2 1/2 years since his last visit to Glasgow, the king of shock rock was ferried into town on a chariot of bones (or a big bus, but that’s less atmospheric) to entertain a packed Hydro. Like last time the lineup included one bunch of young upstarts and a classic, well-known act. Like last time, we missed the openers.
Our apologies to The Meffs, who our photographer described as a “bit punky two-piece” and “not bad”. From this softly-spoken gent, this is actually fairly high praise! As always we do aim to support the support, but sometimes those early starts make it tricky to get to a venue in time. We’ll keep an eye out for them in the future.
Main support, and arguably local boys, Primal Scream were pretty big in the 90s with “Rocks”, having formed in the early 80’s. They’ve never actually stopped as a band, but have been quiet recently with their last release being in 2016. This is set to change with the release of Come Ahead soon, and a couple of songs were culled from this album for tonight’s show. Indeed, the three we heard tonight were getting their live debuts: opener “Love Insurrection”, “Ready To Go Home” and “Deep Dark Waters”.
After a slight glitch with the backdrop (the techs thought that The Miffs were coming back on), the band seemed to struggle a bit to get the crowd going. Part of this I’m sure was down to the fact that the entire arena was seated, as it had been the last time Alice was in town (and Judas Priest, and to a large extent Bryan Adams). While it was obvious that some people, including the guy next to me, were loving it there was little opportunity for the crowd to visibly rock.
Partly, though, it was down to the vibe of the music. Primal Scream aren’t, going by this set, a “get up and dance” kind of band, although the music was good. Credit to the three ladies doing backing vocals who absolutely sold the first couple of tracks, and the band weren’t exactly playing by numbers – they were giving it a good shot. What didn’t do them any favours was the way they arranged their set. They finished with two absolute belters. “Country Girl” I have never heard before and it’s one I came home and immediately looked up. The second, and their closer, was the obvious one, “Rocks”.
More songs like these in the set, or putting one of them a bit earlier, would have really helped. The audience was definitely getting more into it by the end and they were indeed left wanting more… but only based on the last couple of tracks. Primal Scream will be back, apparently, and with a longer set (Bobby Gillespie said so). I hope they ram some more up-tempo numbers in there to really show what they’re capable of.
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At 9:15 the lights go down (after a delay as there are already a couple of people on stage when the crew remember to flick the switch) and Alice appears in shadow form before a banner drops and the Nicest Guy In Rock makes his official appearance. Tonight’s set featured songs from a dozen albums (only one from the current release Road) and is as wide and varied as you could expect from an act with such a lengthy history.
As an interesting point, I was sandwiched between two people at opposite ends of the Alice Scale. On my right a chap I got talking to over the interval who was (I guess) ten years my senior and who had been following Alice since he was fifteen. He’s seen him all over the world and even coughed up for a meet and greet in Germany. On my left was my guest for the evening, who knows the obvious big hits and who had never seen Alice live before. I sit somewhere in the middle. Literally!
Suffice to say that all three of us enjoyed the show in roughly equal measure. I’ll admit I didn’t find it quite as good as the 2022 performance, but only due to there being a couple of songs I didn’t know. Last time around I knew the entire set. On the other hand, “Bed of Nails” was about the best I’ve ever heard it, “Poison” definitely upped its game with the three guitars and backing vocals and hearing “The Man Behind The Mask” live for the first time was an absolute treat.
Credit as always goes to Alice’s band, as ever formed from the best session / touring musicians that the rock world has to offer. Not one “here for the paycheque” musician amongst them, they were as much a part of the show as Alice himself. If I’m correct he’s maintained the same lineup as last time and it shows with the group dynamic and stage awareness.
Talking about Alice, it’s always unusual to have a performer more or less ignore the audience until the end of the show where he breaks the fourth wall that usually isn’t there. This reinforces the theatrical nature of an Alice Cooper show, and makes it all the more special when we know we’re being – finally – directly addressed.
There was a definite buzz as people left the Hydro, and so many smiles. Alice deserves the label “legend”, and it’s always impressive to see him put in a full 90-minutes or more despite being only two years younger than my dad. Long may it continue!
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Photos by Gary Cooper
