Rock icon Alice Cooper’s macabre theatrics may be a key part of his continued draw, but during the metal pioneer’s Tuesday night performance in San Antonio, his show-stopping band turned out to be his secret weapon.
Let’s be real: we’re more used to seeing classical performances, comedy shows and middle-of-the-road pop inside the swanky Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. The $200 million state-of-the-art venue inherently lends itself to more upscale entertainment than degenerates like us — shock-rock loyalists, that is — come to expect from a concert.
We’re being facetious, of course, but the thought of Cooper bringing his mix of hard rock and horror to the Tobin initially brought confusion, a little healthy skepticism — and, of course, plenty of curiosity.
Any question whether the Tobin was the right venue evaporated when the Coop took the stage and showcased a set cataloguing nearly five decades of star power. His veteran band rocked with abandon, highlighting the vigorous fretboard workouts of guitarist Nita Strauss and the intense energy of drummer Glen Sobel.
Clad in his signature top hat and eye makeup, the Detroit-born rocker led the group through a powerful and varied 25-song setlist that ranged from radio classics like “Eighteen” and “School’s Out” — the latter augmented with snippets from Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)” — to the punk-tinged “Lost in America” and the ever-eerie “Ballad of Dwight Fry.”
Cooper’s penchant for variety also extended to his backdrops, props and attire — the number of costume changes may even rival that mainstream touring pop acts like Taylor Swift and Beyonce. And from the attendance at Tuesday’s show, his fanbase appears just as fanatic as those of the two divas. Fans young and old to young — we’re talking really young in the case of the eye makeup-clad toddler in the orchestra section — and from all walks of life packed the building.
The current music industry isn’t exactly friendly to the kind of guitar-based hard rock Cooper specializes in — even when the theatrics are amped by an onstage mock-execution by guillotine. But the singer’s Tobin performance demonstrates that, like a true pro, he knows exactly what his audience wants. And we’re here for it.
