Review Magazine

Alice Cooper - Photo by Kay McEntee

A crowded, dark theater forms the backdrop. Men & women nuzzled together in a sweaty, intimate setting gently swaying to & fro, voices joining together as they croon along with the entertainer on stage...."Dead babies, can't take care of themselves. Dead babies, can't take things off the shelf". HUH??? WHAT THE....??!! So went the Alice Cooper "Brutal Planet-Decent Into DragonTown" show.

It seemed only fitting and politically correct to visit with Alice as he makes his way cross-country with the DragonTown tour. What could be more American than to attend the October 24 show at Royal Oak Music Theatre where Halloween and election day walk hand-in-hand, (IS there a difference?), providing endless entertainment for the masses.

As our *uber-photographer Kay McEntee, (aka "fearless" Kay), and I pulled up to the Royal Oak Music Theatre, a line 4 blocks long greeted us as only a Detroit audience could. Mostly dressed in black and with an attitude to match, the crowd ranged in age from 8 years old to the die-hard rockers of 50.

It was a very strange feeling to be standing in the mosh-pit next to an elementary student, hair spiked by dad's hair gel and eyes lined black by mom's Revlon mascara, but that's the way the atmosphere flowed. It had the feel of some sort of freaky family reunion as if the Charles Manson family was uniting for a friendly outing. Born a few miles from Royal Oak, Vincent Fournier, aka Alice Cooper, was the hometown hero of the night.

My own history with Alice goes back to grade school. Armed with my very first "allowance" of $5, my father drove me to the local record store where said dollars were spent on "Love It To Death". The snake on the cover with a calendar and a picture of Alice hanging from a noose on the inside sleeve, prompted my father to do a slow burn, turn to me and say "You are not getting one thin dime of mine if you're going to spend it on **&&#@@!!! like THIS!"

Such a reaction of utter horror and disgust paved the way of my musical interests. As the Rolling Stones were one of the first groups to upset & alarm parents for their "vulgar" sense of style & musical content, Mr. Cooper was, for my generation, the breath of fresh air from all of the 'peace, love & understanding' & 'where have all the flowers gone' music of the time.

Armed with a word of mouth reputation for chicken molestation and other acts of mayhem, The Alice Cooper band was the outrageous, shining trumpet of a new era of stage-show rock; a glorious star amid the dreaded hippie tripe oozing from the AM radio. This was FM music, when FM meant alternative. Imagine that!

As the 9pm show time bell tolled, the crowd began an unearthly chant of " Alice, Alice, Alice"; an eerie echo in the cavern-like music hall. Taking to the stage within shaking-hand distance of me, there stood Alice, attired in black leather pants, samurai sword in hand and a full-length leather coat that was surely made by the devil's sewing bee. I was instantly propelled back to junior high school.

The crowd roared en mass with a din of some sort of dark beast in ecstasy after trapping & devouring his prey. Wickedly strutting the stage, Alice is the embodiment of rock 'n roll grace with body slumping, black hair flowing, sword in hand & a defiant sneer that seldom left his face. As he sang such hits as "School's Out", "Elected", "Dead Babies", and "I'm Eighteen", the audience chanted out the lyrics bore into their heads from many nights of Alice on the 'hi-fi'.

When asked if he found it 'weird' to be singing "I'm Eighteen" at age 53, Alice replied, "No, I'm 53, but Alice can be 18, or 5 or 80." This is the attitude that he brings to the stage. We're not 18 or 35 or 45-we're all 18 at the show. A second chance to sweat, scream, play 'air-guitar' and such, because Alice allows us this escape.

And, shame on you if you ask how he views the recent 'shock-rockers' such as Marilyn Manson. His reply is "I think these bands need a good gimmick, don't you?" Which, to any Alice fan is a hilarity knowing the groundbreaking theater of rock he pioneered many moons ago. I often wonder how snotty the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is by not including Alice. Listen to the lyrics of "Dwight Fry" and tell me to my face that the groundbreaking, audacious, precedent-shattering Alice Cooper Band doesn't deserve a well-respected place in the hallowed halls of rock. I think a write in campaign is in order!

Hey, he saved my life during the dreaded teen-age years, where politics was something on TV that during the Nixon-Watergate fiasco was in full boil - something that cut into our TV viewing time; and rebellion was quite confusing to the children of the 70's, with hippies something to be eaten for dinner. Peace, love and understanding had NO PLACE in my life.