Then there's Alice Cooper, born Vincent Furnier, who pretty much invented live heavy metal spectacle. Long before Britney Spears draped a serpent awkwardly about her neck, Cooper was welcoming us to his nightmare by tossing a live chicken (not, as press reports claimed the next day, biting its head off), purporting to electrocute a guy on stage, and incorporating drag elements from Barbarella and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? No less a scribe than Bob Dylan called him "an overlooked songwriter," and it's hard to argue his assessment given such singles as "School's Out," "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and the ballad "You and Me." Of course, Cooper was also slamming a bottle of whiskey and up to two cases of beer a day at the time, so it's probably a good thing he traded that addiction for golfing with Pat Boone. (A handicap of two on major courses, though - not too shabby!) Don't think the Godfather of Shock Rock has mellowed out too much, though - his last single was called "I'll Bite Your Face Off." Bon appetit!

ALICE COOPER, 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23, Emerald Queen Casino, 2024 E. 29th St., Tacoma, $35-$75, 888.831.7655