Three members of the original Alice Cooper band—from the days when Alice Cooper was still the name of the band—reunited with that band’s namesake for what was expected to be a one-off performance. The concert took place on May 14, 2017, at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center’s Andrew Jackson Hall. Bassist Dennis Dunaway, drummer Neal Smith and guitarist Michael Bruce joined Cooper for an incredible four-song “mini-set.”
They then returned with Cooper‘s current band to perform the evening’s closing number, a medley of “School’s Out” and a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall.”
The Nashville date was the only time during the “Spend the Night with Alice Cooper” tour where the four, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011, were expected to meet up. (They also performed at a private event that same week.) Glenn Buxton, the band’s original guitarist, died in 1997.
They subsequently reunited for a series of U.K. dates later that year.
Related: Our interview with Cooper in which he talks about the reunion
Following Cooper’s 16-song set which included such classic rock hits as “Only Women Bleed” and “Welcome to My Nightmare,” Dunaway, Smith and Bruce joined Cooper on stage. Their first two numbers? “I’m Eighteen” and “Billion Dollar Babies.”
Related: Our Album Rewind of Billion Dollar Babies
Next up was “No More Mr. Nice Guy”…
Watch the first encore’s closer, “Muscle of Love”
When all of the evening’s musicians returned to the stage for the second encore, Cooper had donned a jersey of the hometown’s NHL Nashville Predators. The band combined Cooper’s huge “School’s Out” hit with the cover of the defiant “Another Brick in the Wall.” “It’s party time in Nashville!” yelled Cooper at one point.
Dunaway, Smith and Bruce also contributed to Cooper’s album, Paranormal, that arrived that summer, produced by Bob Ezrin.
Cooper turned 75 on Feb. 4, 2023, with a busy tour calendar. Tickets are available here and here.
1 Comment
Early-to-Mid 1970s Alice Cooper line-up – simply Classic.
At the time, Alice Cooper was musically refreshing, distinct from the 1960s Vietnam War anthems, Peace and Love, Psychedelic Rock, etc. (all of which I embraced as well), but it was just enjoyable to have some “in-your-face” rock back on the airwaves, as well as on turntables.