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    • Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding Rocked AZ
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    Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding Rocked AZ

    Pabio Posted on

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    Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding returned to the rotating stage of the historic theater of celebrities on Saturday, Dec. 7, for a star-studded holiday party that culminated, as it does every year, with the man of the hour after “School’s Out” inviting everyone back on stage for a delightfully chaotic rendition of “Run Rudolph Run” by Chuck Berry.

    It was great, of course. This is still the case.

    But this year may have been a little more special, with each of the legendary celebrity guests, from Jimmy eats people to Gretchen Wilson, two names we’d rarely seen this close before this lineup was announced, doing their best to bring their A game to the table, all before ceding the spotlight to the Co-op.

    If Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath could contain the enthusiasm he exuded, he would be the richest man in the world, and I would be doing pretty well myself because I would have scooped up that stock in a heartbeat. ‘eye after seeing what he did last time. he played Christmas Pudding.

    And Tom Morello was a true force of nature. But we’ll talk about that later.

    Christmas pudding is an Arizona holiday tradition now in its 22nd year raising funds for Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Centers in Phoenix and Mesa, with a third location opening this year in Goodyear.

    Alice Cooper and his wife Sheryl ended Pudding on a high note

    Cooper took the stage with the opening riff of “No More Mr. Nice Guy”, followed by another great classic“Be My Lover,” to kick off their headliner in style, with Sheryl Cooper as the charismatic foil on stage stepping in on background vocals. The chemistry between these two is such a joy to witness.

    “Be My Lover” fit in perfectly with “Lost in America,” an early ’90s hard rock track that has appeared more frequently in recent years at these events, more than holding its place in the company of songs that might be more synonymous with Alice Cooper in the minds of more casual fans.

    He honored his old friends the Doors with a suitably swaggering romp through “Break On Through (To the Other Side)” after sharing his memories of leaving Phoenix with the group he created in the Cortez high school cafetorium hoping to conquer Los Angeles this way, they had conquered Phoenix.

    “We thought we were going to destroy it,” Cooper said of Los Angeles.

    “When we got there, we discovered there were 25,000 other groups like us. And the only band that welcomed us, under their wing, was the Doors. So this is for Jim and the guys.

    Pudding History: How Alice and Sheryl Cooper Made Helping Arizona Teenagers Their Christmas Tradition

    Tom Morello joined Alice Cooper on stage at Christmas Pudding

    The legend introduced the 90s hit “Poison” with “This is the song that brought us back”, which she certainly did, before welcoming Morello back on stage to dust off “White Line Frankenstein”, a song they recorded together for the last one. Cooper’s album, “Road”.

    At the end of the song, Cooper marveled, “Can this man play guitar or something?”

    Oh, he can play the guitar really well. It’s like he’s found his own language about it.

    “OK, it’s the vocals,” Cooper announced, which could only mean “School’s Out,” the signature song he now performs as a medley with Pink Floyd’s even more dismissive view of education , “Another Brick in the Wall.”

    They’re a tough band to follow, but as Cooper said, “We can’t be done with this song, because it’s not a Christmas song.”

    Then he introduced “Run Rudolph Run” with a self-effacing admission: “We do it every year and never quite right.” »

    Truth be told, it wouldn’t be such an endearing Christmas tradition if they pulled it off. There’s a ramshackle charm to the way this song comes out at Christmas Pudding that makes it feel like it’s the end of a really good holiday. And that’s exactly what it is.

    Solid Teen Center students and Proof winners got the party started

    The Christmas Pudding started a few hours early with Conrad Varela, Solid Rock guitar hero working his magic on an instrumental version of Queen’s hit ‘We Will Rock You’ six years after winning Cooper’s annual Proof is in Pudding talent competition at the age of 17.

    The Solid Rock Dancers were joined by guests from Ballet Beyond Borders, dancing to everything from Tyler, the Creator’s version of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” to “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”

    Then it was time for the Bucket Brigade, a percussion ensemble from Solid Rock Teen Centers who put aside their buckets in favor of drums this year, to accompany two singers on “The Little Drummer Boy” as Varela joined in a riff that sounded like “Edge of Seventeen”.

    Solid Rock Director Jeff Moore greeted the crowd and shared a bit of Pudding’s history while explaining the mission of Solid Rock Teen Centers and why it’s only the 22nd.sd Christmas pudding in 24 years, with time off for COVID-19 lockdown and a Motley Crue tour.

    Moore eventually welcomed the evening’s hosts, Alice and Sheryl Cooper, to the stage, where Sheryl said a prayer.

    Then it was time for this year’s Proof is in the Pudding winners – Tucson indie-folk musician Lizzie, who brought a powerful voice and plenty of personality to her performance, which included a heartfelt original and “You’ re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” and RIB, a female harmony duo wearing cowgirl hats who opened with a country medley and ended their set with a southern rock original.

    Auctioneer Letitia Frye made her first of several appearances after RIB to auction off the opportunity to join the all-star jam, which raised $6,000, and a test pressing of the children’s album Grammy-nominated “Solid Rock Revival,” which raised $12,000.

    The first portion, as they call it, ended with a round of stand-up comedy from the guy who played Puddy on “Seinfeld,” Patrick Warburton.

    Jimmy Eat World served up a four-song dose of pure adrenaline

    The second service started strong with Jimmy Eat World in Mesa rocking the rotating stage with a four-song dose of pure adrenaline which opened with the first of four songs from their breakthrough album, “Bleed American”, dusting off their recent single “Something strong” before closing the set with “The Middle”.

    For anyone witnessing these local legends for the first time? This set was a brilliant introduction. For those of us who may have seen them countless times before, it was pretty cool to see their live show boiled down to its essence in a four-song sampler that kicked off without ever looking back.

    Of the headline names at this year’s Pudding, Jimmy Eat World was the only one to perform as a standalone unit.

    Other guests were backed by Sixwire, a Nashville cover band, who followed Jimmy Eat World with REO Speedwagon’s “Roll With the Changes” and received a standing ovation from much of the audience after stretching out on an epic rendition of Steely Dan’s “Reelin’ Through the Years.”

    Alice Cooper and Grammys: Alice Cooper on her children’s Grammy nomination: “Wouldn’t that be the craziest thing?”

    Mark McGrath was the guest you’d want to have a beer with

    McGrath wasn’t as crazy as the first time he played Christmas Pudding, but the pure joy he brings to proceedings is more than infectious. It doesn’t matter if you know the words “Fly” or “Every Morning”. His enthusiasm made you want to know the words so you could sing along and have fun.

    He’s just entertaining.

    “Remember the 90s? he asked at one point. “If you remember the 90s, why am I the only guy here with frosted tips.”

    I love this guy.

    Tom Morello mixed guitar heroics with Woody Guthrie protest folk

    Morello set the tone for his performance with a breathtaking display of his unique approach to lead guitar, switching to a smoldering blues instrumental that offsets this unusual technique with notes that sound as much like pure emotion as any what blues guitarist you could hope to see. , filtered through a cavernous echo that made it a truly religious experience.

    Next, Morello shifted gears with a dark, dramatic reading of Bruce Springsteen’s sobering reflection on the lines for shelters stretching around the corner and families sleeping in cars nationwide billionaires, “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” before leading the crowd in a spirited chant. to a song by “a man named Woody Guthrie” about people for whom “there was no room at the inn.”

    Morello said he didn’t realize what “This Land is Your Land” was actually about in third grade, when he learned the song, because some lyrics had been censored in the versions taught in schools.

    He didn’t do any Rage Against the Machine songs but that didn’t stop him from lashing out against the machine.

    Gretchen Wilson, Redneck Woman, sounded great

    Wilson followed Morello with a five-song set that saluted the holiday with “Here for the Party,” highlighted the season with the Elvis Presley hit “Blue Christmas” and inspired a crowd-pleasing sing-along on the breakthrough at the top of the charts which remains his greatest. mainstream moment, “Redneck Woman”.

    At this point it was clear that the woman was carrying a powerful set of pipes. And so as not to doubt the power of this hoarse voice, she performed a cover of “Barracuda” by Heart which had no difficulty in taking up the challenge.

    Wilson was the last act to take the stage before “the main event,” as she called it.

    Ed has covered pop music for The Republic since 2007, reviewing festivals and concerts, interviewing legends, covering the local scene and much more. He did the same thing in Pittsburgh for more than a decade. Follow him on X and Instagram @edmasley and on Facebook as Ed Masley. Send him an email to [email protected].

    Pabio
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