Alice Cooper Halloween 2026: Atlantic City Concert Review

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Halloween with Alice Cooper in Atlantic City
By @gijoerepairshop
Special Contributor • SerpentorsLair.com
Alice Cooper shows always include horror and the macabre. But, an Alice Cooper show on Halloween is a unique experience! This year, this author left the neighborhood children to fend for themselves with two buckets of candy by the front door. Alice Cooper and his band were playing at the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, a venue they have visited many times before, in support of the current Alice’s Attic tour.
At the age of seventy-eight, Alice shows no signs of slowing down as he came out of the gate with blistering renditions of hits such as “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” “House of Fire,” “Billion Dollar Babies,” and “I’m Eighteen.” The set then took a spookier turn, with a rendition of “Feed My Frankenstein,” during which a giant fifteen-foot Frankenstein came out to wander the stage in search of victims, seemingly directed by Alice himself.
More hits followed, “Hey Stoopid” and “Poison” lead into a blistering guitar solo by lead guitarist Ana Cara. Cara was hand-picked by regular lead guitarist Nita Strauss to step in as lead guitarist for Alice Cooper’s touring band during Strauss’s maternity leave. At only twenty-two years old, Cara’s skills are already highly impressive.
There were multiple surprises towards the end of the show. During an extended version of “School’s Out,” which transitioned into “Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2,” Little Steven Van Zandt (the musical director of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, and the star of The Sopranos and Lillehammer) appeared on stage with his guitar to play along with the band for the rest of the song. Typically, Little Steven is based in Red Bank, New Jersey, which is just an hour or so up the cost from Atlantic City.
The final surprise of the night was at beginning of the penultimate song, when Alice announced “This one’s for Kurt!” and launched into a powerful rendition of “Smell’s Like Teen Spirit.” The crowd, which had been singing along throughout the concert, belted out the lyrics even more passionately during this rare treat. Alice then ended the show with “Under My Wheels.”
It is clear that Alice Cooper is still at the height of his powers, with a very loyal fan base. There were lots of cosplayers in the audience. Though, one got the impression that most of them would have been dressed up whether or not it was Halloween.
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