Alice Cooper, Auckland NZ, 2020

Alice Cooper

20th February 2020
The Trusts Arena, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Doug Peters.

Master of ceremonies and the undisputed godfather of shock rock Alice Cooper rolled into Auckland last night, bringing with him his all-new Ol’ Black Eyes Is Back show; a carnival of iconic favourites, dark delights and deep cuts just begging to be unleashed upon his waiting fans.

But if that wasn’t enough – Alice always ensuring that every tour is better than the last – he brought along a few friends for the ride. The first of whom were a supergroup that featured a veritable list of legends in their very own right.

Forming in Michigan, 1964, the MC5 sent a shock wave through the music scene that is still felt today. Their initial career may have been short-lived, but within those few brief years they made an impression on the very world itself, the MC5 often cited as one of ‘the most important rock groups of the era’. The MC50 is what happens when Wayne Kramer, a man and a musician who has never contemplated taking the backseat in life, decides to take Kick Out The Jams on the road for it’s 50th anniversary.

Joined by fellow artists Kim Thayil on guitar (Soundgarden), drummer Ben Canty (Fugazi), Billy Gould on bass (Faith No More) and on vocals, all six foot seven of Marcus Durant (Zen Guerrilla) and MC50 are a formidable act, each member themselves having left their own unique permanent mark on the archives of rock history. Leading the charge, Kramer came out blazing, questioning all before him what their purpose was on the planet before declaring that it was time to both move and get down with it.

Their set may have been short – which seemed an absolute travesty in itself – but it was punchy, Kramer embracing vocal duties for opener ‘Rambling Rose’ before handing over the mic to Durant who brought a deliciously husky, blues infused tone. Camping out on the left-hand side of the stage with his iconic Red White and Blue strat, Kramer still made his presence felt, often hamming it up just enough to bring a buoyancy to the performance. The joy of bringing together a group such as this, is that their sound is tight, each player perfectly moulding around the next to form a whole; ‘Kick Out The Jams’ shining it’s light upon all, ‘Motor City is Burning’ sounding more dangerous than ever as it swaggered about the room, thanks to Goulds’ and Thayils’ golden touch.

Far too soon, Kramer was bidding us farewell, but not before an impassioned speech, his plea for humanity to see themselves as one people, a people that desire both a clean planet and equal justice accentuated by Durant who echoed key words for emphasis. Always keeping a finger on the pulse of politics, Kramer made his thoughts on Trump clear, before leading the band into the set closer of ‘Looking At You’ from their album Back in the USA.

From longevity to long hair, second act of the night, Aussie rockers Airbourne doubled down on the dirty, as they delivered a set that was as raucous as it was fun. The Warrnambool four piece who originally formed in 2003 have never been a band that could be labelled as pretentious, their performances instead living by the no frills, all thrills way of life. Arriving on stage to what else but the theme from the film Terminator, in a flurry, of hair, guitars and bare chests, Airbourne kicked off with ‘Ready to Rock’, volume level set to eleven.

Consistency is the key when it comes to Airbourne live performances, vocalist and lead guitarist Joel O’Keeffe sounding in fine form, while still rocking the same shirtless and ripped jeans look he has for years. Backed by the pulverising machine that is his brother Ryan on drums and the quartet make one hell of a racket, ‘Burnout the Nitro’ from their fifth studio album (the first to feature Matt Harrison on rhythm guitar) entitled Boneshaker, proving that they still have something to say.

Dedications to both the luminaries who played before them and to the ones that would soon follow were delivered in true blue Aussie accents, before ‘Back in the Game’ from Black Dog Barking stamped its mark, O’Keeffe remarking on how it had been awhile since they had graced New Zealand shores, but that mattered none as long as both they and their audience were alive and ready to Rock n Roll; a blistering snippet of fellow Australian icons AC/DC’s track ‘Let There be Rock’ which saw O’Keeffe atop a speaker stack, taking the audience into their final and arguably Airbourne’s most recognisable track ‘Runnin’ Wild’.

As Alice Coopers instantly recognisable black painted eyes stared out at the audience from the giant curtain adorning the stage, latecomers settled in their seats, anticipation like static prompting tales of Alice’s exploits on previous tours between the devoted, as the heat within the venue continued to rise to ever so slightly uncomfortable levels.

As the lights were extinguished and the intro tape began to roll, the audience roared like a pride of lions, the curtain dramatically falling to the floor revealing the ancient stone brick façade of Alice Coopers ‘Nightmare Castle’, the familiar riff of ‘Feed My Frankenstein’ flooding through the speakers. The venue may have been sporting a fully seated affair, but each and every chair was left wanting as fans leapt to their feet in tribute to the man whose career has now spanned an impressive five decades.

Dressed in his trademark leathers, and surrounded by his band of exemplary musicians, Alice Cooper put his foot down on the accelerator and like a madman left it there til the very end of the evening, each and every song like being strapped into the longest ghost train ride at a Hollywood fair. From the giant Frankenstein figure that loped around the stage leading into popular sing along ‘No More Mr. Nice Guy’ and follow-up ‘Bed of Nails’ from his 1989 Trash album through to his turn on the harmonica during the double header of deep cuts ‘Raped and Freezin’ and ‘Fallen in Love’, last night’s show was the gift that just kept on giving.

Ever on the move, Alice surprisingly employed a mic stand for ‘Muscle of Love’ so that he could shake his maracas, guitarists Ryan Roxie and the dazzling Nita Strauss swirling about him in a tornado of guitars. Jason Voorhees joined the party, machete in tow for ‘He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask)’, quickly disposing of two selfie obsessed teens who had wandered out onto the stage, the supernatural themes continuing following the anthemic ‘I’m Eighteen’ as ‘Billion Dollar Babies’ saw the audience showered with a catapult of bills and green steamers, before the venue got it’s rock on for radio mainstay ‘Poison’.

The brilliant castle set piece was used to it’s full extent, a guitar solo from Strauss seeing her descend from it’s turret to the floor in an epic dance of the strings, Alice later ascending its stairs for ‘Roses on White Lace’ as his wife Sheryl Goddard dressed as a ghostly, blood-soaked bride flittered around him, red roses and candelabra in hand. The band once again taking the spotlight for an instrumental version of ‘Black Widow’ featuring an impressive cow-bell accentuated drum and bass solo from Glen Sobel and Chuck Garric.

Attention to detail is an understatement when it comes to Alice, the ability to capture every highlight of the show almost an impossibility as each song in the twenty-three strong set list offered up something new to salivate over. But by far it was the sequence that began with a straitjacketed Alice singing ‘Steven’ that took the cake, as haze filled the air and disturbing baby headed custodians wandered about, Goddard returning, this time in black as Mistress of the Guillotine, to taunt Alice before leading him to his fate at the hands of the giant silver blade. Only at an Alice Cooper show would you ever hear an audience cheer at the beheading of their beloved idol.

Coming full circle, Frankenstein returned to stage to leer over a masked Alice for ‘Teenage Frankenstein’, as the band bid their farewells, the obligatory chanting for an encore beginning before they had even had the chance to leave. Returning a few moments later, Alice flashed across the stage in full bright red regalia before one last outfit switch for the finale of ‘School’s Out’, his white top hat and tails catching the light, the band increasing their numbers by one as they were joined by the incomparable Davey Johnstone who only a few days ago had graced Mt Smart Stadium. Elton John’s long-standing musical director and prolific guitarist obviously not one to pass up the opportunity to once again join Alice Cooper on stage as he did numerous times during the seventies and eighties.

Joking that now it was the end it would finally be the time in which he would speak to his fans, Alice introduced the band and the love of his life for the last forty years Sheryl, before showering the crowd with tinsel and confetti as the band beautifully worked in Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2’ to the closing bars.

Without a shadow of doubt, the Ol’ Black Eyes is Back tour is one of Alice Coopers best yet.

Were you there at The Trusts Arena for this brilliant theatrical rock display? Or have you seen Alice Cooper perform live somewhere else? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Setlist:

1. Feed My Frankenstein
2. No More Mr. Nice Guy
3. Bed Of Nails
4. Raped And Freezin’
5. Fallen In Love
6. Under My Wheels
7. Muscle Of Love
8. He’s Back (The Man Behind The Mask)
9. I’m Eighteen
10. Billion Dollar Babies
11. Poison
12. Roses On White Lace
13. My Stars
14. Devil’s Food
15. Black Widow (Jam)
16. Steven
17. Dead Babies
18. I Love The Dead
19. Escape
20. Teenage Frankenstein
21. Department Of Youth [encore]
22. School’s Out [encore]

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