Alice Cooper is a nice guy. That may seem like an odd thing to say about a “shock rocker” who had a major hit with a song called “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” and whose stage show is still heavily influenced by horror movies. But Cooper has also built a reputation as a witty and approachable pop-culture personality, with his love of golf, his Christian faith and his long-running classic-rock radio show. Perhaps the best encapsulation of Cooper’s dual persona is his appearance in 1992’s Wayne’s World, in which the metal-head main characters bow down before him as a rock god, while he calmly offers up historical facts about Milwaukee.
Onstage, Cooper is still a fearsome rocker, and he has decades of hits to draw from, including “I’m Eighteen,” “School’s Out,” “Billion Dollar Babies,” “Poison” and Wayne’s World soundtrack cut “Feed My Frankenstein.” His 2017 album Paranormal was his highest-charting release in decades, featuring collaborators including U2’s Larry Mullen Jr., ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and Deep Purple’s Roger Glover. For his Vegas show, he’ll be joined onstage by fellow theatrical rocker Ace Frehley, formerly of Kiss. When you’re a rock legend who’s also a nice guy, everyone wants to work with you.
The Pearl at Palms, 8 p.m. Aug. 10, starting at $59 plus tax and fee. 702.944.3200
