Alice Cooper and Vinnie Vincent Invasion: 12/31/1986

I had basically seen this exact same show three days earlier at the West Palm Beach Auditorium, but I could not pass up a chance to see the Coop again, especially on New Year’s Eve.

I went with a woman I was dating at the time, Christine, and I painted my face up as Alice. Figured I would get my full fan-boy on. I knew a lot of people who were going this night, including my brother and our friend Jon.

Vinnie Vincent was kind of a joke the second time around. I literally burst out laughing at one point when he did his best Karate Kid kick and knocked over the same dummy amp from the other night. Oh well, at least he tried.

During intermission, Christine and I went and met up with my brother and Jon in the lobby area. Now there was this one section in the lobby where some stairs were above, and the headroom as not that high. A basketball player would have to duck, for sure. Well, we were hanging out there, and Jon decided to have a little fun with some inebriated headbangers. “Hey,” Jon said, “I bet you can’t jump high enough to touch the ceiling there with your head.” They would not walk away from a dare, and proceeded to jump up and down, clonking their heads on the cement above them. It was humorous, and I suspect they woke with a splitting headache the following morning.

After a long intermission, Alice took the stage. The show was exactly the same as the WPB show, which, if I am being honest, I had hoped he would have at least thrown one or two treats in there for NYE, but still, it was a great show, even if it was the same.

Here is the setlist, in case you missed it from my last post. Rock on!

Setlist:

• Welcome to My Nightmare
• Billion Dollar Babies
• No More Mr. Nice Guy
• Be My Lover
• I’m Eighteen
• The World Needs Guts
• Give It Up
• Cold Ethyl
• Only Women Bleed
• Go to Hell
• Ballad of Dwight Fry
• Teenage Frankenstein
• Sick Things
• I Love the Dead
• School’s Out

Encore:

• Elected
• Under My Wheels

Alice Cooper and Vinnie Vincent Invasion: 12/28/1986

This stub is from Alice’s “The Nightmare Returns” tour. My memory of this show is a little spotty, mainly because I would see the same show again a few days afterwards on New Year’s Eve (that stub and memory to come soon). I can’t remember with whom I went to this show, but I have some recollections about the performances.

The Vinnie Vincent Invasion opened the show. Vincent was the guitarist for KISS prior to striking out on this solo venture. They were very much an embodiment of 80’s glam metal, and mildly entertaining. But I had to chuckle to myself, because at the end of the set, Vincent kicked over one of his amplifiers, but since I was close to the stage I noticed there were no cords or wires connected to it, and it did not seem to have speakers inside the cabinet, so I deduced it was a dummy amp (my assumption was confirmed on NYE when he kicked over the same “amp”). Anyway, not the best opening act I had seen, but not the worst either.

After a break, the Coop took the stage, opening with “Welcome to My Nightmare,” a great opener and right up there with “Hello Hurray,” which in my humble opinion is the best opening song ever.

Anyway, the rest of the show was all killer and no filler, as is evident from the setlist below. Rock on, and be sure to check back soon for my memories of the New Year’s show.

Setlist:

• Welcome to My Nightmare
• Billion Dollar Babies
• No More Mr. Nice Guy
• Be My Lover
• I’m Eighteen
• The World Needs Guts
• Give It Up
• Cold Ethyl
• Only Women Bleed
• Go to Hell
• Ballad of Dwight Fry
• Teenage Frankenstein
• Sick Things
• I Love the Dead
• School’s Out

Encore:

• Elected
• Under My Wheels

Alice Cooper: 7/6/2003

This is one of my favorite ticket stubs. I mean, Alice Cooper, in Liverpool England, the home of the Beatles. How cool is that?

I was in England visiting family at this time, which was a very difficult period in my life. I was working like crazy because I owned a small business, and let’s say that my business partner was the antithesis of helpful. My wife and I were struggling financially, I was physically and mentally exhausted, and things were pretty grim. But there was a huge family gathering happening in England and one of my uncles offered to buy me a ticket to fly there, so I packed my bags and flew across the pond.

I was staying with family not far from Liverpool, and discovered much to my surprise that Alice was playing there. My cousin P., who is one of the most awesome people in the world, knew how much I liked Alice Cooper and bought two tickets so that I could go with one of my uncles. So my Uncle B. and  I headed down to Kings Dock to see the Coop.

The venue was surreal. It was like a big tent set up on the dock, so it had that crazy carnival feel, which is apropos for a Cooper concert.

The lights went down, and the band took the stage, opening with “Hello Hooray,” arguably the best opening song ever. And then it was all classic Cooper.

He broke out some really cool tunes that were surprising, like “Desperado,” “Public Animal #9,” and “Long Way to Go,” a highly underrated song off the “Love It To Death” album. The tour was dubbed the “Bare Bones Tour,” so it was missing the elaborate stage props (no guillotine or snake), just Alice and the band playing a solid set of killer tunes.

Although I was teetering on the brink of depression, seeing Alice in England was a nice boost for me. And getting to go to a concert with my uncle is a memory that I will treasure for the rest of my days. Anyway, here’s the setlist. Rock on!

Setlist

• Hello Hooray
• No More Mr. Nice Guy
• Billion Dollar Babies
• Long Way to Go
• Public Animal #9
• Be My Lover
• Lost in America
• I’m Eighteen
• Serious
• Desperado
• Halo of Flies
• Welcome to My Nightmare
• Cold Ethyl
• Only Women Bleed
• Ballad of Dwight Fry
• Guilty
• School’s Out

Encore:

• Poison
• Elected
• Disgraceland
• Under My Wheels

Motley Crue and Alice Cooper: 10/22/2014

While I generally get physical tickets for concerts, this one is a printout e-ticket. What’s unique about it is it is a Groupon ticket. My brother contacted me and said that Alice Cooper and Motley Crue were playing in Greensboro and he wanted to go, and asked if I was interested. Since I had never seen the Crue (they were not high on my list) and it was their final tour, added to the fact that I will not pass on a chance to see the Coop, I said yes. Anyway, my brother said he was getting tickets at a significant discount through Groupon. I didn’t even know that was a thing! He snagged tickets for himself, a friend of his, and me.

I drove out to Greensboro, which was about a two-and-a-half hour drive from where I was living at the time. We all connected, grabbed some dinner, and went to the show. The first band to play was called The Raskins. They were pretty good. Young leather-clad rockers who were clearly raised on steady diet of early punk.

After a brief intermission, the lights went down and Alice took the stage, opening with “Hello Hooray,” in my opinion one of the greatest opening songs ever. The song concluded with a shower of sparks cascading from above the stage. It was awesome! The rest of the show was all killer, no filler, blasting from one classic tune to the next. The only disappointment was that it was a fairly short set, with no encore. But I suppose that is how it goes when you’re one of the opening acts.

Then came Motley Crue. So I confess I have never been a fan, swiftly changing the station on the radio when they came on. But I’m open-minded, and was actually looking forward to checking them out. Lots of people I know told me that they put on an impressive show, so what the hell, it’s only rock and roll.

My overall impression… meh. I didn’t hate it, but I certainly did not love it. And in all fairness, they played after Alice Cooper, who is one of my favorite all-time artists. Had it been Motley Crue opening for Alice, I think I would have enjoyed their set much more than I did. It just felt anticlimactic. Even Tommy Lee’s “big drum solo” where the drum set went along the track above the crowd just felt, I don’t know, like a big fat who-cares. But, at the end of the day, I’m glad I got to see them and check them off the list. Definitely not the worst band I’ve seen, but not rushing out to buy any of their records either.

Here are the setlists for both Alice and Motley Crue. Rock on!

Setlists

Alice Cooper

• Hello Hooray
• No More Mr. Nice Guy
• Under My Wheels
• I’m Eighteen
• Billion Dollar Babies
• Poison
• Dirty Diamonds
• Welcome to My Nightmare
• Feed My Frankenstein
• Ballad of Dwight Fry
• Killer (partial)
• I Love the Dead (excerpt)
• School’s Out

Motley Crue

• Saints of Los Angeles
• Wild Side
• Primal Scream
• Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S.)
• Looks That Kill
• On With the Show
• Too Fast for Love
• Smokin’ in the Boys’ Room (With “Rock and Roll (Part 2))
• Without You
• Mutherfucker of the Year
• Anarchy in the U.K.
• T.N.T. (Terror ‘N Tinseltown)
• Dr. Feelgood
• In the Beginning
• Shout at the Devil
• Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
• O Fortuna
• Drum Solo
• Guitar Solo
• Live Wire
• Too Young to Fall in Love
• Girls, Girls, Girls
• Kickstart My Heart

Encore:

• Home Sweet Home

Alice Cooper: 9/30/2009

This tour was coined the Theatre of Death tour. What was unique about this show was that the Coop was killed not once, not twice, but three times during the concert: once by hanging, once by electric chair, and once with the classic guillotine.

I went with my friend and bandmate, Bill. We made the long drive from Asheville to Durham, but got there in plenty of time to grab some dinner before the show. Some great Cuban food in Durham!

We got in to the Performing Arts Center, which is a beautiful venue. Our seats were a little to the right, but pretty close. Anyway, the buzz was going around the place that a band called 5th Avenue Vampires was opening, and the band included Dennis Dunaway, Alice’s original bass player. I got pretty psyched after hearing this.

The 5th Avenue Vampires were very cool, and Dunaway did a nice bass solo which included classic snippets from vintage Cooper songs, like the intros to “Dead Babies” and “Gutter Cats.” Definitely got the crowd riled!

After the intermission, Alice took the stage, opening with “School’s Out,” and just ripping through one of the most incredibly choreographed performances ever, with an onslaught of one kick-ass song after another. It was all Killer, and no filler.

Then came the encore, which featured Dennis joining Alice on stage to play an extended reprise of “School’s Out.” For an old Cooper fan, I was in my glory seeing those two together slinking around the stage. One of those rock and roll moments that will remain with me forever.

After the show, we drove to my brother’s house and crashed there, since he lived fairly close to Durham.

Anyway, here’s the setlist. Rock on, my droogs.

Setlist:

• School’s Out
• Department of Youth
• I’m Eighteen
• Wicked Young Man
• Ballad of Dwight Fry
• Go to Hell
• Guilty
• Welcome to My Nightmare
• Cold Ethyl
• Poison
• The Awakening
• From the Inside
• Nurse Rozetta
• Is It My Body
• Be My Lover
• Only Women Bleed
• I Never Cry
• Black Widow Jam (with Drum Solo)
• Vengeance Is Mine
• Devil’s Food
• Dirty Diamonds
• Billion Dollar Babies
• Killer
• I Love the Dead
• No More Mr. Nice Guy
• Under My Wheels

Encore:

• School’s Out (with Dennis Dunaway)

The Who: 8/16/1997

“Quadrophenia” is one of my favorite Who albums, so when I saw they were touring and performing the album in its entirety, I didn’t even hesitate. My friend Jim also wanted to go, so we got the general admission field tickets, which were pretty cheap. We figured we would get there early and snag a decent spot, which was what we did.

Drivin’ n’ Cryin’ was the opening act. I had not seen them before, but I had heard of them. They were good; better than your average opener. But I was definitely stoked to see The Who.

How to describe the energy when the band kicked in to “The Real Me”? Words fail me. John Entwistle was all over that bass with his spider fingers. “The Real Me” was my buddy Jim’s favorite Who song, so he was instantly blown away.

The rest of the show was nothing short of excellent. They played through all of “Quadrophenia” and then returned for an encore which was actually more like a second set. They even tossed in some Who silliness and played a little bit of “It’s a Small World,” conjuring the Disney energy of being in Florida.

But what stands out the most for me about this particular show was the very end… the last note of “Who Are You.” Pete took his guitar and slammed in into the stage. While this was not the wanton guitar destruction of yore, it was the only time I saw Townsend “smash” a guitar on stage. It is one of those iconic rock images that is burned into the collective rock and roll consciousness.

I would see The Who perform Quadrophenia again years later, after Entwistle’s death. That show was great for other reasons, but this one has a warm spot in my heart.

Here is the full setlist. “Long Live Rock!”

Quadrophenia

• I Am the Sea
• The Real Me
• Quadrophenia
• Cut My Hair
• The Punk and the Godfather
• I’m One
• The Dirty Jobs
• Helpless Dancer
• Is It in My Head?
• I’ve Had Enough
• 5:15
• Sea and Sand
• Drowned
• Bell Boy
• Doctor Jimmy
• The Rock
• Love, Reign O’er Me

Encore

• I’m the Face
• Won’t Get Fooled Again
• Behind Blue Eyes
• Substitute
• I Can’t Explain
• It’s a Small World ([Disney] cover) (Partial; sung by Roger)
• The Kids Are Alright
• Who Are You

Alice Cooper: 12/31/1998

What better way to rock in the New Year than with Alice Cooper, right? But wait – it gets even better. So the ticket says Row 2, which I have to say, I was pretty psyched about. But when my friend Jim and I arrived at the show, lo and behold, Row 2 was actually front row! So even though we were off on the side, we were still deep in the madness and mayhem, and we were graced by Alice’s presence when he slunk over to our side of the stage.

The theme of this show was kind of a psycho-circus motif. There were demented clowns providing Alice with his various implements of destruction, and just grinning menacingly like something out of a Stephen King novel.

There were some nice surprises in this show, notably “Public Animal #9,” a classic from the School’s Out album, and “Unfinished Sweet,” where the clowns shoved Alice into an Egyptian sarcophagus and skewered him with swords. Also, Alice made a nod to Elvis, one of his influences, by playing “Jailhouse Rock” for an encore, decked out in a sequined jacket and some fly shades.

There were so many high points at this show, it was basically just one long high point. From the first chords of “Hello Hooray” until the last note of “Under My Wheels,” it was all Killer and no filler.

Here’s the full setlist. Rock on!

Setlistlowns

• Hello Hooray
• Sideshow
• Billion Dollar Babies
• No More Mr. Nice Guy
• Public Animal #9
• Be My Lover
• Lost in America
• I’m Eighteen
• From the Inside
• Only Women Bleed
• Steven
• Halo of Flies
• Nothing’s Free
• Cleansed by Fire
• Poison
• Cold Ethyl
• Unfinished Sweet
• School’s Out

Encore:

• Jailhouse Rock
• Under My Wheels

Guns n’ Roses with Soundgarden: 12/31/1991

I was never a huge GnR fan, but I like some of their stuff. When I heard they were holding a big New Year’s Eve concert with Soundgarden, and some of my good friends were going, I figured this would be the time to check them out and scratch them off the list of bands to be seen.

The concert was being held at Joe Robbie Stadium, which kind of sucked. I’m not a fan of stadium shows, but such is life. One thing that made me chuckle, though, upon getting my ticket, was the statement *Showtime Approximate*. Axl was notorious for showing up late for performances (or not showing up at all), so the audience was duly warned.

We got there and our seats were straight back, lower section. Soundgarden came out and started their set, and some asshole in the upper deck started tossing down M-80s, one of which exploded at my feet. I was beyond pissed and stormed upstairs, seeking out the jerk with every intention of having an altercation, but alas, I could not find him. He either moved on or ran out of ammunition.

After what seemed like an unusually long time, GnR took the stage and kicked right into “Welcome to the Jungle.” I have to say, I was pretty impressed by the energy with which they opened the show. Reminded me of how I felt when I saw The Clash and they exploded on stage with “London Calling.” Even sitting at the back of Joe Robbie Stadium, I felt the power of the music emanating from the stage.

The band played a long time, and the show was killer. I gained a new level of respect for the band, and understood why people liked them so much. I still don’t own any Guns n’ Roses albums, but I have good memories of seeing them live and tend to turn the volume up a bit when one of their songs comes on the radio.

Here’s the setlist.

• Welcome to the Jungle
• Mr. Brownstone
• Live and Let Die
• Attitude
• Nightrain
• Bad Obsession
• Double Talkin’ Jive
• Civil War
• It’s So Easy
• Patience (w Wild Horses intro)
• Rocket Queen
• November Rain
• You Could Be Mine
• Matt Sorum Drum Solo
• Slash Guitar Solo
• Speak Softly Love (Love Theme From The Godfather)
• Sweet Child O’ Mine (with Sail Away Sweet Sister… more )
• Don’t Cry
• Move to the City
• Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door  (w Only Women Bleed intro)
• Estranged
• Paradise City

The Cars: 10/24/1987

I don’t remember with whom I went to see this concert, but I remember the show. This concert was excellent. The Cars were one of those bands, kind of like Cheap Trick, that held a warm place in my heart growing up. While not my favorite band, I really really liked them, and even today, hearing their music brings me back to more carefree days.

I recall that the stage show was very cool. I am pretty sure there was some large automaton that came out, unless I imagined that. Musically, the high points for me were “Candy-O,” “Moving in Stereo,” and “Drive.”

While some of the new wave bands sound dated today, The Cars do not. When I listen to them (and I still do), they sound as vibrant and current as they did in the 80’s. I feel pretty fortunate that I got to see them back in the day, especially before Benjamin Orr got sick and passed away. Seeing him sing “Drive” was truly moving.

Here’s the full setlist.

Setlist:

• Tonight She Comes
• Touch and Go
• Double Trouble
• My Best Friend’s Girl
• Everything You Say
• Since You’re Gone
• Fine Line
• Let’s Go
• Strap Me In
• Candy-O
• Moving in Stereo
• Dangerous Type
• Drive
• You Are the Girl
• Good Times Roll
• You Might Think
• Hello Again

Encore:

• Just What I Needed
• Magic

The Firm: 3/15/1986

Those of you who missed the 80’s (or just have a cloudy memory) may need a little info on The Firm. They were a supergroup comprised of some very notable musicians:

• Paul Rodgers on lead vocals (from Free and Bad Company)
• Jimmy Page on guitar (from The Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin)
• Chris Slade on drums (from Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, Uriah Heep, and AC/DC)
• Tony Franklin on bass (from Roy Harper, John Sykes’ Blue Murder, David Gilmour, Kate Bush, and Whitesnake)

I went to this show with my friend Mike. Since we were both young guitarists, we were pretty psyched to see the legendary Jimmy Page.

What I remember about the performance was that they were awesome. I personally would have liked to have seen them do a Led Zeppelin tune, but alas. Page did do a really cool guitar solo, though, using the violin bow, with a pyramid of lasers encasing him, reminiscent of the solo featured in “The Song Remains the Same” movie. That was the high point for me.

After the show, we were making the long drive back from the Sportatorium along the two-lane road that took you out of the boonies and back to civilization. We saw two young women hitchhiking, so we picked them up. Mike immediately began chatting them up, clearly hoping to get lucky. When he asked them what they were into, one of them replied, “We’re into each other,” and began making out in the back seat. We could respect that. We drove them as far as we could and dropped them off, then headed home to recover from the killer night of rock and roll.

Here is the setlist, courtesy of the internet.

Setlist

• Fortune Hunter
• Closer
• Someone to Love
• Make or Break
• Prelude (Chopin)
• Money Can’t Buy
• Satisfaction Guaranteed
• Radioactive
• Live in Peace
• All the King’s Horses
• The Chase
• Cadillac
• Midnight Moonlight
• You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’