Alice Cooper and friends rocked the 'middle-aged mosh pit' in Mesa
Ed Masley- Alice Cooper's Coopstock featured performances by Cooper, Corey Glover of Living Colour, Rob Halford of Judas Priest, and Robin Zander of Cheap Trick.
- Coopstock is a benefit for Alice Cooper's Solid Rock Teen Centers.
- People bid $10,000 for a chance to join the all-star jam and $11,000 for a Rob Halford outfit.
“I just want to say that this roped-off area down here is the middle-aged mosh pit.”
Those were the first words out of Alice Cooper’s mouth as he greeted the crowd at Coopstock 2025, a benefit for Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Center at Las Sendas Golf Club in Mesa on Saturday, March 15.
It’s always a treat to see the shock-rock legend affording fans an unassuming glimpse of the loveable goof behind the black mascara at these events.
He’s the kind of guy who introduces “I’m Eighteen,” the breakthrough hit that introduced him to the masses in the very early '70s, with “OK, this next song, I’m singing 18, not 80, although I'm closer...."
Cooper treated fans to 'I'm Eighteen,' 'Be My Lover' and 'Poison'
He’s also one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most charismatic entertainers.
It's a quality that translates regardless of context — whether you’re getting the full production on the road with Alice staging his own execution in full makeup or catching a spirited joyride through a handful of hits with his wife Sheryl sharing the spotlight while providing backing vocals at the helm of Sixwire, the impossibly versatile Nashville cover band that backed up all the main attractions at Las Sendas.
Cooper set the tone for his performance with the "Billion Dollar Babies" classic “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” following through with “Be My Lover,” “Lost in America,” “I’m Eighteen,” “Poison” and “Under My Wheels.”
After “Poison,” he raved about Sixwire, saying he wouldn’t think to try that song with any other band.
“And my band,” he added. “Maybe the Cowsills.”
It was such a classic Alice Cooper moment.
Sixwire had already done their own short set by that point, playing two originals.
Cooper’s special guests this year were Living Colour’s Corey Glover, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford and Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander, who was joined by his son Robin Taylor Zander.
Living Colour's Corey Glover sang Led Zeppelin, Prince, Doobies
Glover followed Cooper, leading Sixwire through faithful renditions of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” and Prince’s “Purple Rain,” which made the most of Glover’s soulful upper register.
Then he dipped into the Doobie Brothers' greatest hits, telling the crowd, “And because I am always contractually obligated to do this song wherever I show up” as though he was about to sing the Living Colour hit that made him famous before giving Michael McDonald a run for the money on “Takin’ It To the Streets.”
Then he introduced his own hit, Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality,” with “Now, because I gotta do it.” Glover sounded great, especially on those wailing high notes. And perhaps not shockingly, the Sixwire lead guitarist nailed that classic lead guitar break.
Judas Priest's Rob Halford lived up to his billing as the Metal God
Rob Halford followed Glover, leading Sixwire through a whirlwind of Judas Priest hits in a flowing black sleeveless robe and black shades in a voice that more than lived up to his reputation as the Metal God, from “Heading Out to the Highway” to “Breaking the Law,” “Living After Midnight” and “You've Got Another Thing Comin'.”
Halford commanded the stage with ease and Sixwire had no trouble going full metal.
Sixwire coved Queen, Joan Jett, Def Leppard and the Beatles
Sixwire followed Halford with a crowd-pleasing medley of “We Will Rock You,” Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock 'n' Roll” (and yes, I know the Arrows did it first), Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On a Prayer,” Kiss’ “Rock and Roll All Nite,” Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” and the Beatles’ “Hey Jude.”
Robin Zander took us all to Budokan with Cheap Trick classics
Robin Zander arrived on stage in a stylish white three-button suit and a matching white hat to lead the men of Sixwire in an absolutely joyous rendition of Cheap Trick's "Surrender" with his son Robin Taylor Zander on guitar and backing vocals.
But rather than stick to the Budokan playbook, Zander followed through with Elvis Presley's rockabilly classic "Don't Be Cruel," which Cheap Trick took to No. 4 in 1988.
Then, he grabbed an acoustic guitar for a breathtaking trip through Cheap Trick's only No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100, "The Flame." It was a stunning show of force from Zander, whose vocals were astonishingly ageless on those show-stopping high notes.
Then it was back to the Budokan for two career-defining Cheap Trick classics — their toughened-up take on Fats Domino's "Ain't That a Shame" and a magical audience singalong on "I Want You to Want Me," which sounded just great in the middle-aged mosh pit.
Glover was creeping on stage with a microphone, adding his voice to mix on "I Want You to Want Me" as a grinning Alice Cooper took it all in from the wings.
And with that, the stage was set for the all-star finale, which started, as you knew it would, with "School's Out," a song he's been doing for several years now as a medley with Pink Floyd's take on education, "Another Brick in the Wall."
Then, he ended the night with a loose-limbed rendition of Chuck Berry's rock 'n' roll anthem, "Roll Over Beethoven," a song it's easy to imagine Cooper learning off a Beatles record with his friends at Cortez High School in the '60s.
That's the magic of those moments at a show like this. It's like a window into Cooper's inner music nerd.
As he marveled when the song was over, surrounded by Zander, Halford, Glover, Sheryl Cooper, the members of Sixwire, comedian Ron White and more, "You're never gonna see a band like this again."
That much is true.
Students from Alice Cooper's Solid Rock Teen Centers performed
In addition to raising funds for Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Centers, Coopstock does its best to shine a light on what those centers mean to the community.
The Solid Rock Staff Band got things started with a set of cover songs, from Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” to Van Halen’s arrangement of The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me.”
If the intent was to let people know the kids who spend their afternoons at Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Centers are being instructed by players who know their way around their chosen instrument, mission accomplished.
You could worse than to learn how to shred from a young guitarist as gifted as Conrad Varela, a former winner of the Alice Cooper Proof is in the Pudding contest.
Their set was followed by Sheryl Cooper, who met her future husband as a dancer on his “Welcome to My Nightmare” tour, introducing the Solid Rock Dancers.
The teens were accompanied by the Solid Rock Band on Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions” and danced to a video mash-up of “Uptown Funk” by Bruno Mars and Cooper’s “Feed My Frankenstein.”
A group of former students who stayed on as instructors were up next, playing a religious song and “Life is a Highway” before two members offered testimonials to the impact the Solid Rock Teen Centers have had on their lives.
It was moving as it meant to be.
Those testimonials were followed by the first of seven auctions. One fan paid $10,000 for a chance to take part in the all-star jam. An autographed leather Rob Halford ensemble with matching jewelry grabbed 11 grand. And a guy at my table paid $6,000 for an autographed Les Paul but sadly left without deciding he should offer it to me.
I clearly would've taken it.
Alice Cooper 'ruined the teens back then... now it's his turn to fix them'
Sheryl Cooper led the evening’s final fundraiser, a paddle call encouraging individual contributions.
She also shared their goal of opening a new teen center every two years.
The most outrageous contribution came at the end of the paddle call when someone offered Solid Rock executive director Jeff Moore $100,000 for the autographed leather jacket he was wearing.
It’s a calling for the Coopers, raising funds to help kids find some sort of meaning in this life.
As Solid Rock Teen Centers director Mark Savale noted at one point, Alice Cooper is “the one who ruined the teens back then, so now it’s his turn to fix them.”
Ed has covered pop music for The Republic since 2007, reviewing festivals and concerts, interviewing legends, covering the local scene and more. He did the same in Pittsburgh for more than a decade. Follow him on X and Instagram @edmasley and on Facebook as Ed Masley. Email him at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com.