[Susan Foreman]

Review: Alice Cooper, Airbourne, The MC50: Perth, February 8th 2020 - Rockpit

"Alice is back Australia! Unless you live under a rock you’ll know that ‘old black eyes’ the man himself is back in Australia and tonight in Perth we again got the honour of his first tour date on our shores since 2017. Having released the ‘Breadcrumbs’ EP last year Alice and band have been touring Europe and the States for most of the year and hit Australia after a short break for more 2 hours extravaganzas.

And what a show! Honestly Alice must be one of the fittest 72 year olds around and he doesn’t miss a beat, prowling the stage taking the spotlight,orchestrating the set pieces there’s nowhere to hide. For those that have been long time fans and seen the show before its always great to compare the production to those you’ve witnessed before and Cooper 2020 is just as big a roller-coaster of shock-rock and horror-laced fun as it’s always been.It’s enough to make you envy the first-timers!

For a man in his seventh decade Alice still knows how to pack ’em in and tonight Perth’s rockers are out in force packing the RAC Arena and proving to all those bands that don’t bother to visit the West that Perth’s rock pulse is well and truly beating. Indeed the ‘Ol’ Black Eyes’ Is Back tour looks like being a hard act to follow.

Before Alice takes to the stage though let’s not forget the rather fine warm-up acts. Firstly, if like me, you have lived with ‘that’ album all your life but only ever heard of the legend of Wayne Kramer and Detroit’s MC5 then MC50 (should that be MC52 this year?) is a complete revelation! And with members of Soundgarden and Faith No More and Fugazi in tow as well as Marcus Durant fronting this is a musical treat to be savored!

And if that wasn’t enough the ever solid and constantly entertaining solid rock of Airbourne really hit the spot for some, after all they may be from Australia but they tour infrequently these days and never seem to make it to Perth. All I can say is thanks Alice , another great line-up.

Of course most are here just for the main act but with an entree like that Alice has set the bar high for himself! The performance tonight was one that merely cements the reputation that Mr. Cooper has created for himself over the five decades he’s trod the boards. And whilst we’ve seen many of his set-pieces over the years this tour sees a few new surprises that breathe fresh ‘life’ into the classic horror theatre that plays out on stage.

It all bursts into glorious technicolor with a rousing ‘Feed My Frankenstein’ which introduces Alice centre stage resplendent in cape and cane in hand. From there the audience is treated to two no stop hours of hits and set-pieces that look and sound as good as they ever have and with this stellar line-up of the best musicians in the business why wouldn’t it!?

So whether you’re a sucker for the oldies like ‘I’m Eighteen’ (well 4 times 18 actually) or the evergreen ‘No More Mr Nice Guy’ or love the camped up horror of ‘Frankenstein’, ‘Dead Babies’ or the appearance of Jason to ‘off’ a couple of selfie-taking teens during ‘Man Behind The Mask’ there’s something for every generation of Cooper fans.

From a long-term fan’s perspective its the deep gems that the band pull out in the shape of tracks like ‘Bed of Nails’ (from Trash’); ‘Roses on White Lace’ (from ‘Raise Your Fist and Yell’) and ‘My Stars’ (from School’s Out) that are maybe the icing on the cake and the ones that raise a few knowing smiles. Though there’s only ‘Fallen in Love’ from the last decade that makes the setlist (from 2017’s Paranormal) and nothing from ‘Breadcrumbs’ which admittedly would be hard to fit into this format.

For sheer entertainment though – Australia this is one show you cannot afford to miss"