I was a on a bus to Vegas at 11:30am Saturday morning...got in at 5:30pm and headed straight to the venue. Before I knew it, I was watching another Rolling Stones concert. Then later, no less than an hour after the show ended, I was on the next bus out of Vegas to get back home. We left Vegas at 12:30am and I walked into my place at 6am this morning. Oh the things we do for the Stones!
It was a fine show. Even though it wasn't a set that was going to blow the roof off the joint, I am still mighty impressed with the level of playing here. I still can't fathom that "Emotional Rescue" is a permanent staple in the set every night. That's pretty unbelievable.
I got in with a friend who had an extra $85. After we got our tickets without any hub bub about wrist bands, I knew we didn't have Pit tickets. And we didn't. We looked in the envelope and we had Section 218. This was at 8pm on the dot...we even waited a little later because we kept hearing how better tickets became available closer to show time....but here we were...and we stillgot nosebleeds. Ths stuff is as random as it gets, folks!
We head up to our seats and they're so far into the corner it's almost BEHIND the stage. Absolutely no view of the screens but an ok view of the band (see video below). "You Got Me Rocking" went over pretty good. I actually dig this song a lot so I was very happy to hear it. Keith screwed up getting from his solo to the verses again and there was a mini traffic jam. It didn't faze Mick..he took control and just went into the verse. When Katy came out for Beast of Burden, I let out a huge audible SIGH. But like it or not...she actually nailed it. I have no patience for people going up there and hamming it up and doing the bare minimum to get their few seconds with the Stones but I actually saw a very well rehearsed and exciting performance from both Mick and Katy. And hey we got TWO Ronnie solos...lovely. No doubt I would've enjoyed Chuck Berry but alas.
Right when "Doom and Gloom" came up, I took that as an opportunity to see what I could do for an upgrade. I walked down to guest services and asked if they had anything at all better. The guy said "well, I dunno. Not really." He showed me the map and said he had some seats over here and there. He gave me one for section 11 or something, which I went to check out and they were lower floor seats at the end of the floor in the back. People were actually SITTING. WTF? Plus the vibe was all wrong...the lady I saw next to seemed to doubt I belonged there. How dare you sit amongst us who paid $600 for these tickets! Away with you, peasant! So I headed back to guest services saying that someone was in my seats. He said the only other ticket was Section 115. So I took it. Ended up being first row of that section right UP against the tongue Pit. The row was half filled and I realized that it was because one would have to really look OVER the tongue pit to see the stage. But I'm tall enough so I had no problem with this at all. In the end, I was VERY pleased.
It's quite a unique feeling to be a few feet away from the Stones. As Keith or Mick walked passed me, I felt that same exact feeling when I saw them back in 2002 at the Aragon Ballroom or when I was right in front of the B-stage that same year. When they walk by, I have to remind myself, "Oh holy shit...that's fucking Mick Jagger. That's fucking Keith Richards man! Right THERE." They looked almost
too real. It's such a weird feeling but I never feel that with any other artist that I see live. As Keith stood in front of me I had to remind myself that I wasn't watching a DVD or a clip on YouTube--this was real life. When we're that close to them I'm sure we all think to ourselves "oh Mick totally looked at me" or "Ronnie definitely saw me waving at him." And of course we all know it's our own mind believing that these things happened. They of course make everyone feel this way. It's a certain way about them. But for the record, Mick totally DID look at me and I'm pretty sure Ronnie did see me wave at him.!
As Keith strolled around the pit for his solo during "Sympathy" I greeted him with screams, yells and smiles and we locked in and he threw his pick at me. The pic went flying UNDER the rafters. I looked and looked all over the floor and there was nothing. The ushers all turned on their flashlights and looked...nada. The guy next to me also looked around and found nothing. I stepped off my row and literally went on the floor and searched on my hands and knees under the seats for it. I could not see a damn thing. Had it vanished? Apparently it did. After the show ended, the lights went up and I again returned to the floor using one of the ushers flashlights. I looked carefully at every inch of that floor. Beer cans, scraps of papers, dust and dirt but no pic. And then right there off to the middle was the white pick laying there. I reached for it, full arm inside and the pic was no more than 3 inches away from my finger tips. I reached and reached, almost popping something in my neck which was pressed HARD against the steel rafter. I used a beer bottle to pull the pic forward but nothing. The main usher was demanding I leave. He didn't care at all about the pic..he wanted me out. I run up asking a cleaning crew member if he could help. He said he'd try. He went all the way down, got on his knees and looked. I made my way down there and he said it was not here. One of the ushers looked over at me and he had the pick in his hand. I thanked him profusely. He was able to reach in there further than I could, he said. I was elated.
That was my night. It was a memorable one and even though I'm dead tired today....I'd do it again! Here are some shots I took!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoVRldELuuA&feature=youtu.be
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MGM, Las Vegas 11 May - Setlist, Pics and Reviews (Read 15,890 times)
