LIVE: ALICE COOPER + AIRBOURNE + MC50 – PERTH ARENA, 8 Feb, 2020

LIVE: ALICE COOPER + AIRBOURNE + MC50 – PERTH ARENA, 8 Feb, 2020
Reviewed by Hurb Jephasun
Photography by Stuart McKay

Saturday night saw Alice Cooper back in Perth to kick off the Australian leg of his “Ol’ Black Eyes Is Back” tour at the Arena. Still touring like a machine, the shock rock legend commands an ardent fanbase as the sea of people arriving in top hats, bloodied nurses’ uniforms and the occasional straight jacket can attest.

To kick the night off, however, the early comers were treated to an amazing performance from MC50. Assembled to mark the 50th anniversary of the legendary MC5’s Kick Out The Jams by founder and guitarist Wayne Kramer and featuring, among others, Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Brendan Canty (Fugazi) and Billy Gould (Faith No More), this bona fide supergroup kicked off their, as Kramer himself mentioned, “criminally short” set with Ramblin’ Rose, followed by Kick Out The Jams. With former Zen Guerilla frontman Marcus Durant on vocals, MC50 finished up with the politically tinged Looking At You, which Kramer dedicated to the “political class”, much to the delight of the crowd.

Australian hard rockers Airbourne were next to hit the stage. Making their first appearance in Perth in some 12 years, they launched into Ready To Rock and delivered an unrelenting, high energy – but, again, sadly brief – set that hooked the still growing audience from the get go. With a sound that has heavy nods to bands such as AC/DC and despite, at times, possibly lapsing into a heavy rock cliché vibe – “Perth, are you ready to ROCK?” – Airbourne succeeded in well and truly getting the crowd warmed up for what was to come later.

Then it was time to enter Alice Cooper’s nightmare castle. With the band kicking in to Be My Frankenstein, the man himself emerges, twirling his cane, and begins prowling the stage and keeping his audience enthralled for the next couple of hours with a show that is part B-grade horror pantomime but entirely kick-ass rock. Surrounded by outstanding musicians, as you would expect from someone of his stature within the music industry, Cooper gave the Perth crowd another performance to remember.

Despite being into his seventies, Alice shows no signs of slowing down as he appears like a schlock-horror ringmaster directing his travelling rock show. With such a huge back catalogue to draw on, tonight’s performance seemed to be one Cooper classic after another, No More Mr. Nice Guy, Poison, Billion Dollar Babies… they were all there. As, of course, were the the props. There’s Frankenstein lumbering about, a huge blow up baby, the guillotine that saw Alice beheaded once again and my personal favourite, an appearance by Jason as he slashed a selfie taking girl to the strains of He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask).

But make no mistake, for all of its kitsch and tongue-in-cheek horror this was well and truly a rock show, one that was almost stolen on several occasions by the amazing guitar playing of Nita Strauss who, along with Ryan Roxie and Tommy Henriksen, form a seriously formidable guitar trio that shone during an extended guitar jam during Black Widow.

After Teenage Frankenstein, the band briefly left the stage before returning to finish off the night with the certifiable classics Department of Youth and School’s Out, which had Pink Floyd’s Another Brick In The Wall seamlessly woven in. Then, as is so often the case, the show was seemingly over just after it had begun. Alice thanked the crowd and the guitarists showered the front rows with a sea of guitar picks, as they had been doing all night.

Sure, he may be past retirement age, and his voice may not be as strong as it once was, but he’s Alice freakin’ Cooper. That’s all that matters. Hopefully Ol’ Black Eyes – and the man behind the mask – comes back again, really soon.

Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries