Fresno Famous

Alice Cooper w/Lynch Mob, Oct. 27@ the Saroyan Theatre

LynchMob

To start, George Lynch seems like a super cool guy. Like, if you saw him on the street or out at a club you could probably guess he was in a band, but you'd have no idea that the band was so bad.
OK, wow, that was harsh.
It's not that the band (named for the one-time Dokken guitarist) is bad, just generic and dated in a Whitesnake-y English-strut kind of way that was popular with bands that played 17 or so years ago. Which, oddly enough is the last time the Lynch Mob toured.
It's nostalgia rock.
So you'll have to forgive them the bell-bottomed front man with his vaguely English mannerisms and accent (although he may BE English for all I know).
But you probably wouldn't forgive the sound, which was WAY too loud for the room and heavy on the bass and mostly a muddled mess.
At that, I still enjoyed Lynch Mob more than say, Heaven and Hell.

Alice Cooper

It's hard to write a review of an Alice Cooper show without coming off as some kinda of raving fan boy.
Which I am.
But here's the thing: As as showman, there's none better (with Rob Zombie as a close second). Cooper is not a singer fronting a band. He's a ghoulishly crazy make-up wearing killer. The songs are just a conduit for the mad-man to escape.
And it's so much fun when he does.
So, there's no banter with the crowd. No, "Hey Fresno, how you doin? Make some noise."
This was not some run-through of the Coop's greatest hits (although they were all there). This was a full-on theatrical performance, close to rock opera. It's modern day vaudeville with screaming guitar solos.
I've seen Cooper several times (OK, more than several) and this was his most cohesive show, one song working its way into
the next to form something of a narrative (a crazy one, but ...). Only Women Bleed was followed by I Never Cry was followed by ... a hanging.
It's campy and schlocky and soooo much fun.
Personal highlights for the set: Department of Youth, Dirty Diamonds and From the Inside.