Veteran Melbourne hard rockers Electric Mary are being touted in pages elsewhere as "Australia's best rock band," whilst vocalist Rusty Brown, in the very same organ (the UK's Classic Rock) describes the band's music as "rock 'n' roll the way it used to taste," which is strange, because my friend Berenice, who stumbled across the band whilst minding her own business waiting for "the King of Schlock Rock" (© the Canberra Times) to appear, described herself as "feeling sick" after being subjected to what felt like "being forced into one of those big rollercoasters against your will" after suffering at the hands of the band for three quarters of an hour. Who's telling the truth? I'll let you decide, whilst noting that the Transit Bar still had a fair few Cooper-bound punters throwing down pints when the support band were on.
Still, you can't like everything, can you? And feelings of nausea are soon forgotten once Alice and his band appear on the tastefully designed stage. Last time out, at a two-thirds full AIS in support of his excellent Along Came A Spider elpee, Mr Furnier was a massive disappointment - but here, in a chock-full, smaller arena and aided by a far better sound, everything the man does makes sense. We're witnessing the Theatre of Death tour, so - you've guessed it - there's a lot of blood for your buck on offer, with Alice himself dying every thirty minutes or so by a variety of methods for the duration of the show. Back in the day many critics claimed that the 'shocking' nature of the Alice Cooper live experience was merely an artifice to paper over the paucity of musical fare on offer, but here, when every song is a bona fide rock classic, there's no such quibbling. I've seen Alice, ooh, fifteen times or so in the last twenty years, and I can honestly say that the version of Department of Youth to which the Canberra faithful were treated to tonight was as good as any I've seen, anywhere in the world, in that time - whilst other old chestnuts such as Eighteen and Only Women Bleed sounded revitalised in their new setting. It's hard breathing life into a set largely made up of songs older than many (but not most - the high ticket price means this is a birthday treat only for the young fans that are in attendance) people in the audience, but this incarnation of the Alice Cooper Band, tonight comprised of long-time bassist Chuck Garric, former Megadeth drummer Jimmy DeGrasso and guitarists Damon Johnson (he's played with Faith Hill!) and Kerri Kelli (he's played in versions of every '80s LA hair metal band, ever!) is more than up to the task and whilst of course Alice Cooper is the star of the show, none of the band (especially shapemeister Kelli, who never misses a note despite being a study in perpetual motion) miss an opportunity to stamp their personality on proceedings.
Not surprisingly for a man with a career in its fifth decade (is it really 40 years since Pretties for You was released?) Cooper has had an up-and-down time of things but now, after spending most of the new millennium teetering on the edge of the dumpster, he's back (the man behind the mask) and, it would seem, back on the rise. Along Came a Spider pointed the way, the Theater of Death has taken up the challenge - the future is bright again for the Prince of Darkness. He may not be eighteen anymore - and WE like it.
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