News

September 20, 2007

Review: Cooper’s ‘nightmare’ takes center stage

Rock’s macabre senior statesman had dedicated audience Tuesday night.

WILKES-BARRE – The curtain just opened, and there was already a “dead” body on stage. Alice Cooper hadn’t even sung a note, but the audience had already seen him kill someone through images presented on the curtain as the show opened.

Shock rock had come to the Kirby Center.

Cooper was tame after that on Thursday, even gracious enough to sing over the body as it left the stage on a stretcher carried by two masked men.

That was the crowd’s introduction to Cooper – although judging from the amount of people who sang along, there weren’t many people who needed to be introduced.

The show was tame through the first half, especially with Cooper tossing beads like it was Mardi Gras during “Dirty Diamonds.” Most everyone in the audience had his or her hands in the air, yearning for a tangible reminder of the concert.

But maybe they were just extending their arms out, yearning for more Alice Cooper.

That’s what the fans got. There was a simplicity on stage – a few colored lights and torn pieces of backdrop were the set’s only props.

But the audience’s collective eyes did divert from the 59-year-old Cooper when his daughter Calico, 25, danced next to the drum set. People with cameras and camera phones flooded the aisles to get a picture of her.

They also had the cameras out when she kidnapped Cooper offstage at gunpoint, opening the stage for a tremendous drum solo.

A cloud of smoke preceded Cooper when he retook the stage, after the band spent a few minutes jamming out. The crowd was pleased, but even happier to hear “Welcome to My Nightmare.”

That’s exactly where the crowd was, Cooper’s vaudeville show, his nightmare.

At press time, Cooper was dancing with a life-sized doll – and tossing it around the stage like a puppet. He affectionately held her for a moment, but just a moment. It was practically a metaphor for how he was treating the crowd: wooing them with his shocking antics.

ON THE WEB

For more on the show – including Cooper’s "hanging," check out Lisa’s blog at www.timesleader.com/entertainment.

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