Alice live from the front row

• The Pageant, University City, MO, August 7, 2008

Well this was a different experience for me. Back when I got tickets, I somehow missed the initial sale (despite every possible alert). I was going to get reserved balcony, but they were gone. So, general admission it was. Again. Having seen Alice here many times, always stuck standing in back of the room gasping my way through cigarettes, I decided to take the day off and see if I could actually work the system. That idea paid off in a big way.

I love U City's Loop. Lots of quirky shops, unique restaurants and entertainment venues. So, even though our schedule was tight, we ran up the street to catch a quick meal and free root beer float at Fitz's. Before dinner was served, I ran across the street to grab "Along Came a Spider" at Vintage Vinyl, one of our last remaining pure music shops. (Still trying to support the "little" guys.) Afterward, we booked it back, just minutes to spare, to stand in a rather long line for a bar.

That's the interesting thing about this place. We had to get in line outside in hopes of getting in another line inside. At 5 p.m., the 21 and older crowd are heralded in limited numbers into the Halo Bar, and thus gain early access to The Pageant. Given the numbers before us, I thought we might miss the cutoff, but we made it in. And there we stood an hour and a half, meeting some interesting people and being thankful we weren't in the outside line when the sky let open.

Right after getting in, I learned small cameras were allowed. Of course, mine was in the car. But I asked permission and ran out to get it with no problem. (This seems to be a habit for me. At least this time I didn't have to run clear across London's Hyde Park.)

At 6:30 p.m. we were finally corralled into the venue, rejoicing to learn it was a non-smoking show. The vast majority of early entrants headed straight for tables. I, somewhat in disbelief, walked right down front to the left facing the stage. Right down front. I guess standing for several hours no longer appeals. And there we were, right on the rail, meeting more friendly people who were very willing to save each others spots.

It was 9-something when Alice finally took the stage.

This is still the Psycho-Drama Tour, so it was very similar to the one we saw (from a distance) in Sedalia, MO last year. It was hard rocking and thoroughly entertaining as always, but it was nice to catch some of the little details we usually can't. I've seen "Only Women Bleed" performed at nearly every show, but being able to see the expressions on Calico's face I was surprised it actually got to me a little more. She does a great job.

It's also a little different when your hero (there, I said it) is standing 2 feet in front of you. Nice to really be able to see all the expressions and movements he's honed over the years, along with all the costumes and the rest of the insanity going on all over the stage.

I was surprised when they brought out the gallows. I always reckoned this stage was too small for that since we've always seen the guillotine, but I understand they just finally brought it back after the near mishap years ago. (I was mesmerized by that trick as a kid at Buckskin Joe's in Colorado, so now I watch to make sure they've really got Alice hooked up just right.) I heard a few audience members comment on how scary they thought it was.

Things were constantly flying over our heads—guitar picks, canes, balloons, "dirty diamonds," Alice bucks—but we didn't manage to score anything except a few little pieces of confetti from the balloons, as seen on my ticket above.

Good thing I grabbed that camera. I somehow managed over 100 photos while still enjoying the show. Here's a sampling:



Following "Elected," a masked Obama and Hillary ran out, fighting, then embracing, then fighting some more, until Alice told them, "Get off my stage." Pretty hilarious.


After the concert, we went out back to stand around the bus and see who showed up. Chuck Garric, Keri Kelli and Eric Singer hung out and signed stuff, especially for the kids. That's Chuck's autograph on my ticket. Alice stayed on the bus, but signed a jacket they took into him for a lady in a wheelchair, which we thought was nice. The guys were cool, but it didn't take long before they had to jump on the bus and roll.

The video is dark, but the bus is green. Bet they get some good gas mileage with this monster.



Alright, so this week I met people, from golfers to rock fans, who've met Alice, I stood right outside his bus, met some of his band and we stood 2 feet apart, but still no meaningful conversation. It's cool. I figure we'll talk sometime. It just might have to wait 'til the other side of eternity.


the Band:
guitarist Jason Hook
guitarist Keri Kelli
bassist Chuck Garric
drummer Eric Singer

the Set List:
It's Hot Tonight
No More Mr. Nice Guy
Under My Wheels
I'm Eighteen
Is it My Body
Woman of Mass Distraction
Lost in America
Feed My Frankenstein
Be My Lover
Dirty Diamonds
Muscle of Love
Desperado
Halo of Flies
Welcome to My Nightmare
Cold Ethyl
Only Women Bleed
Steven
Dead Babies
Ballad of Dwight Fry
I Love the Dead
School's Out
Billion Dollar Babies
Poison
Elected

Alice live from the front row

a little time with the golf monster

Alice Cooper, Golf Monster:
A Rock 'n' Roller's Life and 12 Steps to Becoming a Golf Addict

So, I finally bought and read Alice's autobio. Ok, maybe I'm slow. I've had my eye on it for a while, but we're always looking for a deal. So after I got a Borders birthday coupon—and eventually located it in the golf section, as opposed to the music section where we originally found the hardback—I grabbed the paperback about a week ago.

I actually finished today. Nice timing, since we're scheduled to go see him in concert Thursday. But this is also a major feat, since I have this bad habit of reading about a quarter of a book and then start in on something else. I have stacks of fourth and half read books. But I burned through this in just a few sittings. I couldn't put it down.

Even more ironic is the fact that I actually finished the last few chapters on a golf course. I got roped into working a sponsor hole on one of the hottest days of the year at the St. Louis Italian Open for Children's Charities at Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis. We had a contest to see who could whack a marshmallow the farthest. (The record at our hole was 136 feet or so.)

One of our contestants, Sam, asked who was reading the Alice book and told me he golfed with Alice a few years ago at an amateur tourney right before the Phoenix Open, with comments like, "He's a really good player," and, "He's a nice guy." Yup, that's what I keep hearing.

So, reading this book did make me think that one day maybe I could actually get off the driving range and onto a course. Maybe. We tried a range again this week and I did about as good as usual, which isn't very. Still, I tell everyone I used to win trophies at mini golf. Not kidding. So if I could actually get it on the green, piece of cake. It's the few hundred yards between that seem to be the problem.

But Alice doesn't stop short in giving out all kinds of good advice on playing the game, on down to his own little clinic at the back. And, as with everything, it makes me a little scared to ever get bit by the Golf Monster. I'm always afraid I'll end up obsessed myself, and with me that can tend to get expensive.

If you're not into the whole golf scene (or not yet, anyway), but really dig rock 'n' roll, you won't be disappointed either. This seems like a pretty well crafted, if not occasionally repetitive, account of Alice's life, including many of the celebrities whose paths he's crossed.

But what really struck me wasn't the celebrity flashbacks or the early rocker lifestyle. That was just an account of day to day life from somebody who happened to live it. More, it was seeing the path he's been on and the fact he's still alive. I knew a lot of the stories, since he tells them all the time, and even wondered about a few that seemed to be missing, but this helped put some of the events in a time perspective.

From the peritonitis caused by a burst appendix at age 11 to the bouts with alcohol and subsequent pancreatitis and other issues, it's a wonder he has an organ left functioning. But as the story goes on, it seems clear the Lord took him through all that and kept Alice alive for a reason. And having just read that big things appear ready to start happening with Solid Rock, I wonder if we're about to see the next part of God's plan take shape.

Overall, this is a fun read, with a lot of drama and truly dangerous situations mixed in. You get a chance to see just how much of Alice's life is reflected in his work, and what's really important to him now.

It amazes me just how many people I run into, even fans at the shows, who have no idea of any of this, especially since he's been so open about it for so long. They know the image they were sold in the past, but just don't know what's going on in the present. If that's you, then you really ought to get your hands on this book and learn something about the Alice you never knew.

And see if you can run from the Golf Monster. It might at least get you out to the creepy glow-in-the-dark Putt Putt.

a little time with the golf monster