Alice Cooper turns in a paranormal rock show at Clearwater’s Ruth Eckerd Hall

Performing heavy metal is no easy task, especially playing a sold-out show at Clearwater’s Ruth Eckerd Hall. Alice Cooper, however, killed it. Cooper, 70, absolutely demolished the Hall on Friday and showed no signs of letting up. Cooper played hits (“I’m Eighteen,” “No More Mr. Nice Guy”) and even threw in a nod to Pink Floyd during his finale of School’s Out. The show featured everything a heavy metal concert should — bellowing bass guitar, guitar solos that have you banging your head (and raising the dead) and even pyrotechnics. To say Alice Cooper melted the ears of all the concert goers would be an understatement.

Coop wasn’t the only one melting ear drums, his band of guys and gal also knew how to liquify the ear drums with each solo overpower the one before it. Needless to say but Nita Strauss knows how to shred that guitar to bits all while banging around that beautiful blonde hair. Glen Sobel, the drummer, also knew how to put on a show while sparks fly all around him. However, the man himself, Alice Cooper, knew exactly what to do to keep the attention of the crowd. Throughout the night Coop changed his costume several times, from his signature sequined leopard print jacket to a classic surgeons outfit covered in blood, and at one point he hugged himself ever so tight while wearing a straight jacket, only to be sedated by a giant needle.

Though the rockstar is 70 years old and his rise to fame happened throughout the 80s, there were people of all ages within the audience, from an eight-year-old who was experiencing his first Alice Cooper show to the numerous amount of retirees who have seen Coop so many times that they’ve lost count. When speaking to one concert goer, I was told that he has seen Alice Cooper more times than any other concert and that it never gets old, and I could certainly see why. The show was an experience, not just music blaring into the ears of young children and retirees. Coop made it memorable by decapitating himself (only to be resurrected and to finish the show) as well as electrocuting himself, turning him into a giant, deranged version of himself.

For me, it was my first Alice Cooper show, and if we’re being honest, it was my first time listening to songs other than just “School’s Out,” and I am just amazed how he is able to get up on that stage and play to hundreds of people without showing a single sign of slowing down, in fact, when speaking to a local paper during an interview about stuffing babies in sewers, he had mentioned that he will be touring again next year, only to have more of a Welcome to My Nightmare vibe to it, and if it’s anything like the show he put on Ruth Eckerd Hall, you can count me in, so be sure to catch our coverage of Coop the next time he rolls through town.