Just got back. My ears are ringing. I don't think I've ever been to a Stones show as loud as this one was. By the end of the show, Keith's guitar was all you heard. "Jumpin Jack Flash" shook the entire building. Keith seems to be getting stronger on each show.
So we had a pair of $85 tickets. My buddy and I got there around 7:30pm or so...we found the area for where we had to pick up our tickets and we got in line. There was hardly a line, actually. Just a small group of people here and there. Anyway, my buddy and I are waiting in line, and there is a couple in front of us waiting for the next usher to assist them. An usher waves her hand saying "Next!" so I begin to head towards her. I realized the couple in front of me were waiting as well so I tapped the woman on the shoulder and said "That woman is available for you." They head over to the usher to get their tickets. I turn over to my buddy and say: "Just watch...they get Pit tickets." We both laugh. Another agent becomes available so I approach with my ID. He checks my name off the list and hands me an envelope. As I step to the side to begin to head in, I take a look inside: Section 440. The nosebleeds. Before heading inside, I look behind me and I spot the couple that I had let go ahead of me just a few seconds ago. They were still at the desk: GETTING WRISTBANDS PUT ON! They had gotten pit tickets. Had I just went ahead to that very same ticket agent instead of letting them go ahead of me...that would've been US getting pit tickets. I was speechless.
We head inside and go up to our seats. These are true blue nosebleeds. I told my friend that I was planning an upgrade plan a few songs into the set. About 4 songs in...I saw the craziest thing. The couple next to us was being called out by the usher. The usher was pointing at random people and asking them to come forward. The couple approached the usher and handed them their tickets, next thing i Knew, they were being escorted down the stairs. On the way down, I heard the dude say to his girlfriend: "We're getting floor seats!" The ushers were randomly picking people out of the nosebleeds and literally handing them floor seats. I decided it was my turn. At that moment, John Mayer was coming up to play on "Champagne and Reefer" I thought this was the prime opportunity to head to guest services for an upgrade. We walked all the way down to the main lobby and made our way to guest services. Once there, I told the lady behind the counter that we were really having trouble with our seats...the sound was awful and really not a pleasant experience..."was there anything else available?" Her answer was confident and firm no. She said the $85 seats weren't upgradable. And all the floor seats that the usher in my section was handing out just a few minutes ago were "all gone." This lady shot me down at every turn. She apologized saying that there was nothing she could do. We were defeated. On our way back to our seats, I caught another usher so I told him the situation and he said to check out the box office--they might have something available. We walked over there: the lights are off and they were closed. We were losing here...big time. A few more steps and I ran into another usher with a walkie talkie, I told her the situation that our seats were pretty rough and that we'd totally appreicate anything that could be done...the next thing she does is radio her supervisor. A few seconds later, another man with a jacket, and ear piece on comes towards us and was briefed on our situation. "Do you have any upgrades?" she asked him. He pulled a stack of tickets from his breast pocket. And handed us section 221, Row A...the first section right in front of the tongue pit---first row. WE SCORED!!
As we head inside, we were practically jumping up and down as we headed to our seats. There we were, heading lower and lower into the bowl. We were ecstatic. I have never heard Keith's guitar as loud as it was this evening. He was his old self again. Gone was the walking zombie from the ABB tour. Back was the driven and focused guy we used to remember. My buddy with me, is a professional drummer so it was a thrill for him to be able to study Charlie from where we were sitting. He was mighty impressed and just blown away by the band. It was his first Stones show ever and he honestly couldn't get enough. "Midnight Rambler" had a few rough patches, issues with the transitions and Charlie jumped the gun a little bit at the end when the tempo picks up. He goes ahead without Keith and a small traffic jam occurs.
"Rocks Off" was played very well as was "Waiting on a Friend"...both tour debuts tonight. The rest of the show was business as usual but still was riveting to watch because of the high level of playing by the members. Truly a great time to catch them on tour. Our night started a little rocky with awful seats and seeing our tongue pit tickets literally slipping from our fingers but everything ended well in our upgraded seats.
Once again, some pics/video I took:
JJF
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9YifpJPQUI&feature=youtu.be
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Anaheim setlist (Read 12,610 times)
