Wonder in Aliceland

Alice Cooper on stage with two guitarists
Alice Cooper
On Saturday Mr Robot and I went to see Alice Cooper in Cardiff. He was probably last of the big acts of the 1970s who I loved and wanted to see but hadn't got round to. And not long after I said that to Mr Robot, it turned out Alice was touring again, and was coming to Cardiff Motorpoint, which I love as a venue because it's small enough to see the bands properly. We had to go.


There were two support bands. The first was MC50 – basically the one remaining member of early alt rock/psych rock outfit MC5, Wayne Kramer, on guitar, plus Soundgarden's Kim Thayil on guitar, Fugazi's Brendan Canty on drums, and Faith No More's Billy Gould on bass. Quite the supergroup! The vocalist was someone I hadn't heard of, Marcus Durant of Zen Gorilla. Anyway, the music was all MC5, as they were touring to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Kick Out The Jams. Mr Robot loved it. I'm on the fence, but I'm giving MC5's 60s/70s recordings a whirl. Always good to try something new.
The band MC50 on stage
MC50
We both loved the second support act, the Stranglers. Back in the 1980s, when I was getting into music that wasn't classical, I went straight for the heavy stuff, and my godfather gave me their album The Raven on vinyl, so they're probably one of the modern acts I've been listening to for longest. I loved them live! That tinkling, almost baroque keyboard, and the way the bass plays actual melodies rather than the blues bass runs of most rock bands... It had never really struck me before just how different their sound is to most other bands', but live it really stood out.

There was also a genuine sense of energy to the Stranglers. They may be getting on a bit, but you could tell this was the band who once picked a fight with the Clash, the Ramones and the Sex Pistols all at the same time. I had the basslines to both 'Nice N Sleazy' and 'Get A Grip On Yourself' on the brain for about 24 hours afterwards. They came out to 'Waltzinblack', ended with 'No More Heroes', and were brilliant. I'd love to see them again, in a smaller venue.
The Stranglers live on stage
The Stranglers
Then was Alice. I'd feared he'd have the same shot voice as a couple of older acts I've seen in recent years, but he sounded great. It also hit me just before the gig that most of what I know of his is from the mid-1980s and earlier. Luckily, most of what he played was from that era. He didn't play my favourite, 'Welcome To My Nightmare', but he did do a lot of other popular ones, including 'Poison', 'Teenage Frankenstein', 'Billion Dollar Babies' and 'Under My Wheels'. I'd expected a more props-heavy show, but it was refreshingly light on those, which allowed the music to shine. It was all very polished, though there were no real surprises. The gig ended with 'School's Out', and members of the support acts joining Alice on stage.

And after that it was time to leave and experience real horror: a kebab down Cardiff's infamous Chippy Alley…
Alice Cooper alone on stage

Comments

  1. I had no idea the Stranglers were still around. Had two of their albums!
    Looks like a fab concert!!!

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    1. It was ace!

      Phil Cornwell parted company with the band in the 90s, I believe, but the original bassist and keyboard player are still there, and the current singer is spot-on.

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  2. The Stranglers are ace, aren't they? I love that they still have so much fun performing, it's obvious that they're still having the time of their lives.
    Lots of people I know went to the Brum gig and loved Alice's performance. He seems like such a nice chap, I'm glad he lived up to expectations! xxx

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    1. Yes, they still had a lot of energy and love for what they're doing. It's great.

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  3. Love the post title! I was never a big fan of Alice, but as an original punk, I was around in The Stranglers' heyday. Even thinking about some of their basslines make me have them on my brain. They were brilliant and it's good to know they still have it! xxx

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    1. I looked up a bit more about the bassist after the gig and it turns out he's actually trained as a classical guitarist, which explains their basslines' complexity.

      Now I wish to see photos of Punk Ann!

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  4. That looks like a fab night out. I love the Stranglers and would love to see them live; I think they have a really unique sound. Isn't it a shame when bands don't play your favourite track?
    xxxxx

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    1. It is, but the rest of the gig was so good I didn't really miss it that much. Happily, Alice has quite a lot of big hits in his back catalogue.

      I also love the fact that while he only has one dancer nowadays, it's his wife - they've been together since the 70s.

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  5. Growing up in Chicago, Alice Cooper and MC5 were practically local bands (Detroit isn't far). Somehow, I managed to never see either live. The Stranglers were just so damn weird. Not a negative thing, but just so, so weird.

    I'm glad they're all still kicking around. Alice is gonna turn out to be an immortal.

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    1. I figured if anyone I knew had heard of MC5, it'd be you. The Stranglers ARE weird, I think that's what I like about them. They're like no-one else.

      As for Alice, clearly fake blood and golf are good for the health...

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  6. Oh dear, Chip Alley?! I bet there were some sights!! xx

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  7. I've seen Alice live twice, and he is AMAZING! L and I both did "Alice eyes" and dressed up for both concerts. We're BIG fans. I remember the Strangles, and I love MC5 - what a great line-up you had, Mim!

    I also got a chuckle out of the post title, nice one!

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    1. It was a fantastic concert! I'm really enjoying getting back into going to gigs - I lapsed out of it for years and only really started going again in the past five or so years.

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