Alice Week concludes: Alice in Dallas! October 12th at the Palladium

“I think Alice Cooper is an overlooked songwriter.” – Bob Dylan (no joke)

 

Although he’s my favorite musical artist of all time, I’ve never seen Alice Cooper live.  His stage show has set the industrywide bar for theatricality for four decades now, and when I heard he’s coming to town in October, I started getting that special “I want to go to that” antsiness.

Alice’s shows are a vaudevillian feast for the eyes and ears, with one foot in the carnival and the other in a psychedelic proto-metal stewpot that began simmering in the late ’60s; although this scene produced some notable acts (Deep Purple, Blue Oyster Cult, Mott the Hoople, Black Sabbath), Alice is unique among them.  He never had that sludge-y sound that made Black Sabbath sound so evil, and he was too horror-happy to join the glam ranks of the New York Dolls and Slade.  His stage act, with the live animals, costumed dancers, magic tricks, smoke, mirrors, and lights, is more akin to a circus than a “serious” concert.  Alice and KISS shared some aesthetic and musical aspects, but Alice was far too artsy and progressive to be compared too extensively with the relatively one-dimensional KISS.

he’s back – the man behind the mask

Some aspects of his stage show are easy to dismiss as cheesy, and it’s true that the interpretive dancers in spider outfits are pretty over-the-top.  But think about it: interpretive dancers in spider outfits.  The only other time I’ve seen that done was on Lawrence Welk.  Only Alice could make mothers fear for their children’s souls with a stage show featuring ballerinas in corny Halloween costumes.  From the chicken days onward, Alice’s live show has been the best there is.  Who cares if his band is made up of soulless studio musicians?  There’s so much to look at that it’s almost a guaranteed good time.

No one is quite like Alice, although others have tried – when Marilyn Manson broke big, I heard a lot of people saying, “I liked Manson the first time around, when he was called Alice Cooper.”  However, while Marilyn & co. have faded from view (that’s what happens when you have a cool scary stage show and really crappy music), Alice is still releasing albums and videos that, while they don’t touch the quality of his heyday, sound pretty good for a guy who’s been setting the standard of spooky for 40 fucking years.

I’ve gotta see Alice live before I die or he retires, whichever comes first.  I’ve got a class presentation that day, but I’m gonna see if I can swing it.  Wanna go too?  The deets:

What: Alice Cooper’s Theatre of Death!  Where: The Palladium Ballroom, 1135 S Lamar, by the Convention Center and Southside on Lamar.  When: Thursday Oct 12th, 8:00 PM.  How much: $25.00 for cheap seats, $39 for midrange, $60 for expensive ones.  The Palladium site says parking is $10, so this one’ll cost ya, but…hmm, is Alice worth it?  Answer: yes.  Click it for tickets.