Monday, August 3, 2009

The Department of Youth

When, in the song 'Department of Youth', 61 year old Alice Cooper asked "Who has the power?" and 44 and 46 year old Tom and I pumped our fists and screamed, "WE DO!" the irony was probably not lost on anyone. Discussing it in the car on the way home, though, Tom and I agreed that if Alice still felt qualified to head up that particular department, we might indeed still have a little power after all.

It was the same sort of grin I get every time Roger Daltry sings "Hope I die before I get old." Glad he didn't. My g-g-g-g-generation indeed.

My generation was out in full force at the Alice concert Saturday night and so was yours. I feel confident typing that, because no matter what your generation is, it was represented. I had told you some months ago about going to the MSI concert with the girls and how our family held down both ends of the age spectrum. Not so at Alice. There were folks younger than our girls and folks older than us and everything in between. Grandparents were there with their grandchildren. The show my mother deemed far too inappropriate for me when I was fourteen has now been deemed, apparently, quite family friendly. There was a little girl right in front of me who appeared to be about seven or eight. At one point she got tired and curled up in her seat to rest. The proximity of the chairs led to her little head resting right on my knee. I don't think she was aware of that, but I sure was. And I thought it was very sweet.

Blue Oyster Cult was a fine choice for an opening act. Their band was tight. Their bass player was beyond tight. Who's playing bass for BOC these days, you ask? Well, only Rudy Sarzo, that's who. Rudy has played with Quiet Riot, Whitesnake and the venerable Ozzy Osbourne. He owns the stage like the rock star that he is. For those of you who enjoy swimming in the shallow end of the pool, he has the sort of wiry muscular build I usually (rightly or wrongly) associate with drummers. He's not what you might want to call a bad looking fellow... For those of you with more tender hearts, there was an ASL interpreter stationed off to the right side of the stage interpreting the concert. At one point Mr. Sarzo made his way over to that side of the stage and signed something directly to the folks with hearing impairments. I don't sign, so I don't know what he said, but I thought it was a sweet - um - gesture. For those of you who would rather judge a musician by his musicianship rather than his looks, sweetness, or stage presence - well, you would have been the least disappointed of all. He kicked. Ass. As the wife of a bass player and the mother of another, I tend to appreciate the bass solo more than some, but I think even those who use it as an excuse to head for the restroom would've enjoyed this. It was pretty amazing.

(a side note to the small handful of my college buddies who read this blog: When they played 'Godzilla', I tried very hard to keep my feet from touching the floor. I did. But the seats were small and my ass is large and it just didn't work out. But I did try. There was intent. And you were all remembered fondly. So that has to count for something. History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of men...)

Alice was everything I needed him to be, from his opening number ('School's Out') to his last encore (um, 'School's Out'. But with a costume change and different props - it really worked in a full circle sort of way). There was no between song banter, it was just song, song, song. When he needed to take a little break, the band played (they were pretty kickass in their own right! No divas in Alice's band, though - he OWNS that show!) All of the showmanship and theatrics were there. It was just the show I'd expected to see thirty-odd years ago. There were crazy costume changes and macabre props and almost non-stop camp.

This tour has been dubbed the 'Theater of Death' tour, with the subtitle "they keep killing him, but he keeps coming back". Alice himself was killed by guillotine, hangmans noose, poison hypodermic and iron maiden (excellent! execute him - bogus!). 'Cold Ethel' was thrown around the stage in a most cavalier fashion. 'Billion Dollar Babies' were presented and promptly beheaded (causing my children to giggle, "Memaw was right! He kills babies!"). And can I just say, that it is my sincere wish that if I ever need to be confined to a straight jacket, I would like for it to be purple and embellished and contain a hole so my hand can still hold the mike. Ya'll will see to that, right?

A personal highlight was singing 'No More Mr. Nice Guy' to Liv and having her sing it right back to me, despite the fact that she knew few if any of the actual words. It was a gist thing. It so totally rocked. My girls are total Alice fans. 'Welcome to My Nightmare'.

Tom and I agreed that we were left wanting for nothing. We had been totally entertained. If Mick still can't get no satisfaction, maybe he ought to check out an Alice show. Just sayin'.

24 comments:

mzbehavin said...

You totally made me wana be there.... ( and did you bring me back anything.........???)
:-)

Badass Geek said...

Sounds like an awesome show! I'll have to check out the concert DVD, if they make one.

Gibby said...

Sounds like you guys had a blast! I love that your girls were there with you. Your poor mom...LOL!!

P.S. My dad played the bass, so I have a soft spot for bass players, too. The groundwork of the song...

Liz Mays said...

I can just feel your excitement!I'm so glad he didn't disappoint!

Christina said...

Alice Cooper was well presented in this blog. I am sure he will one day read this and be completely satisfied, also.

Fabulous!!

Christina

Vivienne @ the V Spot said...

Sounds like a great time! So glad you weren't disappointed. (Can we still be friends if I tell you I don't know any Alice Cooper except for "School's Out" ...?

Macey said...

I'm so glad you had a good time!
It always amazes me the generational gap that you see at concerts.
We saw Three Days Grace and I was in a line; 13 year old in front of me singing her heart out (cuss words and all!) and a 60 something behind me singing his heart out!
Go Alice!
He's actually really smart and nice in real life, I hear. :)

Christina said...

Thank you so much!

I guess that fits under, "Fake it 'til you make it."

Thank you again for stopping by!

Stephanie said...

Sounds like you guys had an amazing time!!

Pam said...

Glad the show was everything you hoped and more. I think there's another post in here though. One that explains why you had to keep your feet off the floor during Godzilla....

SparkleFarkel said...

YAY for you for being able to be part of such a MAJOR, musical Kick-a*** concert!

Kathy B! said...

You have to be the coolest mom in town. I wish I was you kiddo! How fun... and the best part is how much you clearly enjoyed it :)

Melissa B. said...

Ah, a concert framed by "School's Out"? Full-circle, indeed! If only I could sing, "School's out for-ever!"

Mama-Face said...

Wow, I did not expect that to be so sweet and tender. The little girl? awww...did she really go to sleep?

You gotta be the coolest mom ever.

Housewife Savant said...

Excellent post Tammy. You rock as squealy fan girl and you ain't too shab at the writing.
This sounds like so much fun!

Anonymous said...

Awesome! I just love a good concert!

Mama-Face said...

I'm stopping by again with an award for you. You probably have it already...but maybe you could start double stacking. :)

the girl with the pink teacup said...

If there were an award for World's Funniest Squealy Fangirl, you'd be at the top of the honour roll, lovely Tammy. I felt like I was right there with you :) Alice Cooper is a legend! I can't believe your girls wanted to go with you - your whole family is clearly awesome. And I'd take Alice over Mick any day. Just sayin'.

Claudya Martinez said...

!!!Yay for you!!!

Claudya Martinez said...

!!!Yay for you!!!

scrappysue said...

sounds like an awesome concert!

Kelley @ magneto bold too said...

That sounds beyond awesome.

Makes me wanna go and find a show to go to. No mean feat in the outback!

Sandy said...

Does sound like a fabulous show!! I am so jealous. The last time I saw Alice in concert was early 80's. Glad to hear he's still got it!

Debbie said...

What fun you all must have had. I find it amusing that those old rockers never give up!