Wednesday, April 25, 2007

The Fourth Horseman of the Roadshow

Einsterzende Neubauten and Nina Hagen stopped by the Garde Arts Center in February for their German 80’s Pop Tour, 2007. Alice Cooper happened to be scheduled to play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at the same time. Mr. Cooper once had a fling with the lovely Ms. Hagen. He enjoyed her perceptive, witty conversation as well as her stunning good looks. He developed a last-minute sore throat on the night of his show in order to see if the romance could be rekindled.

The two had dinner at The Bulkley House on Bank Street. Mr. Cooper had a Caesar salad. Ms. Hagen had the snails. Though Mr. Cooper was in full make-up and Ms. Hagen had blue hair as long as Cousin It’s, no one noticed the couple or disturbed them. They were expecting autograph hounds, but they fit right in with the crowd at the Bulkley House. There are more than three eccentrics in New London, Conn., and there are more than three celebrities. This city is a sort of playground for the rich and quirky.

Though love is always in the air in New London, the sparks didn’t fly between Alice Cooper and Nina Hagen the second time around. Ms. Hagen pleaded a headache due to her escargot allergy and asked Mr. Cooper to drop her off at the Holiday Inn on Bayonet Street. Left to keep himself company, Alice Cooper asked his driver to take him to the Oasis Pub. The Paul Brockett Roadshow was working its magic that night on the stage. Bassist Dave Anderson spotted Mr. Cooper first. He whispered in Paul Brockett’s ear between choruses.

Paul Brockett invited Alice Cooper to join the Roadshow as an honorary member. The two launched into a duet of “Cold Ethel” with Meghan Killimade keeping time. At Dave Anderson’s suggestion, Messrs. Brockett and Cooper held a yodeling contest. After two rounds, Mr. Cooper thought he had the best of his opponent. Then Paul Brockett decided to loose the stops of this voice box and yodel like he was born to do. A flock of sheep came into the Oasis while Mr. Brockett was only halfway through. Alice Cooper conceded without even trying to match Mr. Brockett’s natural gift.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

To read here in the US in this forum about Nina Hagen and Einstürzende Neubauten makes me smile.

La Belle Esplanade said...

Thank you for your appreciation and your correction of my German spelling which I did from memory and fiddled with more than once until it looked almost right. I am a big fan of 'Collapsing New Buildings,' especially their ballads. Unfortunately, my German grammar has falllen by the wayside as I haven't many opportunities to use it in recent years. Thank you for your support.

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