Music

REVIEW: Alice Cooper/Anvil at Center in the Square - Kitchener, ON

by Keith Carman

It’s been some 40-plus years that shock rock inventor Alice Cooper has been sashaying across stages, singing about loving the dead and being sentenced to death via hanging, guillotine or what-have-you. One would figure that by this point, the 60-something crooner has had his day in the sun—er, dark.

Nope. Treating the unassuming city of Kitchener to a tight, powerful display of hits, thrills and amusements on a relatively balmy December evening, The Coop shushed naysayers and ensured adorers that he’s still just as vital, playful, demonic and commanding as the first time raucous hit “I’m Eighteen” came blaring out of FM speakers.

Hammering that point home with a bit of local flare, home-province heroes Anvil were a perfect introduction to an evening of retrospective metal-tinged rock that still maintains current relevance. Recently enjoying a revival over the past few years thanks to their compelling documentary and a sea of attention around latest release Juggernaut Of Justice, the power trio blasted out a bevy of boneshakers that saw both diehard metallions and unfamiliar onlookers cutting loose with toe-tapping, horn-thrusting and headbanging.

Wrapping up a tight set with jazz-inspired barn burner “Swing Thing” and signature “Metal On Metal,” the threesome gave a gracious bow to the enthusiastically applauding crowd, clearly surpassing expectations and creating a new pocket of fans with a few riffs, some coy lyrics and more heart than a dozen of their contemporaries.

That said, there’s no comparing to the Master. Setting the stage via a curtain emblazoned with his visage crawling through a cemetery, it was Alice’s turn to push a new effort: Welcome 2 My Nightmare, the follow-up to his 1975 affair. Starting eerily, the lights dimmed as the voice of Vincent Price rang out with his “Black Widow” monologue a la Welcome To My Nightmare. The curtain dropped, revealing Cooper dressed in a majestic spider outfit, sparks shooting out of each hand.

Setting a steady pace, the band then rolled through a stream of classic Cooper including “Under My Wheels,” “Billion Dollar Babies,” “No More Mr. Nice Guy” and more. Swapping up the obvious for a bit of personal fun, tunes such as “Brutal Planet,” “Hey Stoopid,” “Poison” and newer ditty “I’ll Bite Your Face Off” were interesting if not altogether understood/appreciated by the entire crowd. Even more enjoyable however, were offerings set aside for true legions. Dipping into rarities and geeky territory, “Halo Of Flies” and 1980 pseudo-hit “Clones” were exciting treats.

Visually, while Cooper utilized very few theatrics on this round other than obligatory beheading, spearing a photographer with a microphone stand and a massive 15-foot tall Frankenstein’s monster version of himself, his constant wardrobe changes (generally jackets, hats and props such as his cane or sword), boundless energy and hammy spryness were enough to engage throughout. In fact, they were almost nostalgic, most notably as the confetti-filled balloons came exploding out during finale “School’s Out” and encore “Elected.”

No, there were no major surprises; few mind-blowing moments of aesthetic insanity on this tour. What there was however, proved far more important. A man asserted and reassured that he can enthral, delight and inspire a capacity crowd with the one thing that has always made those visual elements possible: a slew of great rock ‘n’ roll songs performed perfectly and with genuine gusto.

PHOTO BY HEATHER OSTRANDER/AUX