Alice Cooper, Edinburgh review: 'impressively vivacious'
In spite of Alice Cooper’s charismatic command of the stage, there were still one or two flat spots in this high-energy rock panto, writes Jay Richardson
Alice Cooper, Edinburgh Playhouse ★★★
Scottish audiences have always appreciated the lure of a well-performed pantomime, and Alice Cooper's audio version, dripping with Grand Guignol, is a slick, well-oiled machine. Backed by his tight-knit five-piece band, for this Edinburgh appearance the 77-year-old shock rock icon archly glowered through swordplay, mock executions and the obligatory guillotine showstopper. For much of the show he didn’t address the crowd directly - there was no need, such is his charismatic command of the stage. When he did eventually speak, it was to commend his band, and to pay tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne.
The track Welcome To The Show from recent record Road essentially acknowledges that the set-pieces will be reviewed before the music, with Cooper barking “Top hat! Cane!” to his masked minions, yet it retained a punkish energy all the same.
No More Mr Nice Guy introduced even more knowing schlock, so much so that that it blasted past all protestations of self-parody into the upper echelons of communal karaoke, with the impressively vivacious singer conducting the crowd as they bellowed enthusiastically through the chorus.
In a fierce three-guitar attack, Ryan Roxie, Tommy Henriksen and Nita Strauss took turns in the spotlight and also showed off some intricate interplay, with the hair metal formula never turning into thrash or high camp turning into rock musical - that was despite some French Revolution theatrics that threatened to escalate into Les Misérables and footage of horror legend Vincent Price that brought to mind his starring turn in Michael Jackson's Thriller.
The insidiously melodic glam rock of Poison felt inhibited and undersold, too refined and elegant compared to straightforward stompers like School's Out, which was supplemented with a segue into the educational rebellion of Pink Floyd's Another Brick In The Wall, the insurrectionary bombast still giddily compelling all these decades on.
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