Electric chairs, guillotines, fake blood, and boa constrictors are on their way back to the Salem Civic Center. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Alice Cooper is bringing his Too Close for Comfort tour to Salem, Aug. 19. Cooper’s legendary shows draw equally from horror movies, vaudeville, and garage rock, and his performances are designed to heighten all of your senses.
Cooper last played at the Salem Civic Center in 2017, but his first appearance at the historic venue dates all the way back to January 28, 1972, when the building was still named the Salem-Roanoke County Civic Center.
At that time, Cooper and the band had just started to gain national notoriety and they were selling tickets based on the success of their 1971 hit single “I’m Eighteen”. He appeared in Salem just a few months before the biggest song of his career, “School’s Out” was released in the summer of that year. That rock anthem was number one in Europe and a peaked at number seven in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100. The song has been featured in everything from a Staples television commercial to an episode of the Muppets.
Discovered in 1969 by Frank Zappa, Cooper has produced classic hits like “Killer,” “Billion Dollar Babies,” “Welcome to My Nightmare” and the previously mentioned “School’s Out.” Perhaps Cooper’s most memorable movie appearance was when he played himself in Wayne’s World in 1991. He also fittingly played Freddy Krueger’s wicked stepfather in Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare.
Cooper turned 77 years old last week, on Feb. 4, but he shows no signs of slowing down.
Tickets start at $39.50. They can be purchased at the Salem Civic Box Office Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
-The Salem Times-Register