Sara Hammerzmith

So it was time. It was the D-day. Lazy, I guess, as we were, we got up as late as possible to still make it to breakfast, although we made it in different… times. Niki was first down, then I followed and I really tried my hardest to make Nathan come, but he was too tired or something.

So, Niki and I enjoyed a nice breakfast, and we were indeed joined by Nathan at the time. He came last, but also left first so he could take a shower. You readers may remember, Nathan takes a few hours or so in the shower.

Once everybody was done and ready, we headed off to town to check out the city. There was a German christmas market going on, and as well as some additional shopping. We then settled for Wagamama for some dinner, which was delish! We made our way back to the hotel – even if it was a bit of a walk, it was a fairly easy way, gladly. In the elevator there were some people we thought were going to Cooper, so Nathan said “Let’s play a game, everyone seeing Cooper tonight raise your hands” and we got it confirmed. Was in fact a lot of Cooper people in the lobby.

Got a quick change and make up done at the hotel and then we headed back the same way toward the venue. The whole area surronding the venue was cut off, and it was extensive controls before getting in, but do you know what I love? The feeling of no rush or stress to get in. We had our seats, and we didn’t have to worry about a damn thing.

We headed straight for the merchandise and Niki and I picked up some merch before heading into the venue to find our seats and casually looking at the supportbands. I’m sorry, but I won’t be writing about them as I wasn’t really paying that much attention. The Tubes and The Mission was the support bands though!

Before Alice Cooper, or perhaps it was before The Mission, I did a Katy Perry and went outside to get popcorn and a cola. I mean, if I’m gonna sit here I might as well make the most of it right? Except on Katy Perry I didn’t have any seats, I just had the popcorn in front of me.

We saw the backdrop, or perhaps the curtain, for Alice Cooper being risen and we just got so goddamn excited. This show, we knew it was going to be one hell of a show.

And then.. the arena went dark and the intro “Spend the night” started echoing.

Alice Cooper

He opened up with “Brutal Planet”, much similar to earlier this year, and then continued into “Under My Wheels”. Seriously, Alice Cooper is indeed among the bands I’ve seen live the most, but for some reason I get childishly excited whenever I see him. Perhaps it’s because of the rarity.

Backdrop change, and next song “Lost in America” was delivered to us in a perfect way, and then continued with “Pain”, which was a bit of a surprise if you ask me! This was such a dream, this show. It is nothing but amazing to see Alice Cooper live.

We had seats quite high up, in the back, but I honestly didn’t mind. The seated people on the floor ended up standing up, so it was probably just as well that we were sitting this high up to be honest. “Department of Youth” and “The World Needs Guts” followed suit, by “Woman of mass Distraction”.

And after that, Hurricane Nita got to show off her skills, and seriously – this woman. She’s something else. I love her stage prescence and showmanship. She’s amazing. The guitarsolo wound up in “Poison”, and later one of the more amazing surprises for the night – “Halo of Flies”, which also featured a drumsolo by no one less than Glen Sobel.

“Feed My Frankenstein” was next on the list, followed by “Cold Ethyl”, and to my big surprise, and happiness I may say, “Only Women Bleed” was next. It was not yesterday I heard that song live, that is for sure.

“Paranoiac Personality” off the new album followed suit, and then “Ballad of Dwight Fry”. As you can see, a pretty normal setlist of Alice Cooper with some occasional easter eggs. “Killer” and “I Love the Dead” followed suit together with the execution… and then the arena went black.

And Nathan just hit my leg and was like “YOU WANT TO KEEP THAT CAMERA ROLLING” so I turned it on again. Which was great, because this was the entrance of the original members.

“I’m Eighteen” is usually a song I have a hate love relationship to. Because this was the only song that I repeatedly rehearsed with my band. But tonight? With the original bandmembers? Magical. Absolutely magical.

“Billion Dollar Babies” was next on the set, followed by “No More Mr Nice Guy” and “Muscle of Love” before also the current line up joined the originals to end up an amazing show with “Schools Out”. What a line up, what a set up. It’s hard to grasp, you know?

Seriously… this was beyond magic. Hearing Alice Cooper introduce all the bandmembers, all the current as well as the OG’s…. that was just. I can’t believe I got to witness this. It’s beyond me, really.

After the show, we headed straight back home, had one last drink together in the hotel bar before going to bed.

// Sara

This entry was posted on November 11, 2017 at 12:43 pm and is filed under Concerts, Music, Travels, Uncategorized with tags alice cooper, leeds. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.