Review: Alice Cooper Live at Shreveport Municipal Auditorium (May 11, 2017, Shreveport, La.)

When rockers begin to get older, you expect to see it in their performance. But there was absolutely no evidence of a near 70-year-old man when Alice Cooper took the stage at the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium. There was only Alice Cooper — just as powerful and in command of the crowd as he’s ever been.

I’m not sure that the hallowed halls that once housed the famed Louisiana Hayride have ever seen a spectacle quite like they witnessed on this night.

Alice stormed out of the gate with the punishing title track from his 2000 record Brutal Planet, arguably his heaviest album and one of my favorites. He then proceeded to run through a series of fan favorite tunes – “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” “Under My Wheels,” “Lost in America” – without giving the audience room for so much as a breath.

Something Borrowed: "Feed My Frankenstein," Beasto Blanco/Alice Cooper

The apples don’t fall far from the tree on the latest release from Beasto Blanco. The leader of the band is Alice Cooper bassist Chuck Garric, and the female vocals are provided by Calico Cooper, who just happens to be Alice’s daughter. So, I wonder how they got the rights to cover an Alice song?

All jokes aside, this is an interesting take on a song that’s not one of my favorites in the Alice catalog.

Review: Beasto Blanco, "Life Fast, Die Loud"

It doesn’t matter how many records I listen to in a year, I always seem to miss a few good ones. Live Fast, Die Loud is one of those that I didn’t get to in 2013.

Beasto Blanco was formed by long-time Alice Cooper bassist Chuck Garric and also includes Cooper bandmates Chris Latham and Glen Sobel and Alice’s daughter Calico Cooper. So there will be no surprise when you hear the shock-rock master’s influence on this record. What may be a little more surprising is that Live Fast, Die Loud is a better White Zombie record than Rob Zombie himself has churned out in quite a while.