[Susan Foreman]

A couple of new concert reviews

Herald-Whig

"Alice Cooper shows no signs of slowing down in return to St. Louis

On July 25, the godfather of macabre rock himself, Alice Cooper made his return engagement to the St. Louis area, bringing a brand new tour to the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre. Along with his own superstar-packed band, “Ol' Black Eyes” brought along some other friends to help create a night of dark, heavy rock in the Gateway City.

With a whole new stage set-up, a brand new set list, and the same over-the-top theatrics, Alice Cooper's new “Ol' Black Eyes Is Back” tour has everything you could want in a rock show: Screaming guitars courtesy of the triple-threat attack of Ryan Roxie, Tommy Henricksen, and “Hurricane” Nita Strauss, the beastly bass of Chuck Garric, the marvelous cacophony of sounds from Glen Sobel and his drum kit, and a stage full of performers led by Sheryl Cooper's demented nurse and featuring a giant FrankenAlice in chains, a swarm of helmeted knights populating the “Nightmare Castle,” and truly the creepiest baby you may ever see. And this entire three-ring circus is orchestrated by the madman himself, Alice Cooper, standing in the center of the maelstrom like a rock in the ocean, unmoved and in control at the same time.

Right out of the gate, this tour kicks off with “Feed My Frankenstein,” with a brief appearance of the aforementioned FrankenAlice before launching right into the classic hit “No More Mr. Nice Guy.” Celebrating thirty years of the release of one of Alice Cooper's most successful albums, “Trash,” the band kicked into “Bed of Nails” next. Throughout the night, a blend of classic tracks and newer numbers brought something for everyone. From “Billion Dollar Babies” and “I'm Eighteen” to “Poison” and “Fallen In Love”, every era of Alice Cooper was represented. Following “Dead Babies,” a staple of Cooper's stage shows – the guillotine taking off the head of the frontman – led into “I Love the Dead.” “Teenage Frankenstein” closed out the main set, with a return of the massive monster, joining the band at the front of the stage this time and taking his own moment to shine with the rest of the rockers.

The encore launched with the fast, brief rocker “Under My Wheels” before the band – already overflowing with talent – was joined by Lzzy Hale for the big closing number of the night, “School's Out” with a taste of “Another Brick in the Wall” for good measure.

Alice Cooper rarely rests, it seems. Between his own band, and his Hollywood Vampires project, he always has an iron or two in the fire. If you haven't seen him live in concert, then you need to do yourself a favor and make that happen. I can honestly say that any time they're in the neighborhood, as long as they let me in the door, the role of photographer/reviewer for any show I can get to will be played by….Me!"

Substream Magazine

"Alice Cooper proves we’re still not worthy in Nashville

Five decades hasn’t slowed Alice Cooper down one bit. The 71-year-old Detroit native seduced the crowd with his trademark top hat and cane as he sauntered onto the stage for the opening song “Feed My Frankenstein,” which is a genius song to start off a show just by the intro alone. If you are going to an Alice Cooper show, you expect the drama and theatrics and this performance was not a disappointment. The Nightmare Castle-themed stage set up was just the beginning of the amount of detail that went into the elaborate production for the night. Guillotines, straight jackets, money themed confetti as well as a dead bride portrayed by Cooper’s real life bride Sheryl Goddard are all just a glimpse into the mind of a mad genius.

Theatricality aside, the music was the heart of the show and what keeps fans coming back year after year. The setlist spanned a 50-year discography with timeless hits like “Poison”, “No More Mr. Nice Guy”, and “I’m Eighteen” as well as deeper cuts like “Bed of Nails.” Fans also were able to see a softer side of the rocker when he paid homage to the local hockey team by donning a Nashville Predators jersey during the encore song “Under My Wheels”. Each of Cooper’s band members are an intricate part of the show dynamic. Nita Strauss (guitars), Ryan Roxie (guitars), Chuck Garric (bass guitar), Tommy Henriksen (guitars), and Glen Sobel (drums) bring their own unique style to the music that came before them. Alice and company finished off the night with the song “School’s Out” by bringing out Lzzy Hale and Joe Hottinger of Halestorm and adding a snippet from Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall”.

From the fans in the venue who paid to see a legend perform to the bands that shared the stage with him, you could see Alice Cooper’s handprint on each and every person in that venue. Nearly written off at the beginning of his career as a flash-in-the-pan freak sideshow, Alice has proven the doubters wrong time and time again as he continues to blow people away after half a century of show-business."

In other news, some 2020 Australian dates have been announced