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Alice Cooper, New York City, Beacon Theater

Twister Sister was my first concert ever. Maybe the first tape I ever bought. From Twisted Sister I got into Alice Cooper. From Alice Cooper, I got sent home from school. One of the lunch ladies didn't agree with the Alice Cooper t-shirt I was wearing, which I don't understand, because my stomach didn't agree with her food, and she didn't get sent home. On top of that, my old band had the privilege of opening for Alice Cooper on Halloween night a few years ago... What better way to get into the Halloween spirit that by seeing Alice Cooper and Twisted Sister together a few years later, again on Halloween...

Next up was the Godfather of shock-rock, Alice Cooper. This is part of his Bare Bones tour, named so because of the more stripped down show. It was refreshing to see Alice give more of the spotlight to his band, Ryan Roxie being one of the most underrated guitarists out there, Eric Dover, drummer Eric Singer and bassist Chuck Garric. I did miss the blood a little, though the setlist was strong enough to leave any Alice Cooper fan satisfied. When was the last time Alice played "Halo Of Flies" of "Long Way To Go"? The newer cuts fit in great with the classics, especially the appropriate "Caught Between High School and Old School" — Fitting in that the "new" Alice sounds more like the "old" Alice, and that the "old" Alice is what started the "new" garage trend in the first place. My personal highlight was the "Cold Ethyl"/"Only Women Bleed"/"The Ballad Of Dwight Fry" portion of the set, featuring some amazing theatrical interplay between Alice and his talented by deadly Ethyl.

Alice Cooper
The Eyes Of Alice Cooper
Eagle Records

An apparent rediscovery of formative musical influences largely defines The Eyes Of Alice Cooper as vintage Detroit demolition. Deviating from an originally proposed conclusion to more abrasive musical trilogy of Dragontown and Brutal Planet, the album is instead a paean to a more loose and kickin' garage band sound. From the brassy horns pumping "Bye Bye, Baby" to the autobiographical "Detroit City", most of its thirteen tracks ring with the similarity brash spirit of something like "Under My Wheels". The occasional track, like "What Do You Want From me?", does grasp to lyrically related to the generation of a younger audience, but most of the songs resonate as timelessly classic Cooper, particularly the ironic sense of dark humor that defines "Man Of The Year" and "The Song That Didn't Rhyme". By utilizing Ryan Roxie and Eric Dover to full effect as both guitarists and songwriters, the end result channels a spirit from back when Alice Cooper was the name of the band, and the singer was just some guy from Detroit named Vince — Roger Lotring