Halloween is still a week away, but that didn鈥檛 stop Alice Cooper fans from getting into the spooky spirit early at the gleefully macabre metal icon鈥檚 concert in Colwood last Tuesday.
鈥淗e鈥檚 amazing. He is the godfather of shock rock,鈥� said Shaun Evans, sporting a black top hat, mascara and spider-web makeup outside the Q Centre.
Although Evans, 32, and his partner Kristina Wilson, 30, weren鈥檛 even born when the raspy-voiced rocker was in his prime, they were as pumped as the large contingent of baby boomers.
鈥淚 grew up listening to Alice Cooper, plus there鈥檚 the movies. I loved Wayne鈥檚 World. Feed My Frankenstein [Cooper鈥檚 hit featured in the film] is my favourite Alice Cooper song.鈥�
Tony Deramo, 60, is old enough to remember the theatrical rock legend in his heyday, when albums like School鈥檚 Out and Billion Dollar Babies topped the charts.
鈥淪ome of his songs from our childhood kind of moulded us into who we are,鈥� said Deramo, adding Cooper鈥檚 music makes him feel 18 again.
鈥淚 look into the mirror now and wonder 鈥榃ho is that old [guy] looking back at me?鈥� because I don鈥檛 feel like that. Party on!鈥�
Deramo looked ready to do just that with his vintage Custom Cycles Detroit T-shirt and black sleeveless jacket.
Even security staffer Ken Himes, wearing black eye makeup and a silver choke collar, got into the act.
鈥淚鈥檝e been following Alice Cooper since I was 12,鈥� said the Alice Cooper historian after the shock rocker pulled up in a black GMC Yukon SUV.
鈥淚t was a special time for music in the 鈥�70s,鈥� recalled Himes, 54. 鈥淎lice was everything to us who wanted to go out there and kick it up a little. He was so different before Kiss, before everybody else.鈥�
Brothers Jeff and Bruce Romkey were clearly excited about getting to see Cooper conquer Colwood.
鈥淗e鈥檚 always been one of our favourites. I鈥檝e just never had the opportunity to see him,鈥� said Bruce, 57.
Jeff, 50, had his own theory for why Cooper, whose passion for golf since he quit drinking is well-known, was performing here for the first time since 1987: 鈥淚 think he came to check out the golf courses.鈥�
Promoter Matt Laundrie was feeling the love from fans for bringing Cooper back.
鈥淭hey throw me the rock 鈥檔鈥� roll hand symbol, which is also the devil鈥檚 claws,鈥� smiled Laundrie before Cooper鈥檚 appearance onstage amid bursts of smoke, pyrotechnics and familiar stage props.
鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 think these people are as evil or as scary as they look,鈥� he said, adding Cooper is 鈥渙ne of the nicest guys I鈥檝e met. He鈥檚 so humble and loves and appreciates everything.鈥�
One particularly enthusiastic fan was Don Kelsall, who showed up wearing his T-shirt from the Desert Trip classic rock festival in Indio, California.
On Monday morning, after attending the festival featuring Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Paul McCartney, The Who and Roger Waters, Kelsall, 54, drove 21 hours straight to Port Angeles.
After sailing home on the Coho, he had a power nap before heading to the Q Centre.
鈥淭his brings me back to when I was younger,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 ready to go!鈥�
The vaudeville metal pioneer鈥檚 reach was evident from the number of younger concert-goers who attended with parents who were either old enough to discover Cooper in the 1970s or during his comeback era.
Ryan Bonar and Monica Garnsey, both 16, drove from Ladysmith to attend the concert with Monica鈥檚 mother Brenda, 52.
鈥淗e鈥檚 been through a lot. It鈥檚 awesome that he鈥檚 still kicking around,鈥� said Bonar, wearing the satirical Make America Sick Again T-shirt that urges fans to vote for Alice Cooper as U.S. president.
鈥淚鈥檝e been following the American election and saw this on Instagram,鈥� said Monica, whose own T-shirt featured Cooper wearing a stars-and-stripes top hat.
