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Alice Cooper

9 November 2002 - Hovet, Stockholm

With the bad reviews horror rocker Alice Cooper garnered in the big newspapers during his recent visit to Sweden, it's doubtful if he will return in the future. Well, okay, there are a few flaws in this year's show. Partly I don't agree with his choice of songs. Why play the dreadful "Trash", when he's got at least a hundred better songs? And why play "Sanctuary" and "Fantasy Man", which are amongst the stalest songs from his last two albums? But the biggest flaw is the similarities with the "Brutal Planet Tour". Sure, the decor has been changed, and sure, some of the theatrical parts of the show are a tad bit modified, but the basic show is still the same as what was offered at the world premiere at Sweden Rock Festival two years ago. The renewal with the slightly Asian-looking theme on "Dragontown" (both on the record and the tour) may be nice enough to watch, but during the stage show it doesn't really hold up.

On the pro-side it must be mentioned that Alice has dug up classics, such as "Is It My Body" and "I Never Cry", as well as the surprise track "Nurse Rozetta" from 1978's album "From The Inside". The merging of "Welcome To My Nightmare" with "Go To Hell" also works very well live, especially together with the superb stage lighting during these two songs. And of course, all the people who want Alice's head on a plate get to see the appreciated, but in my view overexposed, beheading in the guillotine. Audience favourites such as "Poison", "School's Out" and "Only Women Bleed" also have their predictable places in this edition of "The Alice Cooper Show", which despite its pitfalls, gives you an entertaining enough look into the insane world of Alice Cooper. - CCC

(Kindly translated from the original Swedish language article by Christian Strandell, August 2014)