Alice Cooper Halloween 2011
And once again I found myself in a plane to London, flying over for one night of fun and craziness.
All in all, it was mostly certainly worth the trip, there were some glitches. My main aim when I travel that far for a concert is to meet friends and spend time chatting, that didn't work out so well as the opening of the doors was super chaotic again and I lost sight of everyone. I found myself on my own at the far left corner. Looks like I forgot my own best advice “always head for the right side”, somehow it's always been my “lucky side”.
“Head to the right Dragonlady,! No! the other right silly! Ah well....”
Sort of left of where Orianthi is situated but after shifting a little I managed to find a spot where I could see the whole of the stage, and the people there were really nice mostly, so I made some new friends instead of spending time with old friends. Also cool.
This was the full Halloween show and I had been really keen of having a nice costume. For once that I could really go all the way into Steampunk, I wasn't going to let this pass. But of course I let work and stuff get in the way so I had to come up with something in the course of last week.
Here is the result:
The full costume complete with cape by aka Frock Tarts. The head dress becomes a homing device that allows the traveller to keep track of his whereabouts. And the cape doubles as a bustle.
I had to use another belt as this one fell to pieces... can't always work out. I also had a special camera case and Steampunked iPod case (will post photos on deviantArt)
And a better look at the head dress:
Click for a bigger version (there is more on my Flickr gallery)
Back to the show:
Always the joker, Alice had chosen a set of gruesome numbers to start the festivities. The trouble is that his shows are usually ok for young audiences but this was a bit more hardcore than usual. As a result the young girls around me averted their eyes or hid behind their mobile phone, texting to friends or posting to Facebook. One poor girl even fainted at the sight of a young woman sticking needles in her forearms and setting fire to them.
I was bracing myself for much worse and actually found most of that part a bit boring. In fact the only act that I found really good was that needle act, although if I may say so the young lady should take some dancing lessons, I wasn't too convinced by her repetitive contortions. The rest of her fiery show was quite nice though.
Then it was time for the opening act and for once I was really impatient to see it. I never imagined I would see the New York Dolls live one day! Very cool set, but somehow it's not really as convincing without the pogo. Just as well, as I preferred to keep my energy for later and I am getting a bit old for such activities. Same for the band, I suppose but they are still cutting it. Not everyone can be as crazy and restless as Iggy (every time I've seen him I came away with my share of bruises and cuts, despite avoiding the middle of the mosh pit)
Avoid this part if you don't want any spoilers... this will show on Sky TV on Halloween day so if you want to watch it you might want to avoid the rest of the review
Then it was time for Alice. It's my third time seeing this show (out of a total of 17) and so I've said most of what I think of this set list in my previous reviews. “Clones” sounded even better than two weeks ago in Switzerland, and there are now two actual clones in Alice masks wandering about
What I was awaiting the most, and one of the reasons I had to travel, was THE snake. The Swiss shows never have the snake. Swiss laws are very strict and you can't import animals that easily, which is good of course, but it meant I had never seen Alice perform with a snake before. My previous attempt had ended in sheer frustration, in 98 when I had my first occasion to see the snake a fight broke out at the moment and in the confusion of security people trying to stop it, I missed out completely. By the time things had calmed down the snake was gone. That particular snake (Lady MacBeth) died earlier this year so I'll never see her, but her successor Dali, is also a very talented reptile. She's so pretty and she's really huge. You know me I go all soft for scaly creatures and this one is really lucky to be able to slither around Alice's neck every night during the European tour.
Some disgusting creeps nearly kept me from this bliss once more, as Dali's van was stolen on the day of the show but luckily she was resting in her hotel room when it happened. As funny as it might be to imagine the thieves' reaction had she been in there, I shudder to think what might have happened to her. If by chance you happen to see any of the important stolen items for sale online you can contact Dali's owner.
Since it was a Halloween special there were a few special things. Alice's shirt during the first part was orange as were all the dollar notes and the balloons (no I didn't get any, the stage was way to far for most of us, except the few lucky people close to the central bridge where Alice could get closer to the audience). The band was in make-up too, one of the girls around me was very happy to see that Glen had chosen the same make up as her, a streak of black across the eyes.
Even from a distance the show is really breath taking I enjoyed every second as usual. The set list being the same but never really the same. But this time there was a little surprise at the end - although it had been announced I didn't think it would really take the shape of a duet.
In 2002 I was in Exeter with some good friends to see Robert Plant and the Strange Sensations. There was no opening act announced on the bill and no one even introduced said opening act, it just started and that was it. It took me a few minutes to believe my eyes, and I am not sure how many people recognised him at first. But it was unmistakably Arthur Brown, the God of Hell Fire, inspiration for Alice Cooper the stage persona, and precursor to such musical stage acts. I was really thrilled that night, but a bit sad that the venue wasn't really up to par with the legend (it was a gym hall)
I recall, daydreaming during the show and imagining the same show in a sort of dark pub or cellar, and of course with Alice as the main act or even better as a duet. Little did I know that nearly ten years later this little dream would come true!
It was incredible. After the full set, Alice started to explain how this was Halloween and it called for something special. He proceeded to introduce the “God of Hell Fire” Arthur Brown, and all Hell broke loose. I sure really flipped out then, it was so fantastic, Arthur with his crown of fire, but this time Alice was behind him and singing along! They even had a bit of theatrics worked out together.
You can actually watch a bad clip of it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nFicLAwNis
What they don't show there is the big hug between Alice and Arthur at the end. Really cool!
What a night! It turned out to be something different than the nice day out with friends that I had imagined, but I met some other cool people and still had fun.
All in all, it was mostly certainly worth the trip, there were some glitches. My main aim when I travel that far for a concert is to meet friends and spend time chatting, that didn't work out so well as the opening of the doors was super chaotic again and I lost sight of everyone. I found myself on my own at the far left corner. Looks like I forgot my own best advice “always head for the right side”, somehow it's always been my “lucky side”.
“Head to the right Dragonlady,! No! the other right silly! Ah well....”
Sort of left of where Orianthi is situated but after shifting a little I managed to find a spot where I could see the whole of the stage, and the people there were really nice mostly, so I made some new friends instead of spending time with old friends. Also cool.
This was the full Halloween show and I had been really keen of having a nice costume. For once that I could really go all the way into Steampunk, I wasn't going to let this pass. But of course I let work and stuff get in the way so I had to come up with something in the course of last week.
Here is the result:
The full costume complete with cape by
I had to use another belt as this one fell to pieces... can't always work out. I also had a special camera case and Steampunked iPod case (will post photos on deviantArt)
And a better look at the head dress:
Click for a bigger version (there is more on my Flickr gallery)
Back to the show:
Always the joker, Alice had chosen a set of gruesome numbers to start the festivities. The trouble is that his shows are usually ok for young audiences but this was a bit more hardcore than usual. As a result the young girls around me averted their eyes or hid behind their mobile phone, texting to friends or posting to Facebook. One poor girl even fainted at the sight of a young woman sticking needles in her forearms and setting fire to them.
I was bracing myself for much worse and actually found most of that part a bit boring. In fact the only act that I found really good was that needle act, although if I may say so the young lady should take some dancing lessons, I wasn't too convinced by her repetitive contortions. The rest of her fiery show was quite nice though.
Then it was time for the opening act and for once I was really impatient to see it. I never imagined I would see the New York Dolls live one day! Very cool set, but somehow it's not really as convincing without the pogo. Just as well, as I preferred to keep my energy for later and I am getting a bit old for such activities. Same for the band, I suppose but they are still cutting it. Not everyone can be as crazy and restless as Iggy (every time I've seen him I came away with my share of bruises and cuts, despite avoiding the middle of the mosh pit)
Avoid this part if you don't want any spoilers... this will show on Sky TV on Halloween day so if you want to watch it you might want to avoid the rest of the review
What I was awaiting the most, and one of the reasons I had to travel, was THE snake. The Swiss shows never have the snake. Swiss laws are very strict and you can't import animals that easily, which is good of course, but it meant I had never seen Alice perform with a snake before. My previous attempt had ended in sheer frustration, in 98 when I had my first occasion to see the snake a fight broke out at the moment and in the confusion of security people trying to stop it, I missed out completely. By the time things had calmed down the snake was gone. That particular snake (Lady MacBeth) died earlier this year so I'll never see her, but her successor Dali, is also a very talented reptile. She's so pretty and she's really huge. You know me I go all soft for scaly creatures and this one is really lucky to be able to slither around Alice's neck every night during the European tour.
Some disgusting creeps nearly kept me from this bliss once more, as Dali's van was stolen on the day of the show but luckily she was resting in her hotel room when it happened. As funny as it might be to imagine the thieves' reaction had she been in there, I shudder to think what might have happened to her. If by chance you happen to see any of the important stolen items for sale online you can contact Dali's owner.
Since it was a Halloween special there were a few special things. Alice's shirt during the first part was orange as were all the dollar notes and the balloons (no I didn't get any, the stage was way to far for most of us, except the few lucky people close to the central bridge where Alice could get closer to the audience). The band was in make-up too, one of the girls around me was very happy to see that Glen had chosen the same make up as her, a streak of black across the eyes.
Even from a distance the show is really breath taking I enjoyed every second as usual. The set list being the same but never really the same. But this time there was a little surprise at the end - although it had been announced I didn't think it would really take the shape of a duet.
In 2002 I was in Exeter with some good friends to see Robert Plant and the Strange Sensations. There was no opening act announced on the bill and no one even introduced said opening act, it just started and that was it. It took me a few minutes to believe my eyes, and I am not sure how many people recognised him at first. But it was unmistakably Arthur Brown, the God of Hell Fire, inspiration for Alice Cooper the stage persona, and precursor to such musical stage acts. I was really thrilled that night, but a bit sad that the venue wasn't really up to par with the legend (it was a gym hall)
I recall, daydreaming during the show and imagining the same show in a sort of dark pub or cellar, and of course with Alice as the main act or even better as a duet. Little did I know that nearly ten years later this little dream would come true!
It was incredible. After the full set, Alice started to explain how this was Halloween and it called for something special. He proceeded to introduce the “God of Hell Fire” Arthur Brown, and all Hell broke loose. I sure really flipped out then, it was so fantastic, Arthur with his crown of fire, but this time Alice was behind him and singing along! They even had a bit of theatrics worked out together.
You can actually watch a bad clip of it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nFicLAwNis
What they don't show there is the big hug between Alice and Arthur at the end. Really cool!
What a night! It turned out to be something different than the nice day out with friends that I had imagined, but I met some other cool people and still had fun.
Comments
Post a Comment