You know you're in for a good time when both the bands you go to see live in concert have at least one dude dressed in pirate regalia.  

 On Sunday, I was fortunate enough to see Alice Cooper perform live in Moose Jaw with special guest, Buckcherry. The day was filled with "first times in a long time". It was the first time I had been to Moose Jaw in over two years, the first-time seeing Mac the Moose with his bigger antlers, and it was my first time going to a concert outside of Estevan, in quite a while.  The best part about it, I got to bring my 9-year-old son with me, and he absolutely adored the whole experience. 

Buckcherry started out the night. I didn't have any expectations on what kind of performance they would put on. I've never been overly impressed by any of their music or disappointed for that matter, so it was a clean slate. Their set was everything it needed to be. They didn't play for too long, and while they were on stage, the band had a groove that was so infectious you couldn't help but dance to it. The crowd eagerly sang along to the band's big hits and when they did play their new material, it fit in so perfectly well. I was especially impressed with the final song they played in the night, Crazy B****. They dragged it on for about 10 minutes with a Jungle Boogie breakdown near the end. All in all, they accomplished everything they needed to. They got the crowd pumped up for Alice Cooper.  

While the stage was being set for Cooper's performance, I had a chance to look at the interesting mix of people that had come to experience his theatrics. You could tell some people were Alice Cooper's age and had listened to him most of their lives. There were also a lot of very young people, children, a few toddlers, even a baby!  

Alice Cooper’s set far exceeded my expectations. I knew it would be a show full of theatricality and that he would play many of the songs that I've loved over the years. I found out quickly though, that he has a lot of songs that I'm unfamiliar with which makes sense considering the vast amount of music he's put out over the decades.  

His set started out with Feed my Frankenstein and right from the get-go, the madness ensued. Stalking the stage was a 10-foot Frankenstein, subdued by Cooper’s ghoulish henchman. From there, song after song, each performance featured its own special theatrics. For over an hour and a half, I took in the sights and the sounds, and it was one of the most amazing performances I've seen in quite a while. What impressed me most was Alice Cooper himself, as old as he is, you would never know it. He moved about the stage like a veteran performer, but with the energy of a man a third his age. I also loved how he took great measures to feature how musically talented each of his bandmates is, making sure that the spotlight was shared equally among them all.  

I am so fortunate that I was able to see Alice Cooper playing live doing what he does best. All in all, I had a really great time going to see Alice Cooper and Buckcherry in Moosejaw. It was a lot of fun and I even learned something very interesting. You see, when you walk up to the hulking security guard before entering the arena, if you give them a wink and say "I actually just came for the pat-down", they tend to be less thorough.