Post by rtbuck on Oct 7, 2010 11:02:56 GMT -5
Alice Cooper – Theater of Death Live at Hammersmith 2009
Released: 2010
Label: Bigger Picture
Format: DVD/CD
Review by Bucky
Alice Cooper is back with a vengeance with his brand new DVD/CD ‘Theater of Death Live at Hammersmith’ 2009. “They keep Killing him…& he keeps coming back!” is the headline on the mini poster ad for the show which is included with the DVD/CD combo & that is just what the show is about. The show is separated into 4 different themes in which the shock rock icon is executed. The band featuring bassist Chuck Garric, guitarists Damon Johnson & Kerri Kelli, & drummer Jimmy Degrasso put on an amazing performance along with Tiffany Lowe (who plays a terrific psychotic nurse) & of course Alice Cooper.
The DVD begins with an eerie type of music similar to the music in the intro of David Bowie’s “Diamond Dogs”. The camera pans through the crowd revealing a few twisted fans in Alice Cooper make-up & then a loud school bell begins ringing, the curtain covering the entire stage drops, & the band launches into Alice’s big hit from 1972 “School’s Out”. Alice walks out onstage sporting a studded leather jacket, studded leather trousers, & a voodoo top hat with skeletal remains on it. The next two songs “Department of Youth” & “I’m 18” are up next & despite over 40 years of his growling vocals Alice’s voice sounds as strong as ever.
The band begins playing the heavy sounding “Wicked Young Man” & Alice returns to the stage dressed similar to street thug Billy Boy from Stanley Kubrick’s ‘A Clockwork Orange’. Alice is taking Nazi goose steps throughout the song & at one point a masked man appears on the stage & Alice skewers him with a mic stand. A bunch of hooded ghouls grab Alice & put him in a Straight Jacket which leads into “The Ballad of Dwight Fry”. The hooded ghouls come back out onstage wheeling out a guillotine & decapitate Alice for his first death.
The stage is covered with red spotlights as the band plays “Go to Hell”. Alice walks up to the basket underneath the guillotine & pulls out his head. It is then that you realize that Alice must be in Hell. Continuing with the ‘Alice Cooper Goes to Hell’ album Alice & the band rock out to “Guilty”. Up next the stage fills up with many different types of ghouls who attack Alice as he sings “Welcome to My Nightmare”. Alice finally breaks free & corners one of the female ghouls. He then throws a dummy of the ghoul to the front of the stage & abuses the hell out of her as he sings “Cold Ethyl”. Alice tosses the ghoul away & breaks into his popular hit “Poison” & as the song ends the hooded ghouls hold Alice down while a nurse injects him in the lower mid section with a syringe which is at least 6 feet long filled with…poison & Alice is killed for the second time.
The eerie “Awakening” from Alice’s ‘Welcome to my Nightmare’ album is up next which is followed by Alice pulling out a bottle of Jack Daniels as the band plays an amazing version of “From the Inside”. A nurse drags Alice off the stage while the band continues jamming on the song. The nurse wheels Alice back out in a wheelchair & Alice sings Nurse Rozetta. While he’s fantasizing about silk suspenders on her thighs Nurse Rozetta takes out a grinding wheel & begins grinding her crotch causing sparks to fly. While the nurse is listening to Alice’s heartbeat he becomes extremely excited & then the inner rock star of Alice comes out full of confidence as he sings “Is it my Body” to the nurse. She is constantly laughing at him & mocking him throughout the song but then she ends up falling for him. The crazed nurse’s crush on the Coop appears to be a little too much for him as she begins to dance behind a screen & all that is seen is her shadow as Alice is singing “Be My Lover” from his Killer album. The nurse removes one stocking at a time behind the screen & hands them to Alice who is now getting a psychotic look in his eyes. He places one of the stockings over his head, walks behind the screen, & strangles the nurse with the other stocking. Alice drags out her body & lays it across his lap as he sings “Only Women Bleed”. As the song builds up towards the end Alice throws her to the floor ripping off her red wig & nurse coat. He mocks her by putting on the wig & coat but then the hooded ghouls return & drag Alice to the gallows. Alice (wearing the wig & coat) now has a noose around his neck & sings the beautiful ballad “I Never Cry”. The nurse crawls over to the gallows & for a second appears to have some compassion for Alice but then kicks the stool out from underneath him & Alice meets death for the third time. The band kicks into high gear & jams out a phenomenal instrumental of “The Black Widow”.
Up next is “Vengeance is Mine” & Alice is dressed in a long leather Black Widow coat complete with eight legs attached to it. Alice & band rip into a new version of “Devil’s Food” with a new verse added. A wagon full of jewels & a baby doll is wheeled out on the stage & Alice takes handfuls of imitation diamond necklaces & tosses them into the crowd as he sings “Dirty Diamonds” which is followed by the classic “Billion Dollar Babies”. Alice pulls out a sword full of currency, hands it out to the crowd, & then at the end of the song he swings the sword around & beheads the baby doll. The title track from 1971’s ‘Killer’ album is up next & the hooded ghouls along with Nurse Rozetta return again & this time they wheel out the “Chamber of Spikes”. Alice meets death for the fourth time as he is placed in the chamber & the nurse shoves the spikes through Alice’s body. As Alice is wheeled off the stage the band is playing “I Love the Dead”
Alice returned to the stage as he & the band finish the show rocking out to “No more Mr. Nice Guy”, “Under My Wheels”, & “School’s Out”. Overall this is a great product & well worth the money as you get the DVD, a CD of the show, & a mini poster for under 20 dollars.
Bucky
