First off, I'm aware that this folk tale is one of those big fish stories that nobody actually wants to hear. "Don't tell me how lucky you feel for winning the lottery you jerk!" But if you saw Paul Bunyon sack the city of Troy while riding atop Ahab's whale than you would feel a similar compulsion to describe what you saw.
GETTING A TICKET
One of the key contributing factors to the electricty in the air was the nature of how the tickets were given out. Announced over twitter and radio stations at the very last minute, the surprise show's limited 312 ticket give away caused an instantaneous buzz that turned into a strangely manic desperation and jealousy that I could only compare to footage of people waiting to hear if they made the cut at the city wide American Idol auditions. The tickets were given through a random lottery at the El Rey Theater on Wilshire blvd. in Los Angeles and the line went all the way around the block.
After a couple thousand people they cut off the line and turned all new comers away. I walked around filming, listening, and speaking to people from all over who each had a uniquely interesting story about how they ended up there and how badly they wanted to see the Stones. Some got a text from someone at work, a couple heard an announcement and happened to be driving near by. A lady had flown in from Japan and group had driven in from Texas because it is apparently a Rolling Stones tradition to do a show in or around the city where they are rehearsing for their upcoming tour. Some had been camped out all night. Some saw a tweet and instantly rushed over. I happened to be walking my dog and saw the hysteria because I live next to the El Rey Theater. In the above photo, they are giving out the lottery tickets that were sitting in a bucket.
Just getting one was an emotional ordeal. Because I took an instant to take my dog home, the line got cut off. They said to go home because they weren't going to give any more lottery tickets out. Myself and about 20 other people said fuck you, we're going to stay hear until they force us to leave. "Look at all of us, clinging to improbably hope." said Sarah, the girl behind me, pointing at the low heads that were walking back to their cars. But when the lottery tickets came around, they gave us, the faithfully desperate a ticket like all the others. None of us could believe that we got a ticket. We had a chance. The journey for us was not over. Hope still existed.
We spent the hours of waiting discussing the random unlikely chains of events that brought us each into that line. Every person had their own story. If I hadn't walked my dog. If my mom hadn't called and my phone hadn't died then I wouldn't have started walking home. If. If. If. But here I am we all said. Each person talked about why they would kill to see them. "I saw them in '79...", "...that song changed my life", "...It's the fucking rolling stones". We were bonding over our mutual yearnings. The value of the opportunity was rising through the roof as the reality of unlikely hood approached. Sarah and Shane the people behind me discussed how it was like getting your college acceptance envelope. You kinda don't want to open it. While it's still sealed, you might be going. After you open it, you might not. Try to imagine the hours of anticipation. Staring at my blue lottery ticket was like looking at the college acceptance letter to the smallest most exclusive school of Rock & Roll with an enrollment of 300 every 50 years.
When they finally called out the numbers we were surrounded by the most drastic range of anguish and elation. Tears were shed. There were screams. HighFives. One girl offered all the money she had for our winning tickets. I said, "I like money... But I love the stones more". One guy sold his ticket for $1000 to a guy that lost. The thing was, once you got your ticket, it was in your name and attached to your ID, so there would be no way to transfer it. Willy Wonka's Golden Ticket was for you and you alone.
We were the happy few whom the cosmic hand of fate had decided to deal the high five of a lifetime.
THE SHOW
News vans and on lookers surrounded the Echoplex in Silverlake as though a meteor with Jesus' face had struck the theater. The Gods of Rock were descending tonight and we were the children allowed to tour the factory. One guy started to talk about how hard it was to take a shower and get dressed while keeping his precious wristband dry so that it wouldn't look tampered with. About 20 people in line near him all started laughing because every single person had done exactly the same thing. We were a merry band bonded at the wrist.
The reality and significance of the moment started to sink in. The Rolling Stones formed in London in 1962.
If you want to play the music while you read, I compiled the set-list on Spotify here:
http://open.spotify.com/user/emotiondesigner/playlist/0Mea8maauUzJWJu5jG3RCW
And then they came out.
Mythical Creatures. Demigods. Time Capsule. Legends. Folk Heros. Larger than life. Epic.
They kicked things off with "You Got Me Rockin".
The foreplay of the days lottery made the room erupt. What a brilliant way to kick things off. Not just because they are the living legends of Rock & Roll singing about having us Rockin'. I thought it was brilliant because Mick Jagger is singing about times when he was down. A butcher with bloody hands, a pitcher in a slump, A hooker loosing her looks, but now "you got me rockin". Whether the meta meaning was that he's old but seeing the excitement in fans like us gets him rockin or us singing it back meant that when we can't pay the bills and get our taxes straight, rock & roll picks us up it was poignant moment that took 50 years to ferment.
These were not old men holding on to a past that was gone. Dare I say it after only seeing them for the first time, but the rolling stones have only gotten better with age like a fine wine. If you play guitar for 50 years in front of thousands of people, you're not going to suck. Seeing Keith Richards whale away on his guitar with his signature headband holding back grey hair was unbelievable. The difference between the Stones and a 50yr old band who's glimmer had long gone out, was the evident passion for their music. This is what these old dogs do. They've done it forever. They'll probably never change their tricks. Coming off of coachella where a couple (unnamed) surprisingly disappointing performances put this into perspective. The unnamed artists was going through the motions as if singing that album for a couple years in front of a few thousand people had become a day job that's lost it's luster. Not the case with the Stones. They're love of Rock beat our chests as hard as anyone possibly could because their passion for it was as alive and real as the non holographic versions of themselves were in front of me.
Next they played "Respectable".
"Well now we're Respected in society, We don't worry about the things that we used to be"
Once again Brilliant.
I started to notice the lack of phones, cameras and ipads glowing in my field of view. It felt classic. It felt oldschool. This was going to be an analog experience with no record button. Which was so respectable. I realized that I was going to have to commit my notes and the set list to memory instead of playing back a recording or reviewing notes in my phone. So I committed them to memory and vowed to write them on a napkin as soon as the show was over.
Next they played "She's so cold".
I only had a few songs on my "I really hope they play"-list. One was "She's so cold".
He describes his unrequited love as a bleeding volcano. Too much music today is catchy but not nearly as well written as She's so cold. Nor is it as well performed.
The crowd was dancing and singing their hearts out. Myself included.
I recently concluded that a good song is like a photograph of emotion. Seeing it performed live differs because everyone singing along with you knows those words because they have poured their hearts out to them when they have felt that way. The mouths in that room were bleeding volcanos in agreement over the feeling of loving someone who's just not hot for you back.
"Live with Me".
Live with me begs a woman to commit to living together. The way Jagger sang it was seductive as hell.
Can you imagine the Mojo and sex appeal of hips that have seduced thousands of women at a time, in stadiums the size of madison square garden for 50 years without stopping? He's had 50 years to figure out which dance moves get the panties thrown on stage. Mick Jagger's seductive moves belong in a vault with James Brown's feet, Elvis' hips, and michael Jackson's crotch. We watched them animate to Bobby Key's sexy saxaphone. Every girl in that room wanted to Live with Mick Jagger. It was so good I found myself considering it.
He followed live with me with "Street Fighting Man".
Another of my all time favorites. "'Cause Summer's here and the time is right for fighting in the street, boy But what can a poor boy do Except to sing for a rock 'n' roll band...There's just no place for a street fighting man". Rock & Fucking Roll!!! Play the song and picture them fighting the burdens of blue collar life with the real spirit of Rock & Roll.
I can't tell you how funny Mick Jagger was in between songs. He said it's great to be in echo park. The neighborhood that's always about to come up. Everyone started laughing. He could connect with the audience at street level.
They slowed things down and went into "How Strong My Love is".
Holy Fucking shit! This is why you see music live. The song was so different from the recorded version. He got right up to the very front of the stage cat walk. Crouching low, he was whispering to the people in front of him. Those lucky assholes probably knew what it was like for Mick Jagger to be in Love with them. The variance in his singing had so many distinct moments and he was all over the stage. Probably my personal favorite performance of the night. Mostly because I was so wowed by how unique the delivery was and how well he milked the crowd for participation.
Then he said I want to sing some covers and wanted to start with a Chuck berry song and he sang "Little Queenie".
The Rolling stones singing Chuck Berry. If time travel is at all possible, the secret formula involves Mick Jagger.
Then he said he was going to sing a song by the Temptations. He sang "Just My Imagination".
Everyone in the house was singing along. A beautiful song with it's origin in MoTown. Performed by the Stones who had made in their own. Singing about a dream of a girl with the Rolling Stones definitely was a dream, but thankfully it wasn't my imagination.
"Miss You".
Bill Wyman's skill on bass shined on this song. I really enjoyed the "Ooooh oooh oooh" sections.
Jagger would get one side of the crowd going and then he'd move over to the other and taunt them into it.
They brought out Mick Taylor: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mick_Taylor
He started to sing "Love in Vain".
It was like he was telling a story to his grand kids. Mick Taylor's slide guitar was probably the best I'll ever see. There was real soul in it. The picture of pain that it painted was vivid.
Next they did "Midnight Rambler", still with Mick Taylor on stage.
It really rocked. Mick Jagger is a real Boss with his harmonica. I mean, he's dancing around and whaling away at the same time. The contrast of blues and Rock is like a well balanced flavor profile on
a fine dining dish. Unbridled cathartic anger release and painfully sad soul. What was really cool was watching the guys on guitar truly enjoy themselves. You could tell how much fun jamming together is. They really love doing this. It's like seeing someone not only in their element but you're watching truly gifted men do what they were meant to do. The joy of this was on their faces.
They finished the show with "Start Me Up".
In the largest celebratory moment of the night, the crowd sang in complete unison. It's the song that the bathroom attendant who doesn't speak complete english knows the words too. I couldn't see him but I bet he was holding his towel and singing his heart out with us. It was also climactic apex of the journey.
Mick Jagger made sure to work the entire crowd for all their participations worth. Any performer could learn something from watching how well he did that and how easy it was for him. Mick Jagger doesn't beg you to participate in singing Start me Up, he commands you on how he wants you to sing it.
Then Keith whispered in Jagger's ear. He turned to the crowd and said, "Keith said that's it so I guess we're outta here". They ran off stage.
The crowd jumped into the traditional ritual of asking for one more song. They came back out at the peak of unison chanting to a gushing of joy. Jagger made a joke about of course they're going to do one more and everyone laughed.
"Brown Sugar".
I don't know why the rolling stones tasted so good exactly but something that made them sweeter was the way that Jagger would pick sections of the crowd to do the "yeah, yeah, yeah" and get them to throw their hands up for the "Wooooo". Until he finally had everyone doing it. At this point we knew this might be the last moments of this experience so everyone was savoring up as much as they could dancing and singing along as though the waiter is about to take your bowl of soup away and you're not embarrassed to slurp.
They ended the show with "Jumpin Jack Flash".
Things were hard but it's all right now. And indeed as he talked about his past, and the present being a gas, I felt that no matter how bad things have been, it's alright.
The power of Rock & Roll manifest. I don't know when I will be as alright as I was jumping to jumpin jack flash with the Rolling Stones and the 300 friends I made that night. It was precious and special.
Jagger said this is the first show of our new tour, and it's probably the best one! For all of you out there who weren't in that room, let's hope not. If you can afford it or make it work, go see the Rolling Stones on this tour. They had 50 years to get it right. You will feel as lucky and special as we did no matter what venue and who you're with. They are the Rolling Stones. For the next 50 years and counting I hope they...
Keep me Rockin
-MM
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