Alice Cooper brings a Nightmare to Mystic Lake

The godfather of shock, Alice Cooper, brought his Nightmare Castle to Mystic Lake on the final night of his fall tour.

As the eirie song “Years Ago,” from his iconic album Welcome to My Nightmare, played before the lights dimmed, the sold-out venue rose from their seats to a curtain adorned with the classic paint of Alice Cooper’s trademark makeup. The crowd roared as it was announced, “You are now entering the Alice Cooper’s Nightmare Castle. You are all Doomed.”

Alice Cooper Photo Credit: Richard Dollarhide

At 71, Alice still brings it to the stage. Opening the night with the Wayne’s World classic “Feed My Frankenstein,” the set quickly went through his 50-year career with “No More Mister Nice Guy” and “Raped and Freezin'” from 1973’s Billion Dollar Babies, then jumped to 2017’s “Falling In Love.” Due to Alice Cooper’s longevity and historic career, his shows are musical whiplash. He jumps from generational anthems to modern-day hits, tying the show together with artistic and performance geniuses alongside him on stage.

Cooper is known for bringing the best musicians along with him on tour. Such rock figures as Orianthi, Kip Winger, Al Petrelli, Eric Singer, and Alice Cooper Band original Glen Buxton have all graced the stage alongside Alice, and the current band is no different. Backed by drummer Glen Sobel, bassist Chuck Garric, dueling guitarists Tommy Henrikson, Ryan Roxie, and 21st-century guitar icon Nita Strauss, Alice delivers to both young music fans and to those that are young at heart.

Nita Strauss

Cooper’s touring guitarist is becoming a legend in her own right. Being the first woman to have Ibanez signature guitars, featured on cover s Guitar Magazine, and being listed as Guitar World Magazines #1 ranked female guitarist, Nita is making a path for other female rockers. Her newest solo album, Controlled Choas, is masterful, and perhaps one the hardest hitting guitar albums ever made.

The Set List

Tonight’s show was full of classics mixed with some rarities that have not been played live for decades. Seeing “He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask)” brought me back to 6th grade, the year when I became an Alice Cooper fanatic. But it was seeing “Roses on White Lace” from 1987’s Raise Your Fist and Yell that was a surprise for me. It reminded me of the first Alice Cooper concert I attended, for which the opening act was a new band called Guns N’ Roses.

I have seen Cooper perform at least a dozen times in my concert-going life, and tonight was the best one I have seen. The band is energetic and tight and, at 71, Ol’ Black Eyes still knows how to put on a show.

Setlist