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Cooper a Violent Tiny Tim with Limited Musical Talent

It was suggested to me during the Alice Cooper concert at the Kitchener Auditorium Thursday night that Cooper himself was a kind of Tiny Tim turned violent.

The more I thought about it, the more apt a comparison it seemed.

There is a slight physical resemblance, increased by the affected effeminacy of both performers, and both base their appeal on exposing themselves as sort of sideshow freaks.

But, whereas Tiny Tim, in his brief heyday, was more of a gentle, clown-like figure, Cooper has adapted a satanic demeanor to gild an equally-limited musical talent.

Cooper, whose name incorporates his back-up musicians as well, is much more of a showman than Tiny Tim ever was, however, and because of this is likely to be around longer, although I doubt that the value of his contribution to pop music in the long run will be that much greater.

After seeing him performance, I frankly don't understand the enthusiasm he generates, and yet all around me Thursday night young people were screaming for more, yelling "I love you, Alice," and all but crushing one another during the last few minutes of the show to grab for posters Cooper was hurling from the stage.

Certainly, he makes no appeal to the intellect with his blatant and child-like obscene actions; his dabbling in illusion magic is very minor entitlement; his poking a sword through a child doll or kicking and stomping on manikin arms, legs, head and torsos could be of only marginal delight to out-and-out sadists; and his music, while admittedly the strongest feature, could be done as well by numerous other rock groups.

In fact, Wackers, the warm-up act which also had it play at effeminacy, provided better musical entertainment, even though limited to rock and roll numbers that varied little one from the other.

I think Cooper's popularity is an example of young people being conned inot accepting as good something that merely goes further than anything else beyond what is generally considered in good taste.

I read somewhere that each generation tends to favor something that preceding generations will disapprove of, in order to establish its own distinct identity. Cooper is getting rich by cultivating this facet of human nature.

To each individual who paid $5, $4 or $3 for a seat to Thursday night's concert, I put this question:

What enjoyment, or satisfaction, did you personally — apart from sharing an experience with your friends — get in return for your money and time?