LIVE! | Alice Cooper

by Chris A.
Staff Writer –

December 12, 2011 at Taft Theater in Cincinnati, Ohio

He’s one of the most recognizable people in the world, a big-time rockstar who inspired the likes of Kiss, Motley Crue and even Ke$ha. He’s been in movies, television shows, commercials and hosts a nationally syndicated talk-show. The guys a star and could have retired from all the rigors of the road years ago but from all indications, he genuinely loves what he does. At 63 years old Alice Cooper still rocks like he’s 18 and based on the bombastic, mock-carnage filled performance at the Taft Theater in Ohio’s Queen City, there’s no sign of him packing up the makeup and shipping his death-dealing props off the the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame yet.

A genuine icon of rock n roll and recently inducted into the aforementioned hall of fame, Alice Cooper’s brand of musical theater continues to wow his fans and influence rock n roll.

Opening the show with “The Black Widow”, Alice towered above the audience blanketed by smoke and a wall of lights. On the stage below him, the 2011 Alice Cooper band consisting of Chuck Garric, Orianthi, Tommy Henricksen, Steve Hunter and Glen Sobel, waited for their leader to descend to the stage. Once down from his spiders lair, Cooper prowled the stage, working his way to the front, unfurling his eight-legged spider garb. It was absolutely classic Alice Cooper.

For the next 90 minutes,

Alice and his crew ripped through at least 20 classic tunes including; “Brutal Planet,” “I’m Eighteen,” “Under My Wheels” and much more. The tunes spanned nearly the entire Alice Cooper catalog and included cuts from the Love It To Death album through Coopers newest release Welcome 2 My Nightmare.

For rock ‘n roll fans, an Alice Cooper show is one of those events that has to be experienced. As 2011 comes to a close, Alice is certain to continue to perform live and record. He was recently quoted as saying he’ll keep performing until his last breath. I hope that’s a long, long time from now. Check out Alice Cooper’s newest release “Welcome 2 My Nightmare” and visit Alice on-line at www.alicecooper.com and check out Alice on his radio show, “Nights With Alice Cooper.”

[Photos Appear Courtesy of Chris A.]

Orianthi Believe

by John Kindred
Staff Writer

Following in the footsteps of rock’s elite, Australian guitarist and songwriter, Orianthi, landed the gig of a lifetime as the King of Pop’s touring six-string virtuoso. Jackson’s untimely death pushed Orianthi into the spotlight, giving weight and credibility to her first solo album titled Believe.

At 24, her journey from obscurity to scrutiny began in Adelaide on the southern tip of Australia. Cutting her teeth listening to her father’s collection, which included; Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Cream and Santana, she moved to her own influences like Whitesnake, Van Halen and Def Leppard. All this led to her picking up and mastering the guitar. Her big break came from a meeting Santana during his sound check at a local concert where he asked Orianthi to perform in front of her home town. From there, time has moved forward to the now.

Believe was an album in the works before the King of Pop came calling. Released on Geffen Records, Geffen Chairman and A&R veteran Ron Fair and producer Howard Benson put in the work to produce a polished contemporary pop-rock release.

Her voice is every bit main-stream-radio-friendly as you are going to get. Sweet and honest, sometimes her vocals don’t match the ferocity and intensity of her guitar playing. She provides a solid background of music to lay her voice upon, but hard rock or metal heads will be disappointed that Believe isn’t an instrumental or just an all out heavier release.

These assertions are made as the King of Pop has typically worked with the likes of Slash, Eddie Van Halen, Santana, Slash, Steve Stevens and Jennifer Batten. All of which fall into the rock ‘n’ roll if not metal realm of guitar shredding virtuosity.

At times, she shows her aggressiveness like on “Think like a Man,” and the awesome “High Strung” is an instrumental song in which she displays her Steve Vai-like influences. But more times than not, the main stream pop-rock vibe keeps Believe in realm that most hard rock and metals don’t want to traverse.

Obviously, she will fit into the current main stream trends; guitar fans won’t be interested in music that ultimately is more about the voice than the instrument. If your expectations were for an instrumental or rock or hard rock release with more of a Heart-vibe, then you will be disappointed. Overall, for the style of music, this is a really solid debut effort.

Label: Geffen

Web: http://www.orianthi.com/splash/

Track Listing:
1. According to You
2. Suffocated
3. Bad News
4. Believe
5. Feels Like Home
6. Think Like a Man
7. What’s it Gonna Be
8. Untogether
9. Drive Away
10. Highly Strung
11. God Only Knows

Hardrock Haven rating: 7/10