Welcome to Alice Cooper’s Nightmare Castle!! That is how the show opened and what a nightmare it was, but in a good way. This was my second time seeing Alice as I saw him 3 years earlier, almost to the day and I am glad to be back to be terrified, freaked out and entertained by the legend himself. This time around, my daughter joined me as she figured if her mom liked the last show, maybe she will and I think she did, but more on that later.
As we were standing in line to get through the vaccine check (negative covid test check) and the metal detector, we noticed people wearing Nita Strauss T-Shirts. It was cool seeing people that were coming to the show to see her. If you don’t know her, she is “Hurricane” Nita Strauss and she is Alice Cooper’s lead guitar player (one of three), but she is the featured one that gets all the press because she is pretty freaking awesome!!
After watching Ace Frehley Open the show, the crowd was pumped and ready. We only had to wait just under 30 minutes to get the stage transferred over and turned in to this giant 2-Story castle and full of horrifying things. But what wasn’t horrifying, but electrifying was the setlist…take a look at what he has to offer this time around…
- Feed My Frankenstein
- No More Mr. Nice Guy
- Bed of Nails
- Hey Stoopid
- Fallen In Love
- Go Man Go
- Under My Wheels
- He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask)
- Rock & Roll (The Velvet Underground Cover)
- I’m Eighteen
- Poison
- Billion Dollar Babies
- Guitar Solo – Nita Strauss
- Roses in White Lace
- My Stars
- Devil’s Food
- Black Widow Jam (“Black Juju” drum Solo)
- Steven
- Dead Babies
- I Love the Dead (Band vocals)
- Escape
- Teenage Frankenstein
- School’s Out (with Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall mixed in) – Encore
The curtain dropped and the nightmare began. They open with the classic “Feed My Frankenstein” and Alice’s intensity is in full force. He never breaks character throughout the whole show and is slinging his cane around with furiously. He slams it down on the stage and the cane snaps, with a large chunk flying through the air and slamming in to Nita’s head. She was stunned, turned around and walked back from the front of the stage. The roadie on the side came running out and checked her out and seemed fine so she came back and played her heart out all night. It was a crazy start to the show.
Alice does not take breaks between songs to talk to the crowd, nope! It was one song straight in to the other and an utter blast. When we get to the song, “Hey Stoopid”, the crowd goes nuts and is singing in full force. We are only 4 songs in and my voice is already shot (mostly because I was singing so much during Ace’s opening act. Then we go in to a favorite of mine, as I love the song “Fallen in Love”.
We finally get to the first new song off his 2021 album, ‘Detroit Stories’. It is the fast driving song “Go Man Go” that takes you back to the old 50’s rockers full of fun and all about fast cars so appropriately, they blast straight in to “Under My Wheels” next. I have to say “Go Man Go” is a fun song to have in the set. It fits very well.
On “He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask)”, you get two girls that come busting through the castle gates and start taking selfies. One of the girls, runs up the stairs to the top of the castle and unknowingly, Jason from Friday the 13th comes up behind her, grabs her and slits her throat. It is so much fun seeing the blood pour down her shirt. This is the fun stuff you love to see in an Alice show. He whips through a few more songs and then they get to another song I love, “Poison”. The crowd again, loves it, but they love everything they do.
Then we get “Billion Dollar Babies” and a giant baby comes busting out of the castle and runs around stage. It is quite a freaky sight. And if that wasn’t fun enough, next up is Nita Strauss and her guitar solo. What a player, she is probably one of the best new guitarist to come out of the last decade. She is definitely the most exciting. The crowd and my daughter, ate it up.
After the solo, we fly through a few more songs and then we get to the jam session. This is the part where Alice leaves the stage and the band gets all the kudos. They rock out to “Devil’s Food” and then it is the “Black Widow Jam” complete with a drum solo. This band Alice has pieced together might be his best in a long time. There is no denying the talent of Ryan Roxie, Tommy Henriksen, Chuck Garric, Glen Sobel and of course, Nita Strauss. Alice only picks the best and he certainly did that. My daughter was in awe of all of them, but mostly Nita and Glen as she loved his drum solo!
The show finally got to all the gruesome, nightmarish and full on insanity of the set. They played through “Steven”, “Dead Babies” and “I Love the Dead”. All these had numerous performances of Alice trying to kill a baby, being declared insane, put in a straight jacket and beheaded. Yep, he lost his head. It was a full on spectacle that is the fun of an Alice Cooper Show.
I mean, what more could you say…it is a shock rock helluva a good time rock & roll show that only Alice can do. They ended the show with “Escape” and “Teenage Frankenstein” and the crowd was going nuts. They left and then a few minutes later came back for the final performance of the classic Alice Cooper song that everyone knows, even my daughter, “School’s Out”. They mixed in a little Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” for good measure. It was total pandemonium and a good time was had by all. Alice Cooper never disappoints and tonight was no different. Alice even introduced the band (something Ace didn’t do…bad Ace). He is a nice guy after all. Thanks Alice for another great time.
My daughter walked away with a little appreciation for what her dad likes and she saw the fun that it was all meant to be. I think she really did enjoy herself despite not knowing the songs. More great memories to be shared together. And that is what music is all about. I’ve taken my daughter to see Kiss, Def Leppard, Journey and now Ace and Alice…she is a trooper!
And here are a few more pictures…sorry pictures are all a little grainy as our phones suck!
2 Loud 2 Old Music 
Wait, so Nita getting slammed in the head was an accident? I’m glad she was ok. Sounds like it was an insane show: Alice tried to kill a giant baby, was declared insane, and he lost his head. I never really got Alice, but I’m glad you and your daughter enjoyed the concert!
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She got beamed real good. It is a crazy show and one I would recommend highly before its too late and he no longer tours.
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Props to Nita for handling that injury like a champ and still kicking butt on the guitar. Maybe if I get into his music, I’ll consider putting Alice on my list of acts to see before they retire.
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She’s a trooper.
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It sounds like a fantastic show, I’ve only seen Alice once back in 1988 so I’m a bit jealous. Your photos look better than any of the ones I take when I go to shows. Maybe I do need to upgrade my cell phone.
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Ha! Most of the pictures were taken with my daughter’s phone as hers is a year or two newer than mine.
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it’s basically EPIC !
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Basically, yes!!
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Dude, this warms my heart 🙂
Nita is a force of nature alright… it’s good to see her making a name and some hardcore fans for herself. Happy happy happy.
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She was fantastic. I think Payton was blown away by how good she was.
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She’s also just a really inspiring artist, I think!
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Cool looking stage. Like that Coop has changed it up in bringing back tunes like Teenage Frankenstein and Man Behind The Mask. Love the tinny echoey Constrictor album. lol
Solid band behind Alice but that is to be expected.
Great writeup and good parenting by the way!
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Thanks. I love that there were a lot of different songs than the last tour I saw a few years ago. And I try on the parenting. I was glad she went when her mom couldn’t. She got to experience something different.
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Thats cool. There is talk of him coming here next year and if he does I will go as that show from 3 years ago was stellar.
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Awesome, John – love that it opened with Feed My Frankenstein!
I’m glad your daughter enjoyed the show too. And by the sounds of it, he puts on a show, rather than just a concert.
Hopefully he comes north of the border soon!
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Thanks. I hope he does so you can go see him.
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What a fantastic set list. Nita posted about that cane to the face online. She was such a trooper and kept playing? She is amazing
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She gave it her all. She was a little taken back by the hit but once the roadie looked at her head she was good the rest of the night.
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Concerts!!!
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YES!!
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Alice is amazing, and even more so given his age. As you may recall, I saw him with the Hollywood Vampires two years ago, and though their show was tame compared to his own act, he seemed to have the energy and vigor of a 50-year-old.
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Yeah, I remember you going to that show. That would’ve been cool. The difference between him and Ace’s performance is startling. Ace barely gets around on stage and Alice is all over the place acting like he’s way younger.
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I was there and I didn’t notice Nina getting hit. Alice and his band are spectacular and dedicated to the show.
I love how Alice showcases all of his bandmates talent. Alice is an exceptional showman that understands the collaborative nature of his vision.
Was a big contrast to Ace Frehley not even introducing his band.
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It happened so fast, if you weren’t watching her, you would’ve missed it.
Alice is all class and Ace is all ass…but I still love Ace.
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Nice review. And the pics are great.
The set list is interesting, a good mixture. I’m gonna do a Spotify playlist of it.
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I loved the setlist as there were so many different songs then when I saw him about 3 years ago.
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Holy mackerel, what a night! So glad you got to see this, and to take your daughter to the show too!
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It was a fun evening and I am so glad my daughter got to experience it. Even if she never listens to him again, when people her age years from now say, “Oh man, I wish I would’ve gotten to see Alice Cooper Live”, she can say she did!!
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Exactly! Plus, I mean, it’s Alice. If ever there was gonna be a show that was a ton more than just a band on stage, it’s gonna be Alice. He is vaudeville and circus and rock show all in one!
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I told her that Alice was more show than a concert and I think she’ll remember it for a long while.
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Brilliant!
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Great review…I want to see him again. I only get to see him years ago open up for the Stones. With the makeup…he never ages.
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Hopefully you get the chance.
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Alice! His shows never get old. I’ve seen him four times. I read about Nita getting hit in the head. I figure she would have to be tough to be in Alice’s band. The man only picks amazing players. He’s had a bunch of well known players graduate from his ranks – Kip Winger, Rob Beach, Eric Singer, to name a few.
His stage show is second to none. It is always entertaining. His songs still resonate. They’re still relevant. Most of all, they’re still great songs.
WE’RE NOT WORTHY! WE’RE NOT WORTHY! 😉
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