Hey You Got Me Rockin' Now

I heart you Mick! <3

This last Tuesday Jason and I were treated to a Rolling Stones concert at the Hollywood Bowl. The tix were a birthday present from Jason’s dad. I went straight from work and ended up beating everyone getting there around 6:30. They finally arrived and Jason and I went off to find our seats. We had the “cheap” (yet really not cheap in any way) tickets landing us allllll the way at the top of the Bowl (nose bleed section, I started getting lightheaded from the elevation as we climbed up to our section), but it was a nice gift so I will not complain. This was the first time I’d been to the Bowl when it was sold out and damn there were so many freakin' people! Serious traffic jams (pedestrian and car) getting in and out of there.

The opening act was seriously lame. Some blond chick (she needed to dye her roots in the worst way) running around stage and singing “ooooo oooo” and “owww owoww owwww”. I think she might have stubbed her toe on something. BORING! At least we were way in the back where the sound wasn’t very loud and we could make fun of her without having to scream. It took them about an hour to set up for the Stones after that. More sitting around and twiddling our thumbs listening to some Beverly Hills chicks behind us discuss how many calories they had just consumed in cheese and where they would get their couture gowns for an upcoming party.

Around 8:45 they finally took the stage! Here’s the set list:

1. Start Me Up
2. Shattered
3. She's So Cold
4. Tumbling Dice
5. Rough Justice
6. Rain Fell Down
7. Won't Take Long (1st time!)
8. Bitch
9. Night Time (Ray Charles cover! Awesome.)
10. Slipping Away
11. Infamy
12. You Got Me Rockin'
13. As Tears Go By
14. Get Off My Cloud
15. Sympathy For The Devil
16. Paint It Black
17. Honky Tonk Women
18. Brown Sugar
19. Satisfaction
20. You Can’t Always Get What You Want
21. Jumping Jack Flash

I’ve never really counted myself a Stones fan in particular, but they are one of the great bands of classic rock. And man, for an old dude Mick Jagger has still got those sexy moves. YoW! The major disappointment with this show would have to be the crowd. I have seen some lame-o LA crowds but this one, at least in our section, takes the cake. People were sitting down, very few were so much as smiling, or nodding or tapping a foot to the beat. Never seen so many people seemingly so depressed to be at a rock concert. The Rolling Stones people! It felt a little weird for me and J to be the only ones rockin’ it out, but damn if I was gonna sit down and not shake it like you should at a Rolling Stones concert.

Keith Richards man, what a trip. How is he even still alive? He came out to front for “Slipping Away” and “Infamy”. I do not know these songs, and the performance wasn’t particularly great IMO, so I took this as an opportunity to rest my legs and chill for a bit.

By “You Got Me Rockin'” a lot more people were on their feet, and the vibe got a lot better. The set list from there on out speaks for itself. Good ol’ classic Stones. The crowd even sang along to “YCAGWYW”.

My favorite highlights: Night Time, As Tears Go By (see video here!), Paint It Black, and of course Brown Sugar.
Here’s a good review by someone who knows a lot more about the Stones than I do.

Rock on y’all.