formula for his shows may not have changed much over the last ten years – but frankly when it’s this damn entertaining why would you want it to?
Alice Cooper:
Ace Frehley:
Were you there at Trusts Stadium for this night of classic rock? Or have you seen Alice Cooper or Ace Frehley perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Alice Cooper Setlist:
- Brutal Planet
- No More Mister Nice Guy
- Under My Wheels
- Department Of Youth
- Pain
- Billion Dollar Babies
- The World Needs Guts
- Woman Of Mass Distraction
- Poison
- Halo Of Flies
- Feed My Frankenstein
- Cold Ethyl
- Only Women Bleed
- Paranoiac Personality
- The Ballad Of Dwight Fry
- Killer
- I Love The Dead
- I’m Eighteen
- Schools Out [encore]
Ace Frehley Setlist:
- Parasite
- Hard Times
- 2000 Man
- Rip It Out
- Love Gun
- Rocket Ride
- Strange Ways
- Talk To Me
- New York Groove
- Shock Me
- Detroit Rock City
- Deuce
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