The Mirror Of The Decadent Feature: 1972

four-pages in Veronica Magazine, December 9, 1972.

ALICE COOPER

HOT CONCERT

He's been to Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and the cleaners at the Concertgebouw and Doelen, respectively, knew it. As expected, American idol Alice Cooper put on a show. The thousands who attended his concerts, organized by Paul Acket, will not easily forget what Alice Cooper did on stage. Weeks before he came to the Netherlands, the most bizarre rumors about Alice Cooper's act circulated in pop circles. Undeniably, Alice Cooper has the most repulsive and cruel stage act of the moment. If you attend the group's performances—because they're not really concerts—you'll be amazed. Alice Cooper is announced in complete darkness.

The only light comes from flashlights of roadies hurrying across the stage. The movement of these lamps immediately creates an uneasy atmosphere. In an almost circus-like manner, Alice's press promoter announces the group: "Welcome to the show. We present from the United States, the legendary...ALICE COOPER." Applause fills the room; the members of the group can only be faintly discerned as they walk past the amplifier lights.

Then suddenly, the lights go up, and there he stands, bathed in an ocean of golden-yellow light. Tight-fitting, slinky glitter pants, a leather straitjacket around his torso. A dozen silver bands rattle around his wrists, and on his hands he wears black leather gloves. On his feet are high boots with wooden soles. Fire-spitting eyes stare into the room. His face is white, except for a large, inky-black circle around his eyes. Like a panther, he prowls the stage, leaps far, jumps high, then cautiously moves to the edge of the stage. With a cat-like movement, he swats at a soap bubble hanging in the air above the first row.

The audience recoils. Thousands of soap bubbles emerge from behind the installation; the scaffolding spotlights illuminate them count-I am the mirror of the decadent society that is doomed to collapse This are the first seconds of Alice Cooper's performance.

It would take pages to describe the concert, there's so much to experience. You name it, Alice Cooper uses it in his show. Clouds of smoke, flashing lights, sirens, church bells, garbage cans, daggers, chains, swords, balloons, chicken feathers, clubs, a gallows, a skeleton, and a four-meter-long Boa Constrictor. His act is expertly crafted. Alice Cooper is the modern, American Frankenstein.

Alice Cooper creates a show, a realistic play. The music serves only to enhance the visual aspect. The performance builds to a climax: the executioner enters, grabs Alice, and drags him up the stairs to a gallows. A noose is placed around his neck, accompanied by the sounds of a church organ. Grim sounds ripple through the hall, then a terrifying scream, a clap of thunder.

The trapdoor bursts open, Alice collapses into the opening, her body convulsing. All the lights go out, and for minutes a thunderstorm ripples through the hall. A shudder runs through the rows, the audience shifts, nervously smiles at each other, and reassures themselves that it's all not real after all. Then the dozens of lights come back on. Alice thunders mightily to the edge of the stage and hurls posters into the room.

People scramble hastily over the rows, Alice letting them jump to the coveted roles. People trample each other underfoot. The crowd goes completely berserk when Alice Cooper throws two thousand guilders of small change into the room. Guilders and five-roll notes scatter across the floor, along with people scrambling around her. Alice Cooper spits on his audience, laughing contemptuously at them, toying with them all, letting them do what he wants. Alice despises his audience, but they don't realize it.

Cheering and stamping, they make it clear they want to hear and see more. Alice laughs, haughtily walks off the stage, leaving the ecstatic crowd behind her. This is an impression of his show, but by no means all has been told. You can't retell Alice Cooper; he is so unique, so unusual. It's best to let him speak for himself.