Alice Cooper - Oct 24
The swashbuckling dark lord of horror rock is back at the Apollo for the first time in fifteen years. Having most recently seen him play in the soulless caverns of Wembley Arena and the O2 Arena, this is practically an intimate show with friends and family, albeit if your family is 3,000 strong. We’re here for the first of two virtually sold out shows at the Apollo and the fan base is out in force. Inside the foyer, the merch desk is doing brisk business despite the prices and we see a fair few of the stuffed snakes (with white top hats) being adorned around the venue. As with recent tours, this is a all-seated gig although I can’t imagine that people will remain seated once the main attraction arrives.

On the past few UK tours, Alice has generally selected well established bands in the support slots so it is good to see the up and coming The Meffs taking the first slot. The Essex duo have been making a name for themselves on the live circuit over the past few years as ones to watch. They already have a fair few fans in the crowd judging by the number of t-shirts on display. Coming on to The Stooges ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ the duo open with the politically charged punk rock of ‘Stamp It Out’. Throughout, singer Lily menacingly stomps around the stage with guitar as her musical weapon of choice. The rallying call of ‘Stand Out, Speak Out’ is followed by a very welcome version of The Prodigy’s ‘Breathe’. Closing with ‘Clowns’ and the ominous riff heavy of ‘What’, the band have no doubt won a few more fans over.
The Meffs - Oct 24 Fresh from a successful tour with Frank Carter, Steve Jones and Paul Cook playing Sex Pistols songs, Glen Matlock is back to the day job playing old school dirty rock n roll. With the effortlessly cool Neal X on lead guitar, Jim Lowe on bass and Chris Musto on drums, he has a solid band behind him. Songs such as ‘Rock Chick’ and ‘Who’s Side Are You On?’ are well received but it is ‘Pretty Vacant’ that really gets the crowd singing along as the years fall away. ‘Can’t Be Myself with You’ is a nice slice of Northern Soul with more than a hint of ‘Tainted Love’ permeating throughout the song. Finishing with ‘Head on a Stick’, it’s been a decent set but this really needs to be seen in a small sweaty venue to fully appreciate it.
Glen Matlock - Oct 24 A black curtain hides the stage as the road crew prepare behind it for the main attraction, the occasional flash of a torch or spotlight giving us a glimpse of what is to come. The curtain drops, the band appear and a huge newspaper article centre stage proclaims Alice Cooper’s trial is set for ‘deeds against humanity’. The entire audience rises to its feet and remains there for the reminder of the night. The tumbling drum intro to ‘Lock Me Up’ starts, the squealing guitars are followed by Alice’s unmistakable vocals before the great man, sword in hand, slashes through the newspaper and steps through to face his audience.

The set is restricted to a pair of staircases flanking the stage whilst the main visual effects are provided by a huge video backdrop behind the band. Showing four gothic archways, throughout the night the screen is used effectively to portray the dark recesses of Alice’s material. Alice and the band make full use of the stage constantly rotating so that the full audience gets to see each member of the band close up.

As with previous tours, the majority of the set list is made up of fan favourites with a few pleasing additions from across Alice’s career. The first of these is ‘Welcome to the Show’ from the recent ‘Road’ album which then leads into prime Alice territory with ‘No More Mr. Nice Guy’, ‘I’m Eighteen’ and ‘Under My Wheels’ following.
Alice Cooper - Oct 24 Alice remains the consummate showman throughout knowing that a change of jacket can be as effective as the big flashy special effects. Although there’s little between song banter, there’s no doubting Alice’s ability to captivate the audience as he prowls across the stage like a man half his age, whether he be twirling his cane or wielding a blade.

‘Bed of Nails’ and ‘Billion Dollar Babies’ continue the run of fan favourites before Alice appears with a bloody great snake around him to sing ‘Snakebite’. The snake seems totally non plussed by the surrounding events as it slithers around Alice’s neck and head. ‘Be My Lover’ is followed by the welcome addition of ‘Lost in America’, a highlight from 1994’s ‘The Last Temptation’ album.
Alice Cooper - Oct 24 ‘He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask)’ has always been a bit of a guilty pleasure and the four Jason Voorhees masks shown on the backdrop are very effective. The overzealous fan getting their throat slashed is prime theatre although not a s good as the impaled photographer later in the set. ‘Hey Stoopid’ retains its serious message and damn is it good to sing along to.
Alice Cooper - Oct 24 Glen Sobol gets his drum solo spot going with some impressive stick twirling as the rest of the band prepare for the more theatrical part of the set. ‘Welcome to My Nightmare’ is as disturbing as always whilst Alice violently dances around the stage with a rag doll for ‘Cold Ethyl’. ‘Alice Cooper Goes to Hell’ may be one of his weaker albums, but the opening track ‘Go to Hell’ is up there with the best of his material and is a personal favourite. ‘Poison’ shouldn’t sound as good as it does and is lapped up by the crowd.

‘Feed my Frankenstein’ is such a staple of Alice’s set that you forget that it was written and first recorded by local legends Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction. As the song comes to its conclusion, the giant FrankenAlice stumbles around the stage menacing the band. Vincent Price appears on the screen for the spoken part of ‘Black Widow’ leading into Nita Strauss’ flashy guitar solo before the rest of the band join her for a full-on jam.
Alice Cooper - Oct 24 We are into the familiar end section of the show with ‘The Ballad of Dwight Fry’ seeing the appearance of Madame Guillotine and her executioner. Alice’s decapitation is always a highlight of the show no matter how often I’ve seen it, as is the snippet of ‘Killer’ and the end chant of ‘I Love the Dead’.
Alice Cooper - Oct 24
With a nod to next month’s US presidential election, Alice climbs the stairs to sing a fantastic ‘Elected’ from his pulpit. The band leave the stage to reappear almost immediately for the traditional ‘School’s Out’ with the added segment from ‘Another Brick in the Wall’. For the first time tonight, Alice speaks to the crowd to introduce the band before finishing with one final rousing chorus. Huge balloons are popped and a cavalcade of glitter floats down on the stalls.
Alice Cooper - Oct 24
Alice Cooper shows have always been very theatrical and Alice himself is such a seasoned performer that you are always guaranteed a good time. The shock value may have long gone, and others may have taken the idea to further extremes, but when it is done in this much style you can’t help but have a big cheesy grin on your face by the end of it. In the words of Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar ‘We’re Not Worthy’, but please come back soon.

Alice Cooper - Oct 24