What if two best mates came all the way from England to see the Stones in Chicago.
And what if they paid a king's ransom to StubHub so they could be in the pit on Friday night?
(For which Gazza called them "daft bastards".)

And what if they had a rock chick friend in the perfect spot to capture their amazing night on film? (Only because my spotter LJ found them in the crowd.)

Here are Strange Stray Cat UK and Flairville rocking out.

Voodoo, this might be header material. They are 30,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean right now, but they would love to see themselves on the header.....

SweetVirginia wrote on Jun 1^st, 2013 at 7:18pm:


that is bad assed...

Kudos to Lady Jane.
Thank you for arranging the Rocks off meeting, it was great to meet some die hard Stones fans like myself.
What a show.
Can you say "Get your Ya Ya's out"? They sounded that good.

I took a very good friend who had never seen the Stones and he has a college degree in music.

He said he was so blown away that by the 5th song he had his moneys worth.

Hi to Sweet Virginia and Parmeda and the other folks who were there.
Sweet Virginia how do I get a copy of that Mick pic that you posted here, I would love to make a copy. 

Please see my post under: Ladies and Gentleman the Rolling Stones.

I'm uploading from my iPad on a wobbly train, so these are not in chronological show order.











This was a bit of a WTF moment. Never seen Mick being so nice to Ronnie and Keef onstage. The were like kids.

VERY nice SV! Excellent!

I love these guys and never get tired of looking at new pics. So exciting!!!

Beautiful pics SV! RO has defintely reaped the rewards of your passion and talent as a photographer.

Went to bed at 9:30 last night after arriving home exhausted. Chicago never disappoints. It's a GREAT city; a Stones town. They always deliver in Chicago and Friday night was no exception. I'm not one to dissect a concert song for song. All I can say overall is that NOTHING could prepare me for the Band on this Tour. NOTHING. I saw the PPV show. I've read all the reviews. But until I sat in the Arena and saw it for myself, I couldn't comprehend just how GOOD this Band is. Keith has definitely kicked it up a few notches. His playing since I last saw them in 2006 is markedly improved. Ronnie as well. Charlie always delivers and what can one say about Mick Jagger??? The showman/shaman was on fire in Chicago. No one does it better than Mick. And Friday night he actually seemed to be enjoying himself, actually happy to be with the boys. One highlight for me was when Mick mentioned Ronnie's Birthday. Next thing we know all four are huddled together doing some type of dance as the crowd sang "Happy Birthday" to Mssrs. Wood and Watts.

The setlist was perfect for me. No complaints; well I did sit through Miss U and One More Shot but overall it was A+. Gimme Shelter is LISA'S SONG. It was one of the best versions of my favorite Stones song. SAL was a special moment that I'll address later. I was disappointed to hear Sheryl  Crowe was the guest, but she did well with ADTL. Loved hearing ER for the first time ever!! When we heard the opening chords of CYHMK, SV and I jumped in the air, screamed and hugged each other like lunatics. Seeing Mick Taylor on stage with the Band is sublime. His return for Rambler was equally awe inspiring. When Mick T takes the stage, I noticed Ronnie and Keith are smiling alot yet very focused. The comraderie is so nice to see. And at one point during MR, Watts was doubled over in laughter!!! WTF???

So happy Keith did YGTS. He sings that one from his heart and belts out the lyrics. The choir is a beautiful addition to YCAGWYW. I've done enough setlist threads on RO to know what song was coming and when. And while it's easy for us to sit at our PC's and bemoan the warhorses, they are simply amazing when you get to see them live. I'm telling you boys and girls, it's worth the price of admission to see these guys. They are that good.

Onto Shine a Light. After Mary's death, her Mother searched for her custom made Keith bracelet (Betty refers to it as "those ugly handcuffs"). It was Mary's prized possesion and her Mom wanted to bury her wearing it. Well, Betty didn't find it in time. I told her it had to be there somewhere and sure enough Betty found it. A package arrived for me on my birthday and inside was the bracelet. Betty actually called me as I was opening the box! She said Mary would want me to have it. After expressing my gratitude, I told Betty I'd take it with me to the show. When SAL was announced as the winner of the fan choice vote, SV and I just looked at each other and the tears immediately started to flow. We knew. We knew Mary was with us. I reached in my purse and pulled out the bracelet and held it in the air for the duration of the song with tears pouring down my face. I kept looking to the heavens and at one point I felt Mary. I knew that she was okay; in a better place and at peace.

Speaking of tears, YES I CRIED. I cried when I went through the turnstile. I cried when the band took the stage. I cried during SAL. I consoled SV as SHE cried during YCAGWYW and I cried watching the video during JJF. A montage of clips of fans throughout the years. I saw myself in those faces. I realized that here I was, 38 years after my first show in 1975, at another Stones show without a care in the world. No worries. No stress. Just me, my Band and some very special friends. There is no price tag for that feeling. It's a blessing.

Sweet Virginia is a great partner in crime. Parmeda is a dear friend who I only get to see once every few years. I miss both of you already. Always great to see all RO'ers; but Martha and Maxmeister are extra special. Our time together was short but I know I'll see Martha again and Maxmeister and SV will be at the DC show to continue the fun. Great to meet monkeyman2, straycatuk and flairville. It used to feel strange but now I love to hear someone walk into a bar and ask "Is Lady Jane here?" Yep. Here I am.

I had voicemails from Voodoo and Moonie that I didn't even know about until I got to the airport yesterday. Sorry to have missed your calls, but once I got to the bar, I was not concentrating on my "granny phone".

So glad I've got a ticket for DC. Not ready for this to end yet!!!

One love!!!

The End

LadyJane wrote on Jun 2^nd, 2013 at 9:08am:



Beautiful story, thank you for sharing. 

Cheryl is ' eyeing ' Mick's Todger  :

Mick's women have come to his defense decrying Keith's book-sales tactics......

Great pics SV. Glad you guys had a good time in Chicago.

Thanks to FedStones and of course to those who uploaded them

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4U5QdDfO68
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRQFW79tlWs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Clmk7IcBjI

Ladies and Gentleman – The Greatest Rock n Roll Band in the World.
First of all let me state my bias, I believe all authors should state their bias up front. So I am a huge Stones fan, they are my “band”.  Stones  and not the Beatles. That said:

I hate the high ticket prices and leading up to Friday nights show I was lamenting how much I had to pay to get a good seat – they sure better be good.  “they must only be in it for the money…” "same old songs"

Well the show was amazing, there is and never will be a band anywhere close to this good. I am a huge Keef fan, but realize that Mick is the guy that puts this band way way over the top. Imagine this band playing these same songs with a lead singer just standing up there singing. Hello? Mick sells the whole show with the greatest of musicians behind him. I mean Charlie boom boom Watts on drums and Ronnie playing great. But kudos to Mick.

I remember watching American Idol with my ex wife (she pleaded with me to watch it, so I did) and the judges telling the singers not to move around too much because then they couldn’t sing as well when out of breath. These are f… 20 yr old kids told to take it easy for 1 or 2 songs!!!
Old bums rush Jagger here f… runs for over 2 hours and sings amazing.

So some very astute business people just convinced the Stones and rightly so that they are that much better than everyone else and why are they undercharging for their services. Now they may have overestimated the market by a little bit, but the United Center was sold out on Friday night. We Stones fans have been fortunate all these years that we have been underpaying for the Greatest Rock n Roll Band in the World and now they are getting the money that all free market entertainers and sports people earn and deserve.
It seems that by paying so much for a ticket makes sure that the Stones play to their potential.  If this is the price for this level of performance then it’s well worth it. Chicago was a 2 and ½ hour show!! By guys turning 70 this year.

I can hardly wait to dig into the retirement account again to see them one more time .. cause I sure hope it’s not “The Last Time”.