Alice Cooper has spent half a century entrancing, shocking, and entertaining the masses with his signature “brand of rock psycho-drama.” The music legend recently wrapped a fall tour with long time lighting partner, Bandit Lites, outfitted with guillotines, fake blood, boa constrictors and of course, extraordinary rock music.
“We started this tour back in the summer of 2019 and managed to get in a couple of months of shows,” said Bandit Lites Vice President Mike Golden. “We were preparing for a spring 2020 run when the world shut down. Throughout the year I would talk with Cesare Sabatini, Alice’s long time production manager and someone I consider a good friend, and we would commiserate about getting the show back on the road, and to finally do so is a real blessing.”
Due to the theatrical nature of the show, production, set and lighting designer Chris Lisle worked to craft moments rather than a straight-forward light show, focusing on creating key light positions for Alice, the band and other performers interacting on stage.
“In creating this production, I worked alongside Alice’s legendary manager, Shep Gordon, who is as much of a legend as Alice is,” said Lisle. “The whole creative process was just fun as it really offered a chance to ‘think outside of the box,’ or coffin in this case!”
“While I was excited to see the tour return, I was also thrilled Alice brought in Chris Stuba as lighting director,” said Golden. “I have known and appreciated him for many, many years. I look forward to next January when they hit the road again.”
“Since I was a young boy growing up in South Detroit, I have loved Alice and his shows. He’s always been known for his theatrical presentations,” said Stuba. “That is what drew me to this project. The lighting is less rock and roll and more about setting the mood and illuminating the focal points of the show.”
“Alice has been doing this longer than pretty much anyone, and has always had a theatrical driven show,” explained Lisle. “This tour was a good example in which the ‘latest/greatest’ fixtures were not necessary – it was more about what light was best for the job – even if that meant using fixtures that had a few years on them.”
“It really is about setting the mood and illuminating the focal points of the show,” said Stuba. “The lighting helps define the experience. There is so many atmospherics in this show, haze, smoke machines, low lying fog and even bubble machines that produce smoke bubbles. I have been really impressed with the Robe Pointes; they have really good recall and are extremely reliable.”
“Bandit and Alice have a long relationship of producing great shows, and it was a great opportunity to work with Chris Lisle, David Davidian and Shep Gordon,” finished Stuba. “It’s always about the humans and the Bandit crew kept it all running with a smile.”
Alice Cooper recently announced a US tour for early next year in support of latest album, Detroit Stories.
