Artist: Cooper, Alice
Label: Eagle Records
Release: 2000
The success of the Brutal Planet tour led to the release of an excellent, complete concert recording (the VHS version has a few tracks cut out) on DVD, titled Brutally Live, shot at London’s Hammersmith on July 19, 2000. As a bonus, the DVD also includes the video for the single Gimme.
The stage design is totally devoted to the album’s theme, and the show, played as brilliantly as ever, is absolutely worth watching, since this is the best recording of a Cooper show so far. Sure, the years show a tiny bit in his voice, but that’s a minimal minus. The acting and the way the songs are synced up with the props and the performance are just incredible.
The show kicks off with an opening address from the Controller in Brutal Planet, warning us to leave the show while we still can, because then comes the ruler, the sadistic maniac Alice Cooper. With no breather, the intro rolls straight into the opener Brutal Planet and Gimme. Go To Hell carries on the set, and that’s where his daughter Calico, a fixture by now, comes in, popping up in quite a few roles throughout the whole show. Pick Up The Bones is one of those songs that, with great acting and props, especially the bones strewn all over the stage, leaves a big impression even after the show is over. The transition from bones to body parts is Feed My Frankenstein, where he assembles the aforementioned character. Wicked Young Man, a track from the new record, is played really well, and the band marching in time with the music is fantastic. The show is slowly reaching its peak, and the lead-in to it is Dead Babies, where Alice impales a mutant on a sword. A string of songs follows, played instrumentally, while Cooper is put under the guillotine and beheaded. The comeback follows once the head is carried off to the chamber where the body parts were taken earlier, and so Alice comes back to life Frankenstein-style and No More Mr. Nice Guy kicks in. It’s Hot Tonight and the excellent Caught In A Dream follow, then a speech from Cooper where he points out what’s bugging him, mainly that someone in the front row is wearing a Kiss shirt, and that’s the intro to It’s The Little Things. Poison is the next song, and the already great atmosphere gets even better, a truly excellent track. Take It Like A Woman and Only Woman Bleed are two ballads merged into one, where things calm down a little and you can gather some fresh strength, which the short, fast You Drive Me Nervous then starts burning through. Under My Wheels and School’s Out follow, with the classic balloons and confetti and the chaos the song brings with it. The song hasn’t even settled yet and another hit is already here, Billion Dollar Babies.
The closing stretch starts with My Generation, and Alice shows up in a shirt that says Britney Wants Me, and when he turns around there’s a huge Dead on the back, which brings a whole new vibe that wraps up with the patriotic Elected and presidents on stage. Very commendable: at every show, a combined flag of America and the country the show is in appears in the song.
That’s a pretty long setlist for such an old tomcat, who shows zero signs of fatigue and looks like he’s getting better with the years. The tour was very well received, and we’d love to see more like it, as close to us as possible.
Lineup
Alice Cooper – vocals
Ryan Roxie – guitar
Pete Friesen – guitar
Greg Smith – bass guitar
Eric Singer – drums
Teddy ”Zig Zag” – keyboards
Production
Richard Leyland
Track list
1. Brutal Planet
2. Gimme
3. Go To Hell
4. Blow Me A Kiss
5. I’m Eighteen
6. Pick Up The Bones
7. Feed My Frankenstein
8. Wicked Young Man
9. Dead Babies
10. Ballad Of Dwight Fry
11. I Love The Dead
12. Black Widow
13. No More Mr Nice Guy
14. It`s Hot Tonight
15. Caught In A Dream
16. It`s The Little Things
17. Poison
18. Take It Like A Woman
19. Only Women Bleed
20. You Drive Me Nervous
21. Under My Wheels
22. School`s Out
23. Billion Dollar Babies
24. My Generation
25. Elected
Running time: 96:00
