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Exotic Alice and His Band

The exotic rock group Alice Cooper began as a put-on quintet of Phoenix high school athlete-musicians who satirized rock groups at assemblies.

Since their 1965 debut the band has become more extreme in its sexual ambivalence on stage, developed often outrageous stunts and (especially in the last year or so) has appeared, aurally at least, to be taking its music more seriously.

Last night Alice Cooper played the first of a two night engagement at Winterland, headlining a program that co-stars Cold Blood and introduces a fascinating Ohio trio, Glass Harp, to the Bay Area.

In an attempt to place Alice Cooper in some sort of contemporary camp perspective we began the evening by attending a more traditionally camp event—a 1940s style dance at Bimbo's which was billed on the marquee as "Sentimental Journey." An invitational affair, it featured music by Les Brown and his Band of Renown.

It also starred the dozen of invited socially prominent couple who had prepared themselves sartorially and emotionally for an evening of "Begin the Beguine," "In the Mood," "Song of India," and the like.

There was Alice Cooper, in the Winterland spotlights in skin tight wetsuit-style metallic zipper outfits (they zip them down, and up, all evening) and there were the 1940s types, on the Bimbo's dance floor, stomping Savoy-style (maybe)... and there we were, wondering whether camp is Alice Cooper and the Arizona gay-libbers or San Francisco's uppper crust trying (some very determinedly) to recall the often not-so-happy '40s.

One thing for sure was that the Bimbo's crowd was enjoying itself more than the rather sparse Winterland gathering.

Although Alice Cooper is actually now a rather heavy and disciplined musical group the tendency is far its audience to appreciate only its routines such as Alice's singing while in a straight jacket, or seated in a flashing electric-chair assembly.

Alice has much too raw and rough a voice for me. I've often wondered, under the circumstances, why he/she does now swish on up to a falsetto soprano. He pulls on his hair like it was cotton candy and sometimes stalks along the footlights brandishing a rapier.

Glen Buxton, A.C.'s lead guitarist, played some very fine, clean, solo lines last night and organist Michael Bruce for one long sequence established an extremely effective old Procol Harum kind of shaded sound.

Sound of the footlight utilization throwing shadows on a rear-stage screen, was beautifully handled.

The Alice Cooper crowd's few dancers, rather significantly, danced alone. There is an alienation about much electric music (certainly that of such off-beat groups as A.C.) that tends to isolate individuals within the crowd.

Meanwhile, back at Bimbo's the dancers were moving more slowly and the Band of Renown was bouncing along on "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm."