Live | Alice Cooper – Too Close For Comfort Tour –

Bospop Festival - Weert [NL] - 12 July 2024

This is not the first time that mister Vincent Furnier, AKA Alice Cooper, played at the Bospop Festival and hopefully it will also not be the last time. This 2024 gig was a brilliant one, although AC already has reached the notorious age of seventy-six!! The weather on this Friday was shite, as it was raining cats and dogs almost the entire day, turning the festival ground into a mud pit. However, the crowd was enthusiastically anticipating the Cooper show, despite the horrible weather. Just before AC and band would kick off it started to f…. rain again, but the energetic and brilliant show made that everyone ignored the rain and enjoyed the show for 100%.

SURPRISE

The opening track was a kind of surprise, being the rather unknown ,,Lock Me Up” from AC’s ‘Raise Your Fist And Yell’ album (1987). It was followed by four “oldies” – ,,No More Mr. Nice Guy”, ,,I’m Eighteen”, ,,Under My Wheels” (brilliant) and ,,Billion Dollar Babies”, displaying an almost “magical”, energetic sound by a band that shone from the first notes till the last. Guitarists Ryan Roxie, Tommy Henriksen and especially Nita Strauss played their asses off and the rhythm section, consisting of drummer Glen Sobel and bass player Chuck Garric filled up the hard rocking sound completely. AC’s voice needed a couple of minutes to warm up – give the man a break as he is 76 – but then he really sounded formidable during the complete set.

OBSCURE, DARK TRACKS

Other AC hits, such as ,,Hey Stoopid” (screamed along by the crowd), ,,Feed My Frankenstein” and ,,Poison” followed, and the live energy of this impressive band became almost second to none. Then, the audience was treated to excellent obscure, dark, AC tracks like: ,,Go To Hell” (really special this one), ,,Snakebite” (with AC carrying his favourite pet around his neck), ,,Black Widow Jam” and ,,Ballad Of Dwight Fry” from one of his best albums ‘Love It To Death’(1971).

Nita Strauss’ solo guitar spot was of course great, but we know that this woman can play like a beast. Although I would rather have heard another classic AC song like ,,Halo Of Flies”, I think that Alice had a very deserved and “needed” break while Nita was strutting her stuff….

TRUE CLASSIC ONES

The last tracks were again true classic ones. Kicking off with one of my favourite Alice Cooper songs ,,I Love The Death” (‘Billion Dollar Babies’ album), followed by ,,Elected” and of course ,,School’s Out” (as always with a few notes from Pink Floyd’s ,,Another Brick In The Wall’’). And sad but true, then it was all over. Way too soon actually.

CONCLUSION

Overall, a more than excellent gig with an impressive show on stage, superb sound and AC singing like a young rock star. The only thing I can “nag” about, but just a little bit, is the setlist. As this truly was an AC greatest hits show and songs from AC’s newer albums like e.g. ‘Road’ (2023) or ‘Paranormal’ (2017) were not played. Maybe next time, but till then AC rules big time and if you missed this one, yeah, it was your own fault. You should have been there!!!

All photos by Jos Voncken