Shock rock legend Alice Cooper graced Estevan with an ear deafening performance at Affinity Place on Aug. 26, as a part of his ‘A Paranormal Evening with Alice Cooper’ tour.
Although the show was only 90 minutes long, Cooper put on a fantastic performance, which left the audience wanting more song after song, according to Diane Wenham, events manager for the City of Estevan.
“ We don’t have any of the numbers or anything like that quite finalized yet, but we all think the evening went absolutely great,” said Wenham.
“We had roughly 2,000 people in attendance, and it was just a really fantastic show. The energy both on stage and in the crowd was amazing.”
Vehicles lined the streets for blocks around the venue and herds of eager fans could be seen walking in droves down the city streets prior to the show beginning.
The band began playing at 8:15 p.m., and opened with Cooper’s hit song Brutal Planet. Excitement ran rampant through the crowd as the curtains rose and continued throughout the evening.
Adoring fans came to the show dressed in Cooper inspired outfits that the shock rock legend would have been proud to wear himself.
“For me I think the coolest think was seeing all the different outfits and ages of people that came out to the show,” said Wenham.
“I was amazed how many younger kids were at the show and right into the music, singing along to every song. It was really great to see people getting so involved and it was awesome to watch.”
Notable songs throughout the rock and roll filled night included hits like No More Mr. Nice Guy, Billion Dollar Babies, an incredible guitar solo from guitarist Nita Strauss which was followed by the hit song Poison, Feed My Frankenstein, and finished off with arguably one of Cooper’s best songs, I’m Eighteen.
Cooper and his fellow band mates also delighted the crowd with an encore performance of Schools Out, mixed with Cooper’s own touch of Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall.
“We actually spoke to part of Alice’s production crew after the show, and they were really impressed with the energy level in Estevan and how much fun the crowd was having,” said Wenham.
“Alice actually became part of the community for the day…he went to lunch at a restaurant in town and he actually got a chance to play some golf while he was here as well. He is so down to earth and such a nice guy, which is something you really don’t get to see very often.”
Cooper, who is now in his seventies, shows no sign of slowing down on stage, and still delivers a fantastic experience to his fans.
One lucky fan got to leave the show wielding Alice Cooper's own cane, which he tossed into the crowd near the beginning of his show. As well, guitarist Nita Strauss threw several of her guitar picks into the audience.
No security issues arose during the concert and according to Wenham the entire evening went off without any notable problems.
“We didn’t have a single issue during the entire performance. No security problems, and no issues at all affecting the show,” said Wenham.
“We really just want to thank all the people that helped us out with the show last night, like our ticket takers and the merchandise people, we wouldn’t be able to have awesome events like this without them.”
The next major show scheduled for Affinity Place is the John Mellencamp performance, which is slated for Friday, Oct. 26.
“Now that the Alice Cooper show is done our priorities have switched to the Mellencamp show that we have coming up in October,” said Wenham.
“That show is only two months away and we’re expecting an even bigger crowd to come out since most people won't have to work the next day, which makes it easier for everyone to come out and have a good time.”
