I still remember it like it was yesterday. I was a broke ass guy working in retail and didn’t have enough money to see this Alice Cooper show. I had pretty much written it off but at the last minute, a buddy of mine called me and said he had an extra ticket. He had broken up with his girlfriend that he was taking which was awesome for two reasons. One, I got to go the show and two, she was a bitch so it all worked out in my favor.
Opening the show was some really odd band who made little to no impact on me or anyone else. They were called My Head. I can’t even remember them but I do remember us being absolutely baffled as to how the hell these guys got this gig. They were at three piece and played mostly instrumentals with their singer scat singing every now and then. Maybe they would’ve done better opening for Phish or something it just wasn’t working here whatsoever.
Up next was Alice Cooper and I couldn’t have been more pumped up to see this show. Alice always delivers the goods but I did find it odd that he was going on before The Scorpions. I mean, I know The Scorpions have this ego that they are a much bigger band than they actually are but who in their right mind would want to follow Alice Cooper? Anyways, Alice took the stage firing on all cylinders opening with “Under My Wheels” to a roaring, near capacity crowd. His band was different than his previous “Hey Stoopid” touring band and it featured Reb Beach on guitar.
Alice brought out some rare tunes such as “Desperado” and “Gutter Cats Vs. The Jets” which completely floored me. His theatrics were a bit on the tame side for this tour and to my dismay he had completely dropped “I Love The Dead” from this tour. I was totally ok with this because the thing with Alice Cooper is that his songs are so goddamn good. Even though the theatrics are amazing and fun to see, the songs are strong and stand on their own and still kick ass regardless.
Alice and Co ripped the place to shreds with “School’s Out” complete with Reb Beach taking the stage on a skateboard while playing the intro which was so bad ass. They encored with “Elected” with Alice decked out in his signature white coat tails and top hat and left me feeling ready to head home. I figured that there was no way The Scorpions could top this. Well, I was right.
The Scorpions came on with their huge stage of lights and stairs opening with the ridiculously terrible “Tease Me, Please Me” and right off the bat I was underwhelmed. I still don’t get how any band could or would want to follow Alice Cooper. It’s just an impossible task so why even try it? Especially when you’re as weak in comparison as The Scorpions. Even the band looked bored. The thing with The Scorpions is that while I enjoy their songs and think that they’re a great band, they are a terribly boring band to watch live. There is nothing electrifying about a Scorpions show. I made it through all of 5 songs and I just looked at my buddy and we were outta there. We ended up back at an Applebees drinking beer and talking about how awesome Alice was and just how lame The Scorpions were. To sum it up, Alice ruled, The Scorpions drooled.
Alice Cooper Setlist
Under My Wheels
Billion Dollar Babies
I’m Eighteen
Desperado
No More Mr. Nice Guy
Poison
Welcome To My Nightmare
Only Women Bleed
Lost In America
Feed My Frankenstein
Gutter Cat vs. The Jets / Street Fight
Steven
Ballad Of Dwight Fry
School’s Out
Encore:
Elected
Scorpions Setlist
Tease Me Please Me
Bad Boys Running Wild
Oh Girl (I Wanna Be With You)
Loving You Sunday Morning
Is There Anybody There
Coast To Coast
Holiday
You And I
The Zoo
Alien Nation
Stone In My Shoe
Drum Solo
Hit Between The Eyes
Blackout
Big City Nights
Still Loving You
Wind Of Change
Encore:
Wild Child
Rock You Like A Hurricane
When The Smoke Is Going Down
About The Author
