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ALICE AT OJIBWAY
I say that in complete sincerity. What the Rolling Stones are to some people, Alice is to me. What KISS is to some people, Alice Cooper is to me. Throughout the most momentous of occasions in my life, there was usually some Alice song in the background, providing a fitting soundtrack, or at least a sarcastic piece of counterpoint. From his 1970s heyday, thru his less-touted efforts, to his comeback, and finally to the new millennium version treading the boards today, I don't think there is a musical entity that is more consistently relevant. When it was announced early summer that the legendary performer would be gracing the stage at Saginaw's beautiful Ojibway Island, apparently I wasn't the only one in town with a serious Alice jones - EVERYBODY was talking about it! For years, the Island has been host to very successful Country and R&B concerts, events that usually turn out to be well attended and reasonably trouble-free. But, most of us wondered, where was the ROCK? The only times in recent history that rock-oriented events were staged on the island, they have failed miserably due to lack of advertising, lack of a major headliner, and general lack of promotion. Plus, there was never a beer tent allowed on the island. Leave it to Z93 and WHEELZ to put together the mother of all Saginaw rock shows. The first annual WHEELZSTOCK featured not only 'the Coop', but up-and-comers the Dirty Americans and local favorites Silverspork, and newcomers Empty Pockets - all three acts hailing from Michigan. If this thing becomes a truly annual thing (and I think most of us are PRAYING it does), perhaps next year we'll see more of our local scene opening up the show. But of course, the majority in attendance was there to see Alice, and I have to admit (as staunch a supporter of our local scene as I am) that that was my M.O. as well. I have not had the privilege of witnessing Alice in concert since the 'Raise your Fist and Yell' Tour stop at the Saginaw Civic Center in 1987.
Initially, I was slightly worried-it's been 17 years, and that was one of his
'comeback' tours! There are few things worse than being disappointed by one of
your lifelong heroes-Black Sabbath at the 1999 Ozzfest comes
shrieking to mind-so I was slightly apprehensive. But I figured as a worst-case
scenario, it would be kind of like seeing your favorite relative after a stroke:
not the same, but thankfully still alive. Opening up with Hello Hurray from Billion Dollar Babies, Alice tore through a set comprised entirely of his classics, including a few surprises for the faithful - the one-two punch of Desperado and Halo of Flies; the choreographed streetfight during School's Out's "Guttercat vs. the Jets" that featured Alice's daughter Calico Cooper, who is following in her gorgeous mother's footsteps; the aborted Only Women Bleed that gave way to a ferocious rendition of Love it to Death's "Ballad of Dwight Frye"(my personal favorite), and the appearance of Saginawian (and former Cooper collaborator) Dick Wagner during the set closing barnstorm that was "School's Out". Although the guillotine and hangman's noose were conspicuously absent - the show took place in broad daylight and these things usually work best in darkness with stage lighting. Alice proved that these were just gimmicks and not necessary for a killer rock show. He is as energetic onstage as ever, and doesn't appear to be much older than the last time I saw him-which is saying quite a lot when you put him alongside, say, Keith Richards. But then, Alice was smart enough to leave the bottle and the drugs behind back in the '80s. Nowhere was this more apparent than at the charity softball game between Alice's team and the staff of Z93 and WHEELZ that took place the day before at Vet's Park in Bay City. Though the home team trounced Alice's Nighmares 8-6, Cooper was nonetheless in fine form. At one point he smiled over at us and said, "You guys ever see 'The Natural'?" and with that, he pointed to a distant location beyond centerfield as he stepped up to bat and, damned if he didn't knock it straight into left field. The softball thing has been an ongoing part of this tour, but the Nightmares have been undefeated - until now. As
usual, Coop had a killer backup band, featuring, among others, keyboardist
Teddy Zigzag (of whom Alice quipped, "we borrowed him from Guns n'Roses
- since they weren't gonna need him for awhile"), and guitarist Ryan Roxie,
who has at one point or another played with almost every glam outfit in
California, most notably Slash's pre-Velvet revolver outfit, Slash's Snakepit. Ever
the political commentator, the encore of "Elected" was graced by two
dancers wearing George W. Bush and John Kerry masks, who at the
end of their routine revealed a nipple-covering sequined tassel 'bleeding
heart' (on the Kerry) and Spongebob Squarepants boxers (on the W.). Alas, Alice was granting no interviews, but when you consider the length of his career, it's easy to see why he would prefer to spend time meeting his fans than to hole up with some scribe that would probably ask him the same damn questions he's had to answer a million times. Which is what he did. My two children and I were among the many who were welcomed aboard Alice's Knights-provided (and quite swank I might add) tour bus after the show. In person Alice was the way many had described him to me-very down-to earth, personable, funny; kind of like a favorite uncle. When he hoisted my three-year-old son aloft for a photo (yes, I'm the kind of dad who takes his kids to see Alice Cooper for their first concert), my son acted like he'd known Alice all his life. If only I could have asked him what the "Steven Trilogy" (from Welcome To My Nightmare) was really about; but perhaps another time. With 9,000 people in attendance on Ojibway Island and about 150 boats either tied up on the new riverfront docks or anchored out on the river, this show gave each of us a glimpse at what we always believed Ojibway Island could be - a beautiful summertime Mecca in a community too often belabored with divisiveness.
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