Alice Cooper Brought the Shock Rock to Pikes Peak Center – Colorado Springs, CO

Alice Cooper

Bringing the Shock Rock to Pikes Peak Center

Colorado Springs, CO

The man who is no longer Mr. Nice Guy, Alice Cooper, brought his Paranormal tour to Colorado Springs on August 8th, 2018. Along with the godfather of shock rock, Cooper himself brought his rag-tag bag of musical vagabonds along for the ride. With Nita Strauss, Ryan Roxie, and Tommy Henriksen  on guitars, Chuck Garric on bass, with Glen Sobel on drums, this motley group provided their most stellar work as backup for Cooper.

Kicking off the incredible set was the title song to his 2000 album of the same name, Brutal Planet. The industrial style riffs kicked off the atmosphere of the night’s show, as well as Alice’s trademark sneer. Playing deep cuts interspersed with some of his most popular work had the crowd on their feet! Yes, the venue was an all-seated style theater, and practically everyone was on their feet!

The party had barely gotten started when they launched into No More Mr. Nice Guy, his 1973 hit. Between deep cuts, and his more well-known and popular songs (I’m Eighteen, Feed My Frankenstein, School’s Out), fans were dancing, ebbing and flowing to the macabre and music.

Despite being 70 years old, Mr. Cooper can still bring it. In between his raspy, almost-forced-to-be-awful style singing, he would occasionally croon. A great example is when he sings the chorus of Only Women Bleed. His clean singing almost reminds me of a mix of Tony Bennett and Sammy Davis Jr.

Every member of his band is at the top of their game. Running and jumping across the stage as if it were a trampoline, playing to the crowd and they all look like they had been having the time of their life! Wouldn’t you know it, although Alice didn’t run and jump, he certainly kept up with the stage show and theatrics. Breaking out the giant Frankenstein suit/puppet and the medical bed prop they used, Alice didn’t miss a beat!

Being my first Alice Cooper show, I knew I was in for a treat. The show was equal parts macabre and theater, and musical, it was an absolutely fantastic experience. Anyone who’s even somewhat familiar with at least one Cooper song should see him. For their closer, a medley of School’s Out mixed with Pink Floyd’s Another Brick In The Wall made for a fantastic, and fun closer. Definitely one of the best shows I’ve seen in a while!