ALICE COOPER / JESSE CAMP AND THE EIGHTH STREET KIDS
LANDMARK THEATER - SYRACUSE, NY
Everyone has a list of things, be it on paper or in their head, which they want to do before they die. On October 6, 1999 I got to fulfill one of those things from my list. Seeing Alice Cooper live was an incredible experience that was definitely worth the years of wait.
Before having the honor of seeing Alice Cooper, we were forced to sit through an opening act. As always, with the good comes the bad. In this case, the bad was otherwise known as Jesse Camp and the Eighth Street Kids. It’s admirable that Alice tried to give these guys a break, but it’s obvious that they need way more than that. I would give them an “E” for effort, because they did play their little hearts out. However, Jesse Camp is in dire need of some vocal training. Yes, they are a punk band, which you would think would give him some leeway with his voice, but even that was not enough. It seems to me that Jesse is trying WAY too hard to be Sebastian Bach (of Skid Row) circa 1989. The trouble is that Jesse is 95% less vocally adept and at least 85% worse looking. He’s got the eyeliner down pat, and the hair (which is now longer than in his MTV VJ days) is pretty cool, but the whole package comes off as, well, silly. The music, to give the band some credit, was played with proficiency. It was just Jesse’s silly “rock star” demeanor on stage that pretty much ruined the set. For instance, during every song we were treated to Jesse’s bare rear end since he chose to wear low-riding black leather pants (ala Sebastian) that slipped down just a tad too far whenever he did anything that even remotely involved movement. This had the audience retching and even had one bouncer laughing so hard I thought he’d fall off his chair! The whole effect of Jesse Camp and the Eighth Street Kids was basically just sad. I give a nod to the band, who were a pretty talented bunch, but Jesse’s voice, antics, and ridiculous banter ruined his show. Isn’t it odd that Jesse Camp and the Eighth Street Kids would be better off without Jesse Camp?
Jesse continued to annoy us all by coming into the theater just before Alice’s set to sign autographs. His bass guitarist was also with him. The twenty-five teenagers that actually came to the show suddenly surrounded us. This was wholly obnoxious since Alice’s stage was being set up and we all wanted to see the props, but were blocked by Jesse’s enormous head of hair. Yes, he chose to stand right in front of us. It was quite amusing to watch one sorry girl follow him around seemingly trying to hook up with him. Aside from the teenagers, he was met by shouts of “Get lost!” “Get the hell out of the way!” etc. The bass player was more or less ignored and I did feel quite sorry for him.
That’s enough of the bad, now on to the good! Alice’s show started right in with the carnival theme. Clowns danced out, swept up the stage, and played merrily as clowns do until Alice’s band ran out, chased them from the stage, and kicked straight into set opener “Hello Hooray!” The band included drummer Eric Singer (formerly of KISS), guitarists Pete Freezin and Ryan Roxie, bassist Greg Smith, and keyboard player Lindsay Vannoy. Alice made his presence known on stage, ripped through the set opener, and kicked right into “Billion Dollar Babies.” During “Billion” he shook a sword full of fake money over the lucky audience members just in front of the stage.
The set list included a pleasing mix of newer Alice songs and old classics that would make even the crankiest Alice fan happy. The carnival theme was non-stop entertainment, a mix of horror and laughs. Highlights? He sang a few songs from what appeared to be a minister’s podium decorated Alice-style, with a glowing eyeball and various other adornments. During “Is It My Body” Alice was presented, by a clown, with a giant snake that slithered around his neck all through the song. During “Cold Ethyl” Ethyl turned out to be a life sized rag-doll that emerged from a giant jack-in-the-box. Alice enjoyed Ethyl as much as he could, dancing the tango with her, caressing her, and even kissing her on the lips. As “Unfinished Sweet” began, Alice innocently licked a lollipop and seemingly chipped a tooth. Acting only as Alice can, he rubbed the “painful” jaw throughout the song, which ended with a group of clowns throwing him into a carnival-adorned electric chair. Here they proceeded to draw Alice’s classic black make-up on his face. As he struggled to get away, the clowns threw him into an upright coffin toward the rear of the stage and closed the cover. The clowns then proceeded to play with swords, sticking them through the coffin and opening it up to show “Alice” (actually a dummy of him) with swords penetrating his body. The real Alice had been backstage changing his clothes, we soon found out, as he exploded onto the stage in a clown costume himself.
Other songs in the set included, “Only Women Bleed,” “Steven,” “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” “I’m 18,” “Halo of Flies,” “Poison,” “Lost In America,” “From the Inside,” and the set closer “School’s Out.” During the latter song the clowns were in full force again, taunting the guitarists, throwing things, and releasing a small fleet of giant confetti-filled balloons into the audience. These were promptly popped and confetti rained down on all. A fitting ending for a carnival of a show, but they were not done yet! Two more encores ensued, including “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” originally by Elton John, and another Alice song, “Under My Wheels.” During “Under” Alice revealed to one and all, through his T-shirt, that he is truly “Alice Spice!”
The show was killer, and the band was so tight you could bounce a quarter off of them. Eric Singer’s drum solo was of particular interest. Now, I normally loathe a drum solo, but this was the best I’ve ever seen. Entertaining, easy on the ears, and Eric even played with drumsticks that were on fire! Literally! An amazing man. I also must mention guitarists Pete Freezin and Ryan Roxie. Pete has talent that shines right through the hype and craziness of Alice’s show. Ryan Roxie, in addition to being a fantastic guitarist, has something a lot of musicians lack, and that’s style. That man can dress! Flashy clothes to match his flashy guitars. But no flashy guitar playing – the man is all talent, the ultimate – style AND substance! Bass player Greg Smith did a great solo during the show. Keyboard player Lindsay Vannoy was very good as well.
I’d recommend that everyone go see Alice Cooper at least once. You not only get great music, but great theatrics and a sense when you leave that the ticket money was well spent. I am so glad I finally got to see him. Now, let’s see, what’s next on my list?
Where do I go from here?