The Michigan State Fair.... AND ALICE COOPER!

Billie1966 · Post by **Billie1966** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 2:19 pm

Mmmmmmm.... It seems like they almost go hand in hand now.... the state fair and the master showman himself!! And as always no real bitch complaints here.
Alice's voice was in top form right from the opening line to "It's Hot Tonight". It was also to see Alice re-visit a bit of nastalgia by playing harmonica on "I'm Eighteen", even if it was very briefly. One of my very favorite albums of Alice is "Dirty Diamonds", and it was nice to hear "Woman Of Mass Distracton" And the title track. Yes.... By this time we were bowing before the master! There were also two song's from his most recent release "Along Came A Spider", that found their way into the setlist.. "Vengeance Is Mine", sounded a bit off key, but you got to take in account that this is performed live.. And for it being live he pulled it off well.. For me I was more impressed by (In Touch With) "Your Fiminine Side",
I've grown to actually appreciate this song more after hearing it live

Of course I was dying to hear "Halo Of Flies"... This being one of the top 5 all Alice tunes for me... The showcase for the band... And what a perfect song to rock to.. The other pleasant surprise for me was the gallows. I had never seen Alice hang before.. the look on his face is priceless.. He still shocks a crowd.. I will never forget the little boy next to me crying... Yea!!! Of course Alice still did all the classics we love. My wife was thrilled to hear "Cold Eythel" that being her favorite of all Cooper tunes. Not only was Calico part of the show, but so was Alice's wife, Sheryl and younger daughted Sanora.. he introduced them as "The Little Cooper's"... It closing during "Elected", Alice declared that it was great to be home... We were glad to have him back. My only regret is that my brother was not there to enjoy it as with every Cooper show I go to. But I'm sure he was rocking up there with me last night.

Thanks
Danny~

FOOTNOTE: If you wear a 2XL shirt be prepared to pay $45.00 for one.. But the shirt's are kick-ass.. That had "Along Came A Spider shirt with Alice and the needles and the one of a beaten Alice mugshot... Pretty cool stuff...

glamprincess · Post by **glamprincess** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 2:33 pm

Thanks for the review. Glad you had such a good time. Do you know how big a crowd was at that show? I am always curious about this when Alice plays (his town) Detroit.

Billie1966 · Post by **Billie1966** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 2:41 pm

The crowd was huge. I would say very close to sell out...

Danny~

Shoesalesman · Post by **Shoesalesman** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 3:36 pm

Glad you had a blast.

I just read that The Jubilee Auditorium here is sold out, but the venue only holds a few thousand people. Not sure how Calgary, Red Deer or the others are doing.

glamprincess · Post by **glamprincess** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 7:32 pm

Billie1966 wrote:The crowd was huge. I would say very close to sell out...

Danny~

Cool, thanks for the info, Danny. Do you know the numerical size of the crowd? Because I'm not sure what a "near sell out" amounts to at a state fair?

Billie1966 · Post by **Billie1966** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 7:46 pm

Well... The Gold Circle seating was completely sold out. Which was the first 30 rows.. And the stands were full.. I would say in all.. About 3,000 people

Danny~

RemarkablyInsincere · Post by **RemarkablyInsincere** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 7:47 pm

Just got back from Detroit... the place looked packed... I would guess 3500 people.

For the first time ever I had dead center front row reserved seats... unbelievable... even if the security was a bit overzealous.

I'll post more later.... downloading my pics now from my camera... hopefully I got some keepers.

daytripper63 · Post by **daytripper63** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 12:46 am

Thanks for sharing your fun guys.

vince_raven · Post by **vince_raven** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 2:39 am

I saw him at the fair a few years ago. The hometown crowd seemed to love him. ANd it was great to hear him sing Detroit City in "Be My LOver" instead of "insert name of town" City for once.

glamprincess · Post by **glamprincess** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 2:20 pm

Thanks for the info, Billie1966 and RemarkablyInsincere.

biker · Post by **biker** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 2:51 pm

RemarkablyInsincere wrote:Just got back from Detroit... the place looked packed... I would guess 3500 people.

For the first time ever I had dead center front row reserved seats... unbelievable... even if the security was a bit overzealous.

I'll post more later.... downloading my pics now from my camera... hopefully I got some keepers.

Oh great one, I await your review (and pics!).

So, I'm curious, how bad was "a bit overzealous"?

How did the show compare to Columbus? Hopefully, no rain before hand! LOL LOL
Does T.C. post here?

Of course, my fav's were the older material he did. 'Love It To Death' was my very first album buy (I was in the 9th grade) , way back in 1969. I still have it!

Mike

schinkengott · Post by **schinkengott** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 3:13 pm

Of course, my fav's were the older material he did. 'Love It To Death' was my very first album buy (I was in the 9th grade) , way back in 1969. I still have it!

cool. did you own a time machine at that time? buying litd two years before its release sounds really good

RemarkablyInsincere · Post by **RemarkablyInsincere** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 3:51 pm

biker wrote:So, I'm curious, how bad was "a bit overzealous"?

These guys were just taking their job *way* too seriously. You'd swear they were secret service the way they were acting.

For one, nobody was allowed to move up to the barrier, us in the first row had to stay back 3-4 feet by the benches. Not the end of the world, but there was about an 8ft gap between the barrier and the stage too. They had about 5 security guys spread out in front of the stage and wouldn't you know the biggest one at about 6'4" had himself planted directly against the barrier in front of us... with his tough guy shades on and his arms crossed as if he was the Terminator... which was seriously obstructing the view from our front row seats during Cinder Road. I was getting really annoyed thinking that this is the first time I ever had reserved seats this good and this guy is going to totally ruin it. Luckily, right when Alice hit, his boss decided to man that position as he was much shorter... and he also moved over from directly in front of us and also stood about halfway between the stage and the barrier people could see better. These guys either should have stood against the stage or been seated. No reason to stand there like they're guarding Buckingham Palace.

On top of that, they were just unhelpful.... because the stage was so far away, every single dollar bill from Alice's sword fell in between the stage and the barrier. These guys refused to pick any up. People (not me) were trying to get them and they kept chasing them away and and wouldn't hand any out until the very very end of the show. And, of course, then they got their jollies making people beg and plead for them. A couple times picks fell between the barrier and they refused to pick them up.

During Cinder Road a beach ball was being hit around in the crowd. Of course, it ended up behind the barrier right in front of the stage. A little girl that couldn't have been more than 9 years sold walked up to the security guard and asked if she could have the ball and he directed her to the other security guard just to be difficult. Well, that security guard said no... probably because the more senior guard didn't do it... and the other guy just started laughing. It's always great to watch people get a smidgen of power and then abuse it to no end.

I understand security is important... but this was a tame crowd and they were just acting a little over the top.

I wasn't gonna go into all that detail... but you asked.

The show itself was fantastic.

biker · Post by **biker** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 3:56 pm

schinkengott wrote:
Of course, my fav's were the older material he did. 'Love It To Death' was my very first album buy (I was in the 9th grade) , way back in 1969. I still have it!

cool. did you own a time machine at that time? buying litd two years before its release sounds really good

Opps, I stand corrected, now I have to check on the concert date, don't know why May, 1969 stands out. I need to make a phone call to Mr. Music!

OK, I STAND corrected. Mr. Music and I (friend from Minneapolis, MN whom I have known forever), after much discussion, we decided the Cooper show we saw in Crookston, MN had to have been, May 1971! (BTW, that would put me in the 10th grade at that time!) So, I purchased the album in the early summer of 1971. It was sooooo long ago, hard to remember details!!! Many fried brains cell, many nights of sleep in the last 37 years!!!!!!! Whew, glad to have that resolved.........

Mike

RemarkablyInsincere · Post by **RemarkablyInsincere** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 4:01 pm

biker wrote: OK, I STAND corrected. Mr. Music and I (friend from Minneapolis, MN whom I have known forever), after much discussion, we decided the Cooper show we saw in Crookston, MN had to have been, May 1971! (BTW, that would put me in the 10th grade at that time!) So, I purchased the album in the early summer of 1971. It was sooooo long ago, hard to remember details!!! Many fried brains cell, many nights of sleep in the last 37 years!!!!!!! Whew, glad to have that resolved.........

Darn... I thought you had a time machine and I was just about to ask to borrow it.

biker · Post by **biker** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 4:05 pm

RemarkablyInsincere wrote:
biker wrote:So, I'm curious, how bad was "a bit overzealous"?
These guys were just taking their job *way* too seriously. You'd swear they were secret service the way they were acting.

For one, nobody was allowed to move up to the barrier, us in the first row had to stay back 3-4 feet by the benches. Not the end of the world, but there was about an 8ft gap between the barrier and the stage too. They had about 5 security guys spread out in front of the stage and wouldn't you know the biggest one at about 6'4" had himself planted directly against the barrier in front of us... with his tough guy shades on and his arms crossed as if he was the Terminator... which was seriously obstructing the view from our front row seats during Cinder Road. I was getting really annoyed thinking that this is the first time I ever had reserved seats this good and this guy is going to totally ruin it. Luckily, right when Alice hit, his boss decided to man that position as he was much shorter... and he also moved over from directly in front of us and also stood about halfway between the stage and the barrier people could see better. These guys either should have stood against the stage or been seated. No reason to stand there like they're guarding Buckingham Palace.

I understand security is important... but this was a tame crowd and they were just acting way over the top.

I wasn't gonna go into all that detail... but you asked.

The show itself was fantastic.

Sounds about as bad as they are in Cleveland. Don't know why they get that 'Gestapo' mentality? And then to be deliberately mean on top of it, just goes to show what a**holes some people can be.

Mike

RemarkablyInsincere · Post by **RemarkablyInsincere** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 4:11 pm

Si has put my Detroit pics in the photos section... but this one is my fav:

"When Cooper girls attack..."

http://www.parallel-time.com/AC-2008082 ... 827-27.jpg

biker · Post by **biker** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 4:38 pm

RemarkablyInsincere wrote:Si has put my Detroit pics in the photos section... but this one is my fav:

"When Cooper girls attack..."

http://www.parallel-time.com/AC-2008082 ... 827-27.jpg

SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mike

Feezle-Nuts · Post by **Feezle-Nuts** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 4:50 pm

The security in Lakewood was actually awesome. There was no barrier and there were only two guards up front that I saw and they stood at the ends of the stage.

Feezle-Nuts · Post by **Feezle-Nuts** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 5:00 pm

Again, awesome pics! I really like the one that you linked to. Similar to this one my wife took.

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa21 ... 0Small.jpg