Live: Alice Cooper, Nita Strauss & Co.

It will probably take me several years to realise what I have been able to experience live over the past 12 months. Many dreams have come true – and this summer, one highlight follows another.

When the mighty Scorpions celebrate their 60th birthday in their hometown of Hanover, it goes without saying that you make the pilgrimage there. To give all the performances I saw on 5 July the recognition they deserve, each one will get its own short review.

When I entered the Niedersachsenstadion at around 4 p.m., comedian Bülent Ceylan was playing with his band. Even though he is undoubtedly on the right side of the ideological spectrum, the musical performance was so far beyond my taste that I'd rather not write anything more about it at this point.

At half past five sharp, Alice Cooper took to the stage – the first star guest that the Scorpions treated their fans to. There is no question that the 77-year-old ‘shock rocker’ has one of the finest bands in our scene. Alongside Vincent Damon Furnier, Nita Strauss has been the star of the show for years. Her guitar wizardry alone is enough to entertain a stadium with 45,000 spectators. However, her two guitar partners, Ryan Roxie and Tommy Henriksen, are just as magnificent as the rhythm section consisting of the always entertaining Chuck Garric on bass and Glen Sobel on drums. For Mr Furnier, these musicians are a blessing: thanks to their class and stage presence, it is possible to give the master a few breaks, as they thrill the audience with their passionately performed instrumental fireworks.

The 65-minute set list offered no surprises: Alice Cooper understandably relied on hits that even casual listeners can easily sing along to. It was to be expected that the atmosphere was best during “Poison“ – but “No More Mr. Nice Guy“, “I'm Eighteen“ and “Hey Stoopid“ also went down well. After Alice had appropriately been beheaded, “School's Out“ and “Feed My Frankenstein“ followed as two finale songs that ennoble any concert evening.

It's hard to believe that Alice is almost 80 years old – sure, his voice shows a few signs of weakness here and there, but overall he's still performing at a really high level. I can only recommend everyone to go and see one of his future shows. Who knows how long this will still be possible in this form.

All in all, I was in high spirits after this performance and enjoyed every minute in one of the most beautiful stadiums in the country. At around 6:40 p.m., I thought it was quite possible that I had just seen my winner of the day. But I was wrong...