| October 5th, 2005 03:13 PM |
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| Sir Stonesalot |
....and these were the worst of times.
I reunited with old friends, and said goodbye to one of my closest friends. To say that I was conflicted would be an understatement.
It all started about 30 minutes before I got in the car to go get Marko, the crazy bastard. My mom tells me that my bro Shoe died. Blugh. Not the way I envisioned the weekend getting started. But by this point what could I do? Nothing. I decided right then and there that Marko was coming damn far, and spending big amounts of Euros to come here. Maxmeister wasn't coming quite as far, but he'd just been through Rita. I simply could not allow myself to be some kind of negative vibe merchant. So SS put on his game face and kept putting one foot in front of the other. I have the rest of my life to miss Shoe...but I only have this one weekend to make memories with Marko and Maxmeister. C-10!! As Keith would say...On with the show!
Traffic was bad on the way home from the Philly airport. It took 45 minutes to get through the toll booth at the end of the SureKill. I don't know what the problem was...it should be pretty simple to drive up and grab a ticket. But Marko and I didn't care. We had the Stones to keep us company.
I gotta tell you...Marko is a trooper. Like Pdog at MSG, Marko was on 30+ hours without sleep. And he was just about ready to start drinking....iron stamina. I tip my hat to him.
Anyhow, we got back to FPM's house and the party was in full swing. The Guinness and Yuengling flowed freely. I had made some food earlier, and they had it all hot for us upon arrival. Cold beer, good hot food, good friends, and the Rolling Stones....now THAT is living, my friends. And believe me, I REALLY needed to be living at that point. Maxmeister paid me the ultimate Italian compliment on my lasagne...he went back for seconds. I was so happy to be surrounded by my good friends...and I really needed it because I was so very sad.
Great fun was had at our party, and I started to feel a bit better. I even noticed those butterflys that I always get before a show start to creep up on me. I even felt good enough to make fun of the new album when FPM put it on.
Marko finally had his fill, and went to bed. I drove home filled with about 150 different emotions all coursing through my body at the same time. I was exhausted, but sleep did not come easy.
I got to FPM's at about noon on Saturday. My boy was with me, and he chattered excitedly about seeing Marko again, about seeing the Stones again, about seeing FPM's son again...it was a big day. We puttered around FPM's house until all the pricipal's arrived...and unable to contain ourselves for another second, we left for Hershey.
Traffic was nothing as we got to the stadium. I knew a back way in, that's right...the backdoor to Hershey...and we were parked by 3:30pm. Some busses were parked nearby, and they had a DJ cranking Stones. We watched a bunch of people get busted for smoking pot. We drank some High Life. FPM and his crew found us. Then Luxy & Throbby found us...and the fun started.
The DJ started to do karoake. OMG! It was like the first couple of American Idol shows with all the rejects on it. Quite amusing. But when they switched to Pat Benetar songs instead of Stones...it was time to head in.
Man, there is NOTHING like that walk into a Stones show. It's even cooler when you are in great company. And I was.
The Stonesalot family could not have been farther away from the stage. I stood with my back to the back wall of the stadium. The only people behind me were outside the stadium. I joked with the people around me that all the cool kids hang out in the back.
Beck came on. He was good. Worked a couple verses of No Expectations into a song. I later found out that Beck and his band went out into the audience and watched the show from row 11. They sang and danced and lost their minds just like the rest of us.
Eventually the Stones played. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around this show. They must have known that SS was in the crowd because they played Midnight Rambler for me. Ronnie had a GREAT 4 or 5 song stretch when he blistered his slide finger on MR, BOMH, and ADTL. All Down The Line was maybe the best I've ever heard Ronnie play. It was perfect...sloppy at first and then BLAMMO!
It was about this point that my son started dancing with the three girls dancing in front of us. Mrs. Stonesalot did not approve. I did. The boy kept dancing.
All night I would call out the songs before they were played. One of the dancing girls asked if I had ESP. I only missed IORR in the #2 spot, and Get Off My Cloud on the B. I knew we'd get Rambler when IORR turned up 2nd. I called Shattered as the 2nd B stage song and got hit with Get Off My Cloud! That was a good miss, more on that later.
It seemed to me that the band was having a really good time. They were all laughing and smiling. There was some good natured shoving and eye rolling. Even the usually stoic Charlie was grinning from ear to ear. They all knew that they had it going on. ON!
We were all keyed up after the show. Traffic was fucking ridiculous after the show. But lucky for me the people parked next to us had a fresh case of Miller High Life that they were kind enough to share. We just got out the camp chairs and babbled excitedly about the show. Finally the traffic cleared enough to get on the road. We lost our zeal during the ride home...but as soon as we hit FPM's place we started jabbering away again. Oh yeah...and drinking more beer. Next thing ya know we're at Flea's dining room table passing Marko's mini-disc around like junkies getting a fix. Marko absolutely nailed the recording. Unfortunately his mini-disc is in some new format that is not compatible with other mini disc players so we couldn't get it over to CDR. Marko says he will get it onto CDR this week. We'll get it up at the Rocks Off bit-torrent, and we'll tree it out for those without broadband. So you will all get to hear what I mean.
Hershey was the 2nd best stadium show that I have ever seen. The tour opener in DC '94 is #1 IMO.
The next day, after a fine meal of pork & saurkraut at FPM's, I took Marko & Maxmeister to a pal's for some NFL action. And more beer. Later FPM came out and we watched the C-10 movie on the big 62" TV. We sadly bid Maxmeister goodbye.
Lemme tell you all something about that guy. His heart, instead of being grapefruit sized, is watermelon sized. Rick is good people, and I'm a better person for knowing him. I'll tell you how much I like him...I gave him a Derek Jeter rookie card, and a Don Mattingly Gold Glove insert card for his Yankee's room. I hate the Yankees.
Marko & I decided to sleep late on Monday. It was gonna be a long day so the extra Z's would do us some good. We got on the road in good time to get to DC before the worst of the traffic hit. We had smooth sailing right into the parking garage beside MCI. We got our tickets at will call without incident. It was a very short walk down to the Austin Grill where we met up with Factory Girl. It was happy hour. Free chips and salsa! 1/2 price Shiner Bock! After a few rounds and some catching up chat, we decided to head over to the Shidoobee party at the Bottom Line. We ran into StonesDoug, and Old KR. Then I spied my boy TomL. Now business was about to pick up. I was chatting with Tom when guess who stumbles out of the pisser....JB!!!
What followed is kinda a blur because it happened so fast. I sorta called him a wussy in front of his kid. I didn't know it was his kid at the time, I only found that out later. But he took a swing at me, and you know how that goes. Tables and chairs flying, screaming, drinks spilling, blood dripping. We got out just before the cops showed up.
OK, that last part isn't really true.
What happened was that JB turns out to be a sweetheart. He bought us several rounds of Stoli & tonics. Did you all know about how he got his MCI tickets? He donated 6 grand to the Katrina Relief Fund. That is a stand up guy right there my friends. He also proposed a toast for my fallen pal Shoe. I love JB. Maxy...he loves you too.
Factory Girl took care of Marko & I by making sure that we remembered to eat. Thanks for that babe! I needed something in my stomach to soak up all that alky-hol!
We got back to the show and walked FG to her seat. Then we settled in for the show. We got to hear some different songs from Hershey...YGMR, Mr. Pitiful, Shattered, Bitch. It was a good show. But honestly, MSG & Hershey were both better. Marko pulled tape again at this show. The sound is a bit boomy, and the vocal has a touch of echo in it. Typical of an indoor show. It's a strong 8. Hershey is borderline 10.
Somehow we missed hooking up with FG after the show. I hope she got home OK. Maybe she met some better looking guys...I hope so!
Marko and I got home with only minor incident...we got some of the worst coffee ever brewed at the McDonalds in Hunt Valley MD. I threw it out after 2 sips. Burnt coffee is just the worst. We got pulled over by the cops in Lemoyne, but he was just checking to see if we were drunk. I wasn't, for a change. We rolled into the Stonesalot residence at 3:46am.
We had a bit of a crisis the next day after we got up. I had a flat tire. I have one of those lug locks that you need a special lug key for...and it broke. I couldn't get the tire off. It was 1pm and I had to get Marko to the Philly airport(about 3 hour drive)by 5pm. I had to get my wife out of her classroom, and get her car. We hit the road a little after 2PM. I conjurred up my NASCAR foot, and we raced for the airport. By a stroke of good fortune the blue route was clear and we made it to Terminal F, Air France in plenty of time. We said our goodbyes and he was gone.
To say that the past days have been a rollercoaster ride is an understatement. I'd like to thank all those who had a part in the happenings. You don't know how much you all helped me in some pretty dark times. Marko, Maxmeister, Flea(and the lovely Ms. Youngblood...evbuddyzay OOOWWWWWWW!!!), Luxy & Throbby, Factory Girl(What an ass!!! LOL!), TomL, and JB....you are all the best. Anyone who doesn't know that Stones fans are the best sort of people, well, they don't know nuthin'. We ARE the best sort of people. And we all love the best band in the world....Bono and his fabulous U2. NOT!!!
It's the Stones baby. Case closed.
(The preceding was posted at The Couch)
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| October 5th, 2005 03:16 PM |
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| Joey |
" What happened was that JB turns out to be a sweetheart. He bought us several rounds of Stoli & tonics. Did you all know about how he got his MCI tickets? He donated 6 grand to the Katrina Relief Fund. That is a stand up guy right there my friends. He also proposed a toast for my fallen pal Shoe. I love JB. Maxy...he loves you too. "
That's my Baby .............
...........................SS ! "
Sorry About Your Loss SS .
.....................................................
[ Edited by Joshy ]
[Edited by Joey] |
| October 5th, 2005 03:16 PM |
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| blackandblue |
Glad you finally like ABB |
| October 5th, 2005 03:16 PM |
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| telecaster |
Sounds like a great time
Your friend Shoe would be proud |
| October 5th, 2005 03:49 PM |
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| Nellcote |
Karma.
That's the story.
I said it after Fenway 1.
The stories about this tour will outlive all of us.
Great recant of the story SS.
A valiant move given your loss.
Rock On!
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| October 5th, 2005 03:52 PM |
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| Angiegirl |
Sorry to hear about your loss SS.
Delighted to read your wonderful review of the shows! Thanks. |
| October 5th, 2005 04:00 PM |
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| Factory Girl |
It was a pleasure to meet (or see again) all the great folks-SS, Marko, Stonesdoug, TomL & son, JB & son. Thanks for the "coke & sympathy." 
SS-I'm truly sorry for your loss.
As for the show-I was disappointed in the "Hot Rocks" song selection. MCI 2005 was a good, not a great, Stones show. MCI'99 was better, IMO.
[Edited by Factory Girl] |
| October 5th, 2005 04:07 PM |
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| parmeda |
SS...you have a way of articulating yourself while dragging the rest of us right in there with ya!
Thanks, buddy...but anytime you're ready, I'll put money up against my lasagne to yours |
| October 5th, 2005 04:36 PM |
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| egon |
once again shows that you are one of the top posters SS!
Sorry to hear about your friend.
All the best to you. |
| October 5th, 2005 04:46 PM |
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| charlotte |
Thanks for sharing your story with us SS...you know we at RO are always here for ya! |
| October 5th, 2005 06:03 PM |
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| Gazza |
Nice review. Wish I coulda been there.Sounds like you all had a great time.
Sorry to hear about your friend - but you were with the right people to give you a lift when you needed it |
| October 5th, 2005 07:17 PM |
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| Soldatti |
Great review Sir. |
| October 5th, 2005 08:00 PM |
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| Sir Stonesalot |
>Great review Sir.<
Actually, it's pretty crappy as a review. Not much detail on the shows. It's an interesting story though....
Here's some thoughts on the shows...Hershey was better overall than MCI, but I thought that Rough Justice, Infamy, SFTD, and JJF were played better at MCI. Keith hit his solos better. And RJ & SFTD seemed a little tighter in the pocket. They bitched up Bitch again...but not quite as bad as at MSG. It was still a pretty big flub though. That one oughta go to bed if they can't do it without fucking up. They buggered up Shattered, but not enough for anyone but us hardcore geeks to notice.
I also learned that we are geeks. It's true. Ms. Youngblood kept calling FPM & I on it. She's right. We know stuff that nobody should know or remember, or care to know or remember...yet we love to show that trivial minutia off as often as we can...very geek-like behavior.
I crack up at Mick and his "Evbuddyzay OOOOOWWWWWWW!!!"
Mick's spazdancing has taken on even more exaggerated movements. He looks like he's having a seizure whilst standing up! It's so fuckin' funny. I have no idea how a guy that age can do what he does. He must run about 5 miles per show.....singing while he runs! Do you know how hard that is? Mick really is the 9th wonder of the world.
Mick's slide playing is barely adequate...and Ronnie steps in quickly with the real deal to cover. You can certainly tell who the real guitar player is...and it ain't Mick.
Blondie isn't just playing acoustic. He plays electric too. Lisa is stunning on Nightime. Man what a set of lungs on that girl! And her voice is awesome too! LOL! Bernard and Woody turn The Worst into something spectacular. Very country twinged...Grammed up.
The moving B Stage is a brilliant idea. None of that hokey walking out to the B with a dumb backing track playing. Nope...the Stones PLAY all the way out and back. A much better use of time, and the pacing of the show is better. There is also no drop in the sound quality. It's consistent with the rest of the show. The sound people on this tour know what they are doing.
Mr. Pitiful is real good...Get Up Stand Up is better...Nightime is the best. And I say that with Get Up Stand Up being one of my all time fave songs by anyone.
I woulda put this stuff in my story, but this kind of detail didn't really fit the style of the story...you know what I mean? Anyhow...if I come up with anything else, I'll hit ya widdit. |
| October 5th, 2005 08:15 PM |
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| Riffhard |
Right on Marc! Great story and reveiw. So sorry about your loss bro,but you did deal with it the best way possible. Hanging with good friends at a Stones show is about the best remedy around. See you in NYC in January,right? It's high time that we had a high time again!
Riffy |
| October 5th, 2005 08:21 PM |
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| LadyJane |
As I said on "The Couch"...one of the best posts of the YEAR!!!!
Let's see the pics!!!!!!
Never underestimate the power of the Stones and the bond that has been created by all of us on these Boards. It's magic!!!!!
LJ. |
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