The Godfather of Shock Rock made his highly anticipated return to Tulsa for an unbelievable show at Paradise Cove in River Spirit Casino. Alice Cooper’s sixty year career has brought him to Tulsa more than a handful of times—the last being as support for Motley Crue and Def Leppard last August. It’s fair to say T-town was more than ready for another dose of Cooper’s one-of-a-kind macabre theatricality.

The evening began with the signature “Banned in Oklahoma” newspaper banner (which changes for each location) gently blowing in the breeze as two cloaked bell ringers wearing plague doctor masks heralded in Cooper’s triumphant stage entrance, slicing open the newspaper and stepping through the hole. He and his exceedingly talented band descended into “Lock Me Up” before immediately launching into “Welcome to the Show,” a song which has always been a love letter to his diehard fans. “Your painted faces make me smile. You know the act, you know the dream. You know exactly when to scream.”

Then came a barrage of stagecraft and showmanship with “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” “Snake Bite,” “Be My Lover,” “Lost in America,” and “Hey Stoopid.” Any fan who has had the pleasure of catching Cooper live knows about the highly involved stage show that accompanies the music. From a live snake (check out the merch stand for the cutest plushie of the reptile) to a lifesize doll Cooper haphazardly tosses around the stage to a massive Frankenstein—who shares an uncanny resemblance to Cooper—and everything in between, he puts on a show like no other.

Of course, his rock opera came to a head with the appearance of a woman who struts on stage and is killed by Cooper, signaling “The Ballad of Dwight Fry,” or the song in which Cooper is captured and put into his infamous straight jacket. The woman is none other than Cooper’s eldest daughter, Calico Cooper, who made a return from the dead to help carry out the execution of her father via guillotine. In a black comedy routine, she carried around his dismembered head amidst the band’s performance of “I Love the Dead.”

Cooper came back to the stage carrying two giant American flags and climbing the stairs/platform on center stage. As soon as the stage light hit him, he gave the flags a good wave before placing them against the railing. Cooper began lobbying for Tulsa’s vote, singing “Elected” as red, white and blue streamers and confetti rained down on the audience.

There’s not another musician out there doing it quite like Alice Cooper, punctuating his well-deserved and earned nickname of the “Godfather of Shock Rock.” Calling one of his performances a “concert,” isn’t accurate; it’s a show through and through.

There aren’t too many musicians with careers spanning sixty years that are still in their prime, but Cooper’s one of them. Do yourself a favor and catch him on his headline tour or his co-headline tour with Rob Zombie coming up soon. Check out tour dates here.

Alice Cooper