Valley-based rock star ALICE COOPER and his wife, Sheryl, tweaked the program of the ninth edition of their Christmas Pudding charity concert, making it more friendly for families and people who couldn't stay for the entire four-hour-plus proceedings.
Organizers stacked the first half of the show with dancing, comedy, magic and young acts who had won a contest to perform on Friday, Dec. 18, at the Dodge Theatre in Phoenix.
Cooper, who has performed with his band late in the event in past years, came onstage just after the intermission, during which concertgoers enjoyed Christmas pudding whipped up by Valley chef Mark Tarbell.
Harder-rocking acts such as DEE SNIDER, LITA FORD and WARRANT didn't come on until later in the evening.
That allowed non-night owls and groups with younger children to enjoy a large dose of fun before things got too late.
Cooper's concerts, which are raising funds for the construction of a youth center on the campus of Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, have evolved into enjoyable old-school variety shows that have a bit of everything.
As always, Cooper rocked the joint with a band stacked with younger players who don't lack for energy or rock-star moves. He played such expected favorites as 'No More Mr. Nice Guy', 'Eighteen' and 'School's Out', but also mixed in a deeper cut, the power ballad 'I Never Cry', from 1976.
Eighties rockers Warrant did a solid job of following up Alice Cooper's set, getting many veteran fans in the crowd on their feet with such hits as 'Cherry Pie', 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' and 'Heaven'.
Singer-guitarist Lita Ford, a veteran of THE RUNAWAYS in the '70s and a solo artist in the '80s and '90s, gave concertgoers a sample of the show she will stage in 2010 as she mounts a return to music after an absence of more than a decade.
Ford showed a bit of rust performing two songs from her self-titled debut album, 'Kiss Me Deadly' and 'Close My Eyes Forever'. Ford struggled to hit the high notes on both songs and might have benefited from a trick used by many veteran rockers -- lowering the key of the tune.
Backed by Cooper's band, Ford showed off some hot guitar-playing in a cover of SAMMY HAGAR's 'There's Only One Way To Rock'.
Twisted Sister's Dee Snider wrapped things up with a bang.
"I know it's late for some of us," Snider said as things wound down at 11:30 p.m. "But we are rockers, right?"
Snider, also backed by Cooper's band, had even the most tired fans standing and shaking their fists with his hit "We're Not Gonna Take It." He brought smiles with a heavy-metal version of 'White Christmas' and a solid cover of LED ZEPPELIN's "Rock and Roll."
Snider launched the show's finale, a high-volume version of 'O Come All Ye Faithful', as Alice Cooper and most of the show's performers joined him amid falling fake snow.
Dim 20 Déc - 20:19
