2021 Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding

0 Shares

2021 Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding

The Celebrity Theatre

Phoenix, Arizona

December 4, 2021

By Mary Andrews

Two long years have passed since the previous Alice Cooper Christmas Pudding. That is a longtime for an organization that depends on two events to fund Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Centers in Phoenix. The mission of the teen centers is to get teens off the streets and teach them music, art, and dance at NO charge. Cooper and his wife cancelled last year due to both contracting Covid-19 prior to the event.

There was only one teen center two years ago, but, somehow during a pandemic, another teen center was established in Mesa, Arizona this year. In addition to the Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding, Cooper sponsors and plays a golf tournament in the spring to raise funds for the centers as well. The golf tournaments continued during the pandemic.

The five-hour festivity began with the teen center’s Bucket Brigade giving an animated percussion performance using five-gallon plastic buckets. The Solid Rock Dancers followed up with a glance of music history from ‘big-band’ jazz to “Uptown Funk.” Sheryl Cooper made her Pudding debut as a dance performer. She is spectacular, but we already knew that since she performs as the ‘mad’ nurse during Cooper’s concerts.

This year, Cooper’s Proof is in the Pudding talent contest had a tie for first place in the band category. Both KOZA and The Sinthrics played for the crowd. Both bands had excellent lead singers performing. The solo performer honors went to Isiah Tilson who gave the fans a cover of Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and an original song.

Kudos go to Nashville’s band Sixwire that backed up all of the headliners for the night. One would have never known that these musicians didn’t work with the headliners permanently.

The first headliner to take the rotating stage of the Celebrity Theatre was Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath. He made a bombastic entrance that continued throughout his set. The songs “Every Morning” and “Fly” were among his offerings. His high energy set the mood for the night and all of the performers had to step up for the rest of evening.

Felix Cavaliere (credited: Mary Andrews)

People may ask where The Young Rascal’s Felix Cavaliere is now. The 79-year old was in Phoenix on this night singing hits like “It’s a Beautiful Morning,” “Groovin’,” and “Good Lovin’.” The crowd knew the words to his songs proving they have reached classic standards over 60 years. Cavaliere was in amazing voice and it was great to experience a representative of rock history ‘in the flesh.’

Collective Soul’s Ed Rowland got the crowd back on their feet slashing through his gritty performance of “Shine” “Heavy” and “December.” Roland seemed physically unable to be still during the set and that was a good thing. The wild crowd responded with a massive singalong and dancing in the aisles. It was therapy for both the performer and the fans. The set was nothing less than show stopping.

Ace Frehley returned to The Christmas Pudding with his body guard in close proximity wearing a jacket straight out of New York’s Modern Art Museum. His performance was a reminder of how he inspired an entire generation of guitarists playing with feeling and virtuosity. He churned out outstanding versions of “Shock Me,” “Parasite,” and “Cold Gin.”

Orianthi is a former member of Cooper’s touring band and his band stepped in to back her up. There was a familiarity seen between each of them during her set. Fans were able to experience her singing and her impressive guitar work with “Contagious,” “Sinners Hymn,” “How Do You Sleep,” and “Purple Haze.”

Alice Cooper finished the night setting the stage with “Under My Wheels” and “No More Mr. Nice Guy.” McGrath joined Cooper on stage to play tambourine on “Schools Out.” Before the song was over, McGrath was on his knees in a ‘I am not worthy’ position. Cooper played along offering his hand for McGrath to kiss.

Orianthi joined Cooper during his set for “I’m Eighteen.” Cooper pulled out his blues harp for “Fallen in Love.” The show was closed with Chuck Berry’s “Run Rudolph Run.”

There were multiple auctions of rock memorabilia interspersed in between the sets peddling autographed guitars that sold for thousands of dollars. The most impressive piece was an image of Cooper done entirely of guitar picks that sold for $120,000. All items had been donated to Solid Rock.