Halloween Night 2005!!!!

At Mr Kyps - Poole

The last thing you'd expect me to be talking about when I mention a decapitatated head, a dead baby, an electric chair, a psycho nurse and a demon would be a gig at Mr Kyps, but last night Alike Cooper were in town and this is what you got. Even Freddy Krueger may have been nervous about a singer that carresses a decapitated head and sings lovingly to it !! By the time a Pyscho nurse came onto the stage and put singer Martin Cornish in a straight jacket we knew this was going to be something a bit different! This was brilliant theatre and the audience lapped it up. Highlights of the gig were brilliant versions of Poison, Lost In America, Billion Dollar Babies and No More Mr Nice Guy. The band Encored with Elected and the classic Schools Out, where the Psycho Nurse became the sexy schoolgirl (WOW)! Huge balloons filled with glitter were thrown out into the audience during the last number and the singer stabbed them with his sabre covering us with silver and gold. I went home not knowing if I'd been to a bizarre horror film or a gig!! I know one thing though, this was one hell of a fun night and a perfect Halloween show.

Review by: Terry Leabourne

Alice Cooper must be one of, if not the most difficult act to pay tribute to. Not only does the music have to be right, so do the theatrics and the stunts. The hits were there all right, from 'Welcome To My Nightmare' right through to 'School's Out,' but it took a tremendous effort for the band to spark up the audience during the first few numbers, and whatever induces the all-essential rock concert adrenaline rush appeared to be abscent without leave. But they kept working at it, and gradually the crowd began warming to their talents as the evening slipped away into the nightmare hours. Sex in rock never fails to please, so when the S & M chick ran out to mock-fight with Alike, and then later as a nurse to sedate and strap him into a straight-jacket, then again during 'School's Out' as a mini-skirted schoolgirl, it added a degree of tease. As an overview of the whole show, Alike Cooper as a band must have worked thousands of hours into their act, and for this they should be heartily applauded. With Alike on vocals, a bassist, rhythm and lead guitarists, and about the most minimalist drum kit I have seen since Adam Bomb's band played the Kyps stage, it wasn't until they returned for the encores that the band truly began to shine. Yes, they earned their encores, and probably annoyed at how long it took us to liven up, they came back onstage and played an absolute blinder. Had that same attitude been with them from song one, they would have gone down an absolute storm. Their lead guitarist was a darned good player, but was it me, or did his guitar sound a little too English?

Review by: Alan Burridge.

I travelled for an hour from West Dorset to catch this gig and it was my first time to Mr Kyps. An excellent venue and what a great night. I have seen Alice a couple of times at a big venue so it was good to see the Alike show close at hand as it were. I listened to the greatest hits album on the way over and I was expecting to be disappointed when I saw the tribute band. On the contrary this band did it for me. From the opening `Welcome to my nightmare' to the penultimate `Under my wheels' I was thoroughly entertained both musically and visually. Having caught both Wishbone Ash and the Magic Numbers in the previous week It was really refreshing to see this band and the accompaying theatrics. Launching into `Schools Out' just when we thought they were leaving was great teasing timing. The thing I like about a tribute band is you get you hear all the tracks you want to hear and, indeed expect to hear, without having to chat through the new stuff. Alike Cooper did it very, very well and they will get better. The bigger the crowd the better they will get. I will certainly go and see them again but next time I will take some mates 'cos it was a cracking good Sunday night out.

Review by: Nick Beardwood