When you have a bonafide rock superstar living 90 minutes up the road, you come to expect that youβll see him on a regular basis.
Which has been the case with shock rocker Alice Cooper, the Phoenix native who was here last October and returns this weekend to the AVA at Casino del Sol.
You might think thatβs too soon, but if youβve ever seen Alice live, you know he doesnβt follow the rock-and-roll script.
He does rock theater and over 90 minutes on Saturday, Aug. 17, he will take us into the sometimes twisted and always intriguing mind of Alice.
Not the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer who boasts a four handicap on the greens and is known to play six days a week when heβs not on tour.
Itβs the character Alice that the man Alice Cooper plays on stage.
βThereβs me and then thereβs Alice,β Cooper said. βI donβt ever want him to be explained. I donβt know what he is myself, to be honest with you, but thatβs what makes him fun to play. Every once in awhile, he surprises me.β
It took Cooper, who grew up in Phoenix and still calls the Valley home, getting sober in 1984 before he realized that the person he was on stage since he started performing in 1964 could not be the person he was off stage.
βBefore I got sober, I never really knew where I ended and Alice got started,β he explained. βThe alcohol and drugs all kind of made it a gray area. When I got sober I realized that Iβm playing this character, and that character up there does not want to live in this world. He doesnβt want to go play golf. He doesnβt want to watch TV. He only wants to perform. So I leave him on stage. When I get done, when the show is over, heβs gone. Then if you see me on the street and you want to take a picture, sure, of course. Iβll talk to you all night. But Alice will never talk to you.β
The separation of those two personalities allows Cooper to create wickedly fun and twisted storylines interwoven with his greatest hits.
In his latest story coming to the AVA on Saturday, Aliceβs career is on trial; he has to prove who he is. And of course, this being an election year, Alice is once again running for president β his presidential election year gag that he has continued for decades.
βItβs the most satirical thing we do. I hate politics; Iβm not into politics at all. But when we do that song (βElectedβ), in this period of time, it makes it even more absurd,β Cooper said. βItβs all of the stuff. Itβs the guillotine, itβs the straight jacket, itβs the snake. Itβs everything.β
In the end, the audience gets to decide βif I get guillotined or I donβt get guillotined,β Cooper said.
Spoiler alert: βI have never been acquitted,β he said. βThey want to see that head come off.β
Cooper returns with the same band he had last year, featuring Nita Strauss on lead guitar, Ryan Roxie on guitar and drummer Glen Sobel.
βThis band I have is just beyond great. Itβs like the best touring band Iβve ever had,β Cooper said during a concert stop last week in Kalamazoo, Michigan. βNita Strauss is a show unto herself.β
Saturdayβs concert begins at 8 p.m. at the AVA, 5655 W. Valencia Road. Tickets are $30-$75 through casinodelsol.com.