A handful of curls

I had a great post typed up and made the mistake of hitting new item instead of save on my blog post... SIGH

To summarize... I spent last night at Bethel Woods again. 

And now I have photos of Halestorm, Alice Cooper and Morning in White. And maybe, just maybe as I sit on the bench at Bethel Woods between acts tonight, I'll retell the story that I had already written. Lesson learned. Write in something besides the web browser. (This isn't the first time I've messed this up.)

So, until I get more words out of my mouth, enjoy the photos. And if you see me, ask me how it felt to have Alice Coopers hand in my hair.

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Here's you're updated post.

Thursday morning I made my way to work, knowing I had two full days of concerts ahead of me. With Woodstock 50 on the way, the talent was piled up.

I sat at my desk and got through the basic things I needed to do. Archives, paperwork, some ads. Flyers, posters, and other odds and ends. My phone vibrated on it's wireless charger in the corner of my desk. A message from a friend.

'I hope u brought a poncho for tonite'

Ummm... no... I didn't. As far as I knew from the weather it was supposed to be decent. So, I replied that way and he laughed at me.

'It's supposed to rain'

and then boom... a future radar image shows up. Yep. He was right.

'Be careful. It looks like it's going to be bad.'

Ughhhh. Ok. I had no poncho. However, I know Bethel's policy and a small handheld umbrella wouldn't be a problem. And besides, it was still sunny out. That image must be a far out one.

I thanked him, and assured him I would indeed be careful. Careful of the sun and the bands.

Well... I was wrong. And boy was I wrong. I left the office at 5:00 p.m., walked out to my car and glanced at the sky. No more sun... it had rained a little, but nothing major. I put the car in reverse, backed out and went up Main Street. As I traveled through that light and onto the next, a wicked lightning strike flashed. As I pulled up to the red light, the power went out.

Guess that blew my plan for a hoagie at Pete's.

I drove out to Fosterdale instead and got a hoagie and a drink there.

The pouring down rain put a damper on my hopes for the concert that evening. Even though I didn't have to meet until 6:45 for the opening act, I wasn't too sure of the weather. I sat in my car, waiting out the storm and listened to some Halestorm.

By 6:30, the rain had slowed to an occasional sprinkle.

Content with the fact I wasn't going to get soaked, I walked down the path and mentally prepped for the night. I mean, this was Halestorm and Alice Cooper.

Alice. Freaking. Cooper.

I feel like I should be saying "We're not worthy!!!" as I stood there in front of the stage.

Seriously.

This man was a rock god. Or rather IS a rock god. And Halestorm? They're fantastic, too. Lzzy Hale has an incredible set of pipes. (Yes. It's Lzzy. No I.)

So, I stood there, camera in hand and IMHO... took some really great shots.

The lead guitarist of Halestorm, Joe Hottinger, smiled for the camera and slipped me a guitar pick as a souvenir. Then for good measure, he stuck his tongue out.

When Alice Cooper was on stage, it was more than a show. If you've never been to an Alice Cooper show, let me tell you... you need to go now. I don't care where he's playing, or even if you enjoy the music. It's like a Broadway show.

I was completely engrossed in taking photos. Kevin, the house photographer for Bethel Wood was furiously clicking at his camera as well.

As Alice Cooper walked from stage right/house left, I was so happy with the angle of the shot I didn't notice him leaning towards me. Not until I saw it in frame. As he got closer, I kept shooting. I figured he was reaching over me to toss something to someone in the fron row.

Nope.

I was wrong.

Alice Cooper reached down and put his fingers right in the curly rainbow of hair that sat on my head.

He grabbed, and ran his fingers back out of it as I stood there shocked. With a smile, he continued on his way. I looked to Kevin and he looked at me laughing. "Did that just happen?" I yelled.

Yep. His laughing told me it did.

I was stunned. I watched the rest of the show still wondering why the Prince of Darkness wanted the rainbow.

I went to work Friday, recounting the story with a laugh and looked at the photos. Keepers for sure.

Friday night, I returned to Bethel to photo Nelly, TLC and Flo Rida. I sat on the bench waiting in between acts when  a guy approached me.

"You were here last night." Ok... stalker much?

"Yep," I replied.

"Alice Cooper pulled your hair," he continued.

"Yep, he sure did."