Photos + Review by David Molnar – Alice Cooper, the Godfather of Shock Rock turned The Big E Arena in West Springfield, Massachusetts into a full-blown theatrical nightmare. On a cool September night, Cooper brought his 2026 Alice’s Attic tour to life with towering props, elaborate costumes, multiple video screens and a cast of talented musicians including Hollywood Vampires members Chris Wyse, Tommy Henriksen and drummer Glen Sobel. As the giant Ferris wheel turned and the carousels twirled outside, Cooper turned the arena to his own twisted carnival. The 22-song set moved through “No More Mr. Nice Guy”, “I’m Eighteen”, “Dirty Diamonds,” and “Hey Stoopid” while Cooper prowled the front of the stage, walking from speaker to speaker brandishing swords, canes, a horse whip and even a single crutch.
The theatrics intensified as Cooper transformed the stage into his personal playground of mayhem. During “Feed My Frankenstein” a huge Frankenstein figure towered over guitarists Ryan Roxie and Anna Cara. Cara, 22 from England, is filling in for long-time Cooper guitarist Nita Strauss during Strauss’ maternity leave. Cooper’s longtime horror-show theatrics reached their peak during songs “The Ballad of Dwight Frey”, “Cold Ethyl” and “Only Women Bleed,” when Cooper sat alone on a garbage can onstage, joined by a lifeless female dummy. After singing to her and dancing with her, Cooper threw the lifeless figure backstage only for her to seemingly come back to life and dance across the stage. The story took another gruesome turn when she was “stabbed” by Cooper, followed by Cooper’s “execution” by a prop guillotine, only to have the woman return and dance across the stage with Cooper’s “severed” head. That dancing woman with the prop severed head was Sheryl Cooper, Cooper’s long-time wife. The scene just added another layer of madness. Cooper later described his wife to the packed arena as “deadly, dangerous and delicious!”
While Cooper changed costumes repeatedly, including a Dracula-style red-and-black cape for “Dangerous Tonight,” a white, blood-stained ruffled shirt, black leather pants, black gloves and a large skull belt buckle bearing the name Alice Cooper, then into a straight jacket. The production ultimately became a rock-and-roll haunted house, complete with skulls, swords, giant yellow and blue balloons and Cooper’s unmistakable theatrical flair. Before “School’s Out,” Cooper emerged in a white top hat and white tails, turning The Big E Arena into one giant celebration. Cooper ended the show with Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” as one of the encore songs bringing raucous cheers from the audience.
The show was as much theater as concert, with Cooper constantly moving, changing characters and manipulating the props around him. For an audience surrounded by the sights and sounds of The Big E. The juxtaposition was perfect, outside the fairground rides continued their colorful rotations while a few yards away, Alice Cooper was busy creating his own dark carnival. After decades of making rock audiences scream, Cooper proved once again that when it comes to the theatrical side of rock ‘n’ roll, there is still no substitute for the original shock rocker.
