In early May I actually had a childhood dream fulfilled. I got to meet Alice Cooper at the concert he put on in Kennewick, WA with Rob Zombie plus I got to go on stage.  I should have wrote this up right after the concert, when everything was a fresh memory, but I got distracted a lot.

I have been a fan of Alice Cooper since my dad gave me his greatest hits album to listen to when I was around six years old. I think it was School’s Out that got me hooked. And then my cousin gave me Raise Your Fist and Yell and I knew Alice was my favorite musician. Since that time, no matter how my musical tastes change, I still listen to Alice Cooper.

Originally I bought two tickets for the concert. One VIP ticket for me (which included a meet and greet with Alice Cooper) and another general admission ticket for my wife. After informing my wife that the tickets were for floor and not seated, she decided not to go. Trying to get a refund for the extra ticket (which I started before the order was completed and my credit card charged) took over a month.

I ended up getting a hotel room across the street from the concert location because I knew it would end late, too late for me safely make the drive home. I also found out that Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie were both staying in the hotel as well.

I went to the box office early to pick up my ticket, VIP pass, and instructions for going on stage. I found out I was selected for that since I bought a VIP pass. Of course, it took me some time to find where I needed to go to pick them up and when I did find it, they didn’t have the VIP pass. What they did have was two tickets. Even though I got a refund for the second ticket almost a month before, they still had a second ticket for me.  Figures.  They told me to come back a couple hours before the concert started to get the VIP pass.

When I did come back and go the VIP pass, I then had to figure out where I was supposed to go to enter the concert.  One of the benefits of VIP pass was getting into the concert earlier than everyone else.  Should have been an easy thing except no one at the ticket booth knew what was going on either. They finally figured it out and I got in the doors around 6pm and the doors didn’t open up for everyone else until almost 7.

Since I was the only person there, excluding staff, I didn’t have much to do.  I took a couple photos of the empty stage and updated Facebook from my photo.  Not the most exciting.  I was really hoping to kept Alice Cooper or Rob Zombie doing a sound check.

Once they opened the doors and I saw people coming in, I made my way a head of the crowd and grabbed a spot right in front of the center of the stage.  Best place to be.  The concert didn’t start for almost a hour so everyone just sat on the floor and waited. 

It was in that wait that I realized that I miss read some of the things I received when I got my VIP pass.  I had a piece of paper that said to meet someone right after Alice Cooper’s performance to go back and meet Alice.  I also had a note that said to meet a guy named Tony at 7:45.  Originally I thought it was the same note more or less twice, but I realized the note about 7:45 was about going on stage.  I also realized that I would be giving up a great spot to view the concert from.  Oh well.

I made my way out of the sitting crowd to meet this Tony guy.  When he did show up, he explained to me that while they normally have almost two dozen people buying the VIP passes, I was the only one for this concert. 

Right before he concert started, Tony took me back behind the stage and introduced me to a stage hand who explained what I would be doing.  During a the first song, School’s Out, I would be tossing giant balloons out into the crowd. 

Alice Cooper hit the half way point of School’s Out and I was signalled to go.  Even though they are just balloons, they were big enough to point some force behind them.  Enough force to possibly knock someone over.  This thought crossed my mind every time I tossed a balloon out because I ended up having to throw them over the bass player.  It was an awesome experience.  I really wish my wife was at the concert as well so I could have gotten a picture of it. 

Alice Cooper put on an awesome performance.  He played some of the classics like “School’s Out”, “Only Women Bleed”, “Cold Ethyl”, and “Nurse Rosetta” along with his newer stuff like “Vengeance is Mine”.  I was only a few feet from the stage and got a great view of the concert.

As soon as Alice Cooper’s set was over and they started to setup for Rob Zombie, I met back up with Tony so that I could go back stage and meet Alice Cooper.  Normally that have 10-20 people a show that get the VIP package to do this.  This time it was just me.

I was really nervous and worried about what I would say.  I would hate to have seen him, shake his hand, and not be able to think of anything to say.  Luckily that wasn’t that case.  Before I had the chance to get nervous, Alice started asking me questions and put me at ease.

He asked me how I like the show, which I loved, and explained to me how they hired the guy that did Beauty and the Beast on Broadway to develop the concert.  After hearing that and thinking back, I realized how the concert was broken down into acts and was much a show as it was a concert.  I did tell him how I liked that he still brings the old stuff like Nurse Rosetta into the concert and it isn’t all his new stuff.

When I told him I first heard his music from my dad’s vinyl copy of “Alice Cooper’s Greatest Hits” (which I later stole from my dad), Alice complimented my dad on his musical choice and said he was a “smart man”.  I later told my dad this and he doesn’t even remember ever owning the record.

I did suggest to Alice that he should do a musical like Rock Horror or Repo: The Genetic Opera since he albums tend too be theme based and tell a story.  He laughed and said he had something in the works.  And that he just got done working on a movie called Suckwhich I will pick up when it comes out.  It has a great line from Alice in it. “You are 30lbs of junk food and a retail job away from suicide.”

The best reaction I got from Alice came from when I told him that I not only have seen Monster Dog, but own a copy of it.  His personal assistant had no clue what we were talking about.  I also found out why the acting in it seems so bad.  Because it is bad dub over.  They filmed the movie and then the studio dubbed over the audio so it isn’t even Alice Cooper that you are hearing in the movie.

After we chatted for a while, I got a few pictures taken with Alice and a photo of Alice autographed.  We talked a little bit more and then he had to go.

I got back a few minutes before Rob Zombie started his concert and the crowd transformed.  You could tell the part of the audience was there for Alice and the other part for Rob.  During Rob Zombie’s set there was a lot more crowd surfing and moshing.  While Alice Cooper was more of a show and a story, Rob Zombie was a high energy concert.  Two different styles, but both equally enjoyable.  And I must say, I am not as much a fan of the music Zombie put out after White Zombie split, but the concert seemed a lot heavier; more of a White Zombie energy.

I have only been to three concerts in my life: Weird Al, Alice Cooper (2005), and this one.  This was the best by far.