Turning Nightmares Into Dreams • ALICE COOPER Rocks the Dow Event Center

Detroit-native and Michigan musical legend Alice Cooper, also known as the Godfather of Shock Rock, descended upon Saginaw’s Dow Event Center on the evening of May 3^rd to a packed house and eager crowd ready to absorb his singular brand of innovative and tightly choreographed rock-and-roll theatre that has blended elements of the macabre with infectious hook-driven musicality for over 55 years now.

The energy in the crowd was palpable even before the show began and their enthusiasm escalated after mysterious black-clad bell ringers sauntered across the stage as guitarists Ryan Roxie and Nita Strauss, bassist Chuck Garric, and drummer Glen Sobel barreled onto the stage kicking things off with the song Lock Me Up.

As they shifted into high gear the spotlight shined the silhouette of Cooper himself, stnding behind a towering transparent white banner of a front-page newspaper cover carrying a headline that read ‘Banned in MICHIGAN!’ while a loud voice boomed out, “Alice Cooper, you’ve been banned in Michigan, how do you plead?”

Cooper shouted: GUILTY!” as he parted the banner with a sword, stepped out into full view of the crowd wearing a top hat and black leather, at which point the crowd went crazy and I realized that at the age of 77, the Coop still has what it takes to turn heads and get fists pumping high in the air.

It was an evening of rock theatrics at its finest.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame back in 2011, the show featured familiar hits that have withstood the test of time to newer tracks from Cooper’s new album, Ol’ Back Eyes Is Back, which was created under the auspices of legendary producer Bob Ezrin.

For those unable to make it to the show, after the show opener the order of the set list went as follows: No More Mr. Nice Guy, I'm Eighteen, Under My Wheels, Bed of Nails, Billion Dollar Babies, Snakebite, Be My Lover, Lost in America, He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask), Hey Stoopid, Welcome to My Nightmare, Cold Ethyl, Go to Hell, Poison, Black Widow Jam, Ballad of Dwight Fry. Killer, I Love the Dead, School's Out, and Feed My Frankenstein.

With an audience that spanned generations of young and old, Cooper’s deep and raspy vocals, coupled with his tightly wound and highly rehearsed band, sounded damn near as good as he did the first time I saw him back in high school 50-years ago, and that realization apparently shared by other silver-haired members in the audience was better than a dose of Viagra when it came down to getting them of their seats and shaking their booties.

During the song “Eighteen,” Cooper wielded a crutch as Roxie and Strauss faced off to demonstrate their guitar skills.  Other song highlights of the night included “Snakebite,” with Cooper’s six-foot boa constrictor wrapped around him as he sang. 

Apart from the excellence of the guitarists, Sobel displayed his own prowess on the drum kit with complex patterns and speed – working more like a magician whenever he decided to twirl his sticks. And during the song I Love the Dead, Cooper and his wife Sheryl (dressed as Marie Antoinette) came onto the stage as the infamous guillotine as rolled onto the stage.

After band introductions, the encore “Feed My Frankenstein” ensued.  A giant Frankenstein figure came wandering onto the stage, confetti erupted, and the band rocked on while Cooper sang. 

The entire house was up and cheering. Cooper closed out the night by saying, “May all your dreams be nightmares.” 

At that moment, I realized my only regret of the evening was the late Dick Wagner -  former Cooper guitarist, co-songwriter, and Saginaw rock-and-roll legend - wasn’t able to be standing on that stage next to him.

But then again, maybe he was: rock and roll spirits have a tendency to work in mysterious ways.