Alice cooper + royal flush

He played Friday night at The Pearl which is the theatre at The Palms resort/casino in Las Vegas. I can't even describe how awesome it was. The show was about 1.5 hours and the set list was excellent. It was the old classics/mandatory hits, some new stuff, and some surprises that I would not have expected (like the 80's Friday the 13th song "He's Back (The Man Behind The Mask)").

The stage show was incredible. Alice got put in a straight jacket, electrocuted, turned into a giant Frankenstein monster. He also had swords, bull whips, and riding crops that he used during the show. His outfits were superb, starting with his red/black striped "glam" outfit and his top hats were taller than ever.

I was trying to take some photos during the show, but then realized that everytime I would take a photo I'd miss out on some great stuff on stage so I just stopped trying and lived in the moment.

My seat was about 15-20 feet from the stage edge at the most (6th row) and dead center. I think it was the best possible location. If I was front row I don't think it would be easy to see everything that was going on on the stage.

His band was tight. I don't know who they are (or maybe I do, I haven't looked them up yet), but they were completely on point and looked young and fabulous. He has a female guitarist specifically that is just gorgeous so she was a nice addition to the visuals as well.

During "Dirty Diamonds" Alice threw a few necklaces out to the crowd and I caught one. Then at the end of the show the drummer threw his sticks and I caught one of those too.

I was really impressed with Alice's energy and intensity during the performance. This was my first Alice show and as I've missed the previous 40 years of tours I wasn't expecting it to really be THE proper Alice experience, if you will. I knew it would be fun, but I thought Alice would be a bit tired and slow and his voice would be a bit aged and strained. I could not have been more wrong. He looks exactly the same as he has for the past 30 years and he is in incredible shape. And he is just a phenomenal singer as well as a physical performer. He also had some cool choreography worked out with his bandmates and some of the song routines. It was all pure magic.

Another thing that really impressed me was how much respect he shows his support band. I mean this is the Alice Cooper show, for crying out loud. Those guys (at least in my mind) are all just replaceable pegs on the board, but he really seemed to treat them as special and made sure they were fully incorporated into the show and really gave them a nice number of moments to shine as a group and as individuals. None of these moments (like drum solo, guitar solo, etc) were overly indulgent or wankish (I hate when they go on forever). They were just great showcases so you could see that Alice put these kids on a pedestal and recognized them. And properly, they did not abuse that privilege.

There was an interesting middle part of the show where Alice does this thing about the "rock and roll graveyard". He does a number of cover/tributes to his old friends that meant so much to him back in the 60's when he'd be rockin' and partying with these guys and inspiring each other musically and life-wise.

He'd perform a song or a bit of a medley for each of the deceased, during which, a giant tombstone with the star's name and dates would appear. So we got "Foxy Lady" (Hendrix), the Who's "My Generation" (for Keith Moon), "Break on Through" (Jim Morrison/Doors), and "Revolution" (Lennon/Beatles).

The crowd was mixed, but mostly older. Some came decked out with Alice makeup and/or outfits. Most people were dressed as regular Joe's or sported their Alice Cooper t-shirts. I went in my usual concert battle gear and kind of stood out on the extreme side of the crowd.

The opening band was Kill Devil Hill. I tried to give them a shot and it was doing nothing for me, so I walked out. The great thing about the show being at Palms is they would let you out of the theatre and into the casino for a smoke, or, in my case, for an hour of gambling and free drinks before the actual show. I started playing some Ultimate Texas Hold 'em just to kill time and was doing all right. Then I went to play some video poker and hit a jackpot for $750. I went back to the show at 9:15 and only had to wait about 5 minutes before the show started.

I was super stoked from the show and came back to my hotel to see if my wife was up so we could go get some food. Nope. She was dead asleep, so I went down for some gambling. I was doing great and had made back all the money I lost the first night and was actually building up a bit of profit. I was feeling pretty good and kept going back to the same Video Poker machine that was treating me well with a good number of Four-of-a-Kinds. I had even hit the 4 aces jackpot for $800 at one time.

Anyway, eventually I got dealt 4 out of 5 cards needed for a Royal Flush. I closed my eyes and clicked draw and listened for the (I hoped) "ding ding ding" to signify a win (even if I didn't get the Royal, I could maybe get a flush). There was an awkward pause and then a buzzing of some sort. I opened my eyes and the ding-ding's were starting (the light on top of my machine was already lit).

I had gotten my first ever Royal Flush. And the screen read . . . . "Jackpot Won: Wait for Attendant". What does it pay? $4000!!!!!!!!!!!!! I yelled ecstatically until I finally saw the attendant on his way. I was so loaded with adrenaline that my hands were literally shaking for almost an hour.

The attendant checked everything and finally the floor boss came with his filled out tax form for me to sign (anything over $1200 gets reported to IRS) . . . after which he counted out 40 Hundred Dollar bills (and $30 more for the two smaller wins on the screen).

I spent/gambled half of those winnings (bought my wife some expensive gifts and blew about $1K searching for another big win, which of course never happened). So, my trip was free (the room was comp'd by the casino), everything got paid for and I came home with $2K profit.
So yeah . . . . I had a pretty good weekend.

 

Congratulations on that first Royal!! You broke the damn and now they'll just keep coming, I hope!
Glad you enjoyed AC, I just can't take the loud music anymore.

 

Wow! Cool trip. Love the pics.....particularly the $4,000 royal!!

Thank you!

 

Congrats on the big win, and thanks for the pics of Alice. I first saw him in Toronto at Maple Leaf Gardens on December 14, 1973 when I was a kid. I love his radio show. I've read his book on golf/auto biography - he is a real individual. Gonna go put on some Coop right now!

 

Great win. Does anyone know where he plays golf when in Vegas....he is reputedly a real Callaway player.....great report.....

 

I grew up an Alice fan. Great report

 

great report, and pictures. I walked right by Alice Cooper at Horseshoe Southern Indiana, I would not have noticed but he turned and spoke to the person with him and I recognized his voice and turned to look and there he was right by me. He has aged well.

 

Thanks, Everyone!
Great to see some other fans of the Coop up in here!

 

Sounds like you had the time of your life! That's awesome! I saw Alice a few years ago in Mansfield, Ma for $7. It was one of the most memorable shows I have been to. Glad to hear he's still rockin!

 

Grts

Nice TR
Alice=Classic, good to see he's still running at full steam & still a great showman.

Icing of the cake a Royal=Priceless!

 

Here's the setlist (not in any particular order) . . .
-----------

Feed My Frankenstein
Hello Hooray
Ballad of Dwight Fry
Poison
Billion Dollar Babies
Break on Through (The Doors cover)
House of Fire
Go to Hell
School's Out
The Congregation
No More Mr. Nice Guy
He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)
Hey Stoopid
Revolution (The Beatles cover)
I'm Eighteen
Dirty Diamonds
Foxy Lady (The Jimi Hendrix Experience cover)
I'll Bite Your Face Off
Devil's Food
Welcome to My Nightmare
My Generation (The Who cover)
Be My Lover
Caffeine
Under My Wheels

 

Congrats on your first Royal!

Thank you for posting the awesome report and pics from the concert. I saw him in concert in 1979.

 

Very cool.... Glad you liked AC and hit that royal.

 

I was a member of the Alice Cooper fan club in the 70's so I really enjoyed your report! But I have to ask... what is your standard concert get up?

 

Black band shirt (usually my Twisted Sister shirt)
War-torn denim vest with random patches, pins, signatures, etc, on it.
Black pants.
A giant hideous pewter Iron Maiden "Killers" belt buckle.
Black bandana.

I'll find a pic . . . .

 

At shows . . . .












At Work . . . .

 

Cool on 1ST Royal

Alice does rock..Thanks for pics

 

Those comparison pics are awesome! Talk about Jekyll and Hyde - priceless.

 

Congrats on the Royal Flush. I enjoyed your trip report.

 

Thanks, Y'all!