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Cooper Solo Show Rocks Garden

For a long time, there have been rumors that Alice Cooper wants to shed some of his rock ghoul image and become more of a show-business personality.

His stage show at Madison Square Garden last night lent a great deal of credence to the rumors.

The show is entitled "Welcome to My Nightmare," the same as his solo album and recent television show. After eight albums and countless tours as the leader of the group which bears his name, Cooper is trying to make it as a solo artist — and with a great deal of success.

The vague theatrics have been discarded and replaced with a slick production job that includes a backing band, choreographed dance routines, nightmarish creatures, film, and a heavy dose of high-volume rock music.

The performance opened with the title song, sung by Alice as he made his appearance on a huge, moveable bed. As the song progressed, he was approached and attacked by the inhabitants of his nightmare world, a perfect introduction for the show.

Nightmare Throughout

Without leaving the nightmare theme, he and the band ran quickly through three of the Alice Cooper group's most famous numbers, "No More Mr. Nice Guy," "Billion Dollar Babies," and "I'm Eighteen." The opening of each song was preceded by the reappearance of his creature friends, lest anyone forget the main theme of the show.

With the obligatory hit songs out of the way, Cooper was free to go to the main body of his show. A chorus line of dancing skeletons gave Cooper time for his first costume change, and he emerged in white tuxedo, top hat, and cane to join the dancers for a superbly choreographed version of "Some Folks."

The show quickly displayed a regular format. Song after song from the solo album emerged, each dizzyingly staged. Each production displayed another side of Cooper's talents as an entertainer, and in each number he acquitted himself beautifully.

The man who made his fame as a ghoulish singer whisked effortlessly through a tour de force display of acting, singing, and dancing. What started as a rock concert evolved into something more closely resembling a Broadway musical, minus dialogue.

Surrealistic Setting

The high point of the evening, technically and theatrically, came in the performance of "Escape."

The song started with the projection of a movie of Cooper and four nightmare monsters on a slitted screen.

After establishing a brief plot of Cooper's attempt to escape the monsters, the film image of Cooper ran towards the audience.

As it reached the front, the real Cooper ran through one of the slits in the screen, causing a transition from film to reality so perfectly timed that it was difficult to tell where the image stopped and the person started.

For the remainder of the song, Cooper and the monsters chased each other back and forth, in and out of the film, until finally the monsters caught Cooper and carried him back into the film and away into the sunset. The number drew a long standing ovation.

For the final number, Cooper returned to the greatest-hits format, belting out a powerful version of "School's Out" while attired in a New York Rangers jersey, complete with a big No. 1 and the name "Alice" on the back. With a shout of "Thank you, school's out," Cooper brought his entertainment package/rock concert to its scheduled end.

But the fans would not let him go, and he returned for an encore of "Department of Youth."

The opening act, facetiously known as "Music to Find Your Seat By," was Suzi Quatro. With conscientious effort, Quatro and her band managed to break through into the consciousness of a good portion of the early arrival crowd.

Suzi Quatro was raised in Detroit. She went to England and became a star after several less-than-successful ventures in this country. Now, with a string of gold records earned in England and Europe, Quatro is touring this country in hopes of repeating her success story in her native country.

Based around Quatro's thundering bass guitar, the four-member band specializes in raucous rock 'n' roll. Along with her chores as bass guitarist and lead singer, Quatro leads the band visually. Giving herself little time for even a deep breath she is all over the stage, dancing, posing, and leading the audience to a gut reaction.

Following its introductory recorded music (Elton John's "The Bitch Is Back"), the venerable oldies, "I'm All Shook Up." By the second number, the band had a portion of the audience up and dancing.

For over 40 minutes the band worked for a reaction and was successful. The crowd that had come to see Alice was conquered and demanded an encore.