Almost a year to the day, we were in the same room watching mega group Hollywood Vampires play a mixture of covers and hits in a high production spectacle.
Tonight, frontman and legend Alice Cooper is back without the distraction of A List actors to bring us the ‘Too Close For Comfort’ tour where Glasgow is the first date in the UK leg. We’ve been promised snakes, monsters, and shock… And we can’t wait, frankly.
Opening the show are The Meffs – seen by us recently as the support act for Frank Turner where they had a great, class driven, punk rock. My initial concern was that the fury would be lost in such a big space, but we may be living in safe times. Just as we’re seeing punk bands like Idols and Soft Play on the same stage, it seems we’ve entered an era where we can have genuine punk in arenas.
Playing to a mostly empty room, it’s easy for everything to get a bit watered down and the outcome it’s more cutesy than fierce. There is the Prodigy cover which is a welcome return, though. You can’t deny that the band are pouring everything on the stage, but are a lot better in a packed out sweatbox.
The main support are legends in their own right – Primal Scream. They kicked off their set with the live debut of ‘Love Insurrection’ instantly energising the crowd. The band’s performance only got stronger from there, with ‘Ready To Go Home’ standing out for its irresistible funky groove.
‘Deep Dark War,’ is a haunting track from their upcoming album, due out November 8. The highlight of the night came during ‘Country Girl,’ where Bobby Gillespie changed the lyrics to pay tribute to Glasgow women, earning loud applause from the audience. He then led the crowd in the rousing “here we, here we, here we fucking go” chant… a moment of true Glasgow spirit.
The set closed with the explosive ‘Get Your Rocks Off’, leaving everyone amped up and ready for more. It was a dynamic and memorable performance from the veteran rockers in front of the frontman’s home town.
Alice Cooper kicked off with an explosive one-two punch of ‘Lock Me Up’ and ‘Welcome To The Show’, setting the stage for an unforgettable night. The audience barely had time to catch their breath before the band launched into the first of many classics, ‘No More Mr. Nice Guy’, getting the crowd roaring early on.
Theatrics were woven throughout the set, starting with Alice’s dramatic entrance: a massive banner covered the stage as a voice announced that Alice was wanted for crimes in Scotland, asking, “How do you plead?” In true Cooper style, a shadow appeared behind the banner, declaring “Guilty” before Alice ripped through the fabric with a sword and took command of the stage.
From there, the show was a wild ride. ‘Under My Wheels’ had its final verse tailored for the Glasgow crowd with Alice singing “my Scottish wheels”, a change that delighted the audience. Later, during ‘Billion Dollar Babies’, a confetti cannon showered the venue with money, while ‘Snakebite’ featured a real live snake wrapped around Alice’s neck – we’re getting everything we were promised and more.
The horror theatrics ramped up with ‘Man Behind The Mask’ when a girl invaded the stage, only to have her throat theatrically slit by Alice’s henchmen. The chaos continued during ‘Hey Stoopid’ as a photographer rushed the stage, only to be impaled with a metal pole by Alice himself.
Musically, the show was on another level. A standout was the arena-shaking performance of ‘Poison’, which sounded massive. Nita Strauss delivered a jaw-dropping guitar solo that left the crowd in awe, followed by equally impressive solos from the rest of the band. A drum solo added to the electrifying atmosphere, showcasing the band’s exceptional talent.
Visual spectacle met rock magic again during ‘Feed My Frankenstein’, with a giant Frankenstein monster parading across the stage. Alice’s return in a straitjacket for ‘Ballad of Dwight Fry’ slowed the tempo down, leading to one of the most shocking moments of the night—Alice’s “beheading” during ‘I Love The Dead,’ executed by his daughter, who triumphantly held up his head.
The main set wrapped up with the political anthem ‘Elected’, and the encore brought the house down with ‘School’s Out’, featuring a surprise snippet of Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick In The Wall’ and full band introductions. The entire show was an insane blend of theatrical spectacle and masterful rock, proving once again that Alice Cooper remains a legendary force on stage.
Photos by Catching Light Photography
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