Sep. 19, 2024

Live Review: Freaks on Parade Tour with Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper, Ministry and Filter

via Flagpole.com

To have gone this long without seeing the mighty Alice Cooper live is a certain stain on my bona fides. If I’d had the chance to tell him this in person he most likely couldn’t have cared less. Because Cooper, all 76 years of him, makes music that remains simultaneously contemporaneous and timeless. It’s always there for anyone to pick up. Over the years, ever since the very first Alice Cooper Band lineup, he’s been blessed to have a near-endless stream of crack musicians backing him up and his current lineup, including the incredible shredder Nita Strauss on guitar, have been with him many years. Strauss’ tenure is even the shortest lived at a mere decade compared to other current guitarist Ryan Roxie’s 28 years of service.

As expected, and honesty hoped for, Cooper’s show was replete with his signature guillotine, boa constrictor and politicians pulpit. We saw him menace the crowd, get executed onstage, and declare he should be elected. Cooper, who is famously non-political in his life as a musician/entertainer and feels those who are are engaging in an abuse of power over their audience, said during the portion of the show when he performed 1973’s “Elected” (“Kids want a savior, don’t need a fake/
I wanna be elected!”), “I promise the formation of a new party, The Wild Party! All I know is we have problems right here in Georgia. We have problems in Los Angeles, we have problems in New York, Florida, Michigan, we have problems all over the United States. And personally, I don’t care!”

Say what you will about bad citizenship, but this was first rock and roll middle finger to get raised to the establishment all night. And at a certain point this night, I started to wonder if rock and roll has a lot to answer for when it’s only the 76 year old on the bill who keeps the black flag flying.

Cooper’s whole show was spectacular in the truest sense of being a spectacle. He even mentioned that Halloween was coming and and asked “And who owns Halloween?” Then he pointed at himself. Sorry, Timi Conley. I’m gonna go with Coop on this one. The set was packed with hits. One by one, “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” “Under My Wheels,” “Billion Dollar Babies,” “Killer,” “I Love The Dead” and “School’s Out” shot right into the heart of the assembled crowd. Yet, the most poignant moment of his set, and the whole night, arrived with the third song of his set.

Alice Cooper has been singing “I’m Eighteen” since he was 21. Originally released as a single in late 1970,  it was the band’s first-ever hit and appeared on 1971’s Love It To Death. It’s lyrics of being stuck between childhood and adulthood, daily confusion, non-stop doubt, etc. are universal and personal. They address the existential crisis of someone who can’t even yet understand it as such. They apply to everyone but on an individual level. It’s a testament to the songs overall, undeniable power that, even deep into his 70s, Cooper can sing this without a hint of irony. There had long been pop songs that capture this same deeply personal sense of being from the triumphant “My Way” to the necessary escapism of the Beach Boys’ “In My Room” and The Drifters’ “Up On The Roof.” Cooper’s tale was never new. But the fact that this story is written over and over in rock music just reinforces the point of common feelings being uniquely experienced.

By the end of the night, I’d received unexpected transcendence from Filter, disappointment and lethargy from Ministry, and a raucous revival from Rob Zombie. Most of the crowd was older by a decent clip over the few younger folks there who mostly seemed to be accompanying parents. And I thought about how this show would have effected me if I was that age at this particular time watching these specific acts. I can only imagine an unfamiliar kid might have enjoyed Filter, maybe even dug the noise of Ministry, and probably would have thought Zombie and his band were a cool thing that existed for a former generation. But it was only Alice Cooper who delivered the music that would cause someone to think, “This was written for me.”

And if that’s not rock and roll, then don’t tell me differently because I don’t want to know.