By DAVID W. WERSINGER
ACCENT EDITOR
DAYTONA BEACH --Alice Cooper was positively dying on the Peabody Auditorium stage Monday night.
But as it turns out for his fans, that was a good thing.
The shock rocker and his tight band brought their ambitious Theater of Death tour to Daytona Beach's venerable venue and Cooper, 61, was put to "death" four different times during the course of the concert. The rocker's mock execution at the end of his shows have long been a concert staple and fan favorite since the early '70s, but for this current tour, Cooper has outdone even himself.
At Monday's show, the singer was "killed" by guillotine, lethal
injection, hanging, and death by an iron maiden-type device. Along the
way, Cooper, looking fit and sinister and dressed in different shades
of black leather, delivered the goods with a strong voice and lethal
band.
While not exactly family entertainment, the concert delivered what you would expect from Alice Cooper. Blistering, classic songs, mixed with some key newer material and outrageous rock theater that included faux murder, necrophilia, spousal abuse, strangulation, baby doll beheading and the aforementioned executions. Again, fairly typical stuff for Alice.
But watching this spectacle unfold, it's easy to forget the reason most
people were there in the first place: the music. Cooper and his band
opened the show with "School's Out," his timeless teen angst anthem
from 1972, and from there, they barley stopped to catch their breath.
Tossing canes, rider's crops, beaded necklaces and other items into the audience, the singer lurched around the stage like a demented shaman as he belted out "Welcome to My Nightmare," "Cold Ethyl," "Is It My Body," "Be My Lover," and a tender medley -- we'll use that term loosely -- of the ballads "Only Women Bleed" and "I Never Cry."
The rocker appears to have not aged and his energy propelled the crowd along in the three-quarters-filled Peabody. His band was led by the twin-guitar attack of Keri Kelli and Damon Johnson, and the sturdy backbeats of bassist Chuck Garric and drummer Jimmy DeGrasso. At one point during an extended instrumental break, strains of the theme from "The Godfather" could be heard, bringing smiles to some in the audience.
Cooper wound up the evening with "Billion Dollar Babies," "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and "Under My Wheels," before returning to the delight of the crowd with a reprise of "School's Out" in tux and tails.
It's good to see Peabody rocking again with classic, somewhat provocative rock. And Sweet Alice was definitely up to the task.
While not exactly family entertainment, the concert delivered what you would expect from Alice Cooper. Blistering, classic songs, mixed with some key newer material and outrageous rock theater that included faux murder, necrophilia, spousal abuse, strangulation, baby doll beheading and the aforementioned executions. Again, fairly typical stuff for Alice.
But watching this spectacle unfold, it's easy to forget the reason most
people were there in the first place: the music. Cooper and his band
opened the show with "School's Out," his timeless teen angst anthem
from 1972, and from there, they barley stopped to catch their breath. Tossing canes, rider's crops, beaded necklaces and other items into the audience, the singer lurched around the stage like a demented shaman as he belted out "Welcome to My Nightmare," "Cold Ethyl," "Is It My Body," "Be My Lover," and a tender medley -- we'll use that term loosely -- of the ballads "Only Women Bleed" and "I Never Cry."
The rocker appears to have not aged and his energy propelled the crowd along in the three-quarters-filled Peabody. His band was led by the twin-guitar attack of Keri Kelli and Damon Johnson, and the sturdy backbeats of bassist Chuck Garric and drummer Jimmy DeGrasso. At one point during an extended instrumental break, strains of the theme from "The Godfather" could be heard, bringing smiles to some in the audience.
Cooper wound up the evening with "Billion Dollar Babies," "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and "Under My Wheels," before returning to the delight of the crowd with a reprise of "School's Out" in tux and tails.
It's good to see Peabody rocking again with classic, somewhat provocative rock. And Sweet Alice was definitely up to the task.
We had a great time!
Alice was awesome and Peabody was spectacular!