August 1968. The Canadian National Exhibition (aka CNE, The Ex) is a yearly late-summer event in Toronto and features a midway, plus pavilions full of food and other obvious consumer stuff plus lots of music concerts.
The family-friendly artists like Tom Jones or The Carpenters would play at The Grandstand (an outdoor gig of 15,000 that Alice would do in the very-near future).
That summer, there was an indoor gig called the 'Youth Pavilion'. On a hot afternoon about 3 pm, performing on a three-foot high portable stage, Alice Cooper made his Canadian debut. The group was one of many unheralded bands to play the venue.
No make-up, no props, just this grungy band from Detroit who were not only noisy but great fun to watch, especially Alice.
He snarled around the stage, while the guitars screeched through fuzz-boxes.
I was among a lucky crowd of 50 or so 'youths' who were witness to greatness in the making and didn't know it. At least I have the pictures to prove it.