Before there was Marilyn Manson, there was Alice Cooper. The make-up-smeared snake-cradling wildman pioneered a certain kind of sensational macabre glam shtick. At the core of his music was always good old blues rock, but Alice, born Vincent Damon Furnier, injected shock, jolts of electricity and even some prog into the mix.
The whole package of leather, guns, blood, campy gender-bending and guillotines would be tedious if Cooper and crew didn’t have some timeless songs. “I’m Eighteen,” “School’s Out,” “Elected,” “No More Mr. Nice Guy” are all classics 40-plus years later. Cooper, 70, is, of course, not 18, but he still manages to tap into the morbid thrill of youthful recklessness.
Cooper has said that he intends to keep touring for six more years than Mick Jagger, because he doesn’t want to be beaten by the Rolling Stones frontman. So if things work out, evidently some of us will have the pleasure of still seeing Alice Cooper on tour into the 2020s. Like Ozzy, Alice is an icon of cartoon transgression and taboo-violating. Cooper is the rare artist who has had the admiration of fringe freaks like Frank Zappa, punk icons like John Lydon, indie rockers like Guided By Voices’ Robert Pollard and metal heroes like Rob Zombie. He’s a shock-rocker for all people.
Alice Cooper performs at Mohegan Sun Arena, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Uncasville, on Thursday, March 8, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 to $45. 860-226-7711 and mohegansun.com.
