Tonight's Junip show was the second of two nights at the Troubadour. Kind of a nice mellow evening, which is sort of to be expected given the tunage. Band didn't seem super tight or together and struggled to improvise.
I found myself hoping for a bit more, but still enjoyed it.
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Side note: The sound was bad at the Troubadour. I haven't figured out if its just the engineer who's ears are bad or if he just never walks around in the crowd after setting the levels. I have NEVER heard good sound there...
If ever there was a concert miracle I had one tonight at the Rolling Stones at the Honda Center. A crew of people I went with all went in on the $85 dollar ticket raffle the Stones are running. Essentially they place pairs of two randomly throughout the stadium from the nosebleeds to the tongue pit. Our group ended up in the nose bleeds in two separate sections. In an attempt to all stay together we tried to discuss with the ushers a way to get "upgraded." In the last hour before the show we heard that there was someone near our section handing out tickets. By the time we got there they had finished handing them out, HOWEVER, one of our crew happened to see someone she knew, AND THEY HOOKED US UP!!! We ended up just off the floor about 30 feet from the edge of the tongue pit. I can not sufficiently explain how excited I was to see the band. The phrase perma-grin comes to mind.
The Rolling Stones
As my regular readers know I have a list of the bands to see before they die. A sort of bucket list for bands as it were. Recently, I became a bit alarmed that the Stones were celebrating their "50 and counting tour" and decided it was finally time to see them. While enjoying the show, it occurred to me that a child conceived at the concert would be at retirement age able to claim an association with a band that was founded 120 years before.
That said, Mick Jagger was prancing around the stage like an anorexic teenager. If it weren't for the advantage of being close enough to see wrinkles you would have thought you were watching a show from 40 years ago. Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts were a bit less animated, but they still have their musical chops.
Mick Jagger
One of my all time favorite Stones albums is "Let it Bleed," and I think they must have gotten my note, because they played over half the songs from it! In truth, I suspect it was just because Mick Taylor was guesting with them!
Mick Taylor With the Current Rolling Stones Lineup
Didn't seem Taylor and Wood had any animosity or rivalry on stage. They were just on big happy band rocking out and getting mad bank from the ticket sales. "Honky Tonk Women" and "Midnight Rambler" were pulled off without a hitch. "You Got the Silver" was pretty solid but Wood had a bit of an issue on the slide parts.
"Gimmie Shelter" was the female back up singer's chance to shine, prancing around on stage singing with Mick only to be stuck in the backup singer spot the rest of the night. The USC Thornton Chamber Choir shared the stage for "You Can't Always Get What You Want" as well as a surprise French horn player for the intro.
The Rolling Stones
Usually when I bring a camera to the show, the lighting is crap I have to push the ISO way too high and the photos come out dark and grainy. This was not the case. In addition to the elaborate (and mysteriously disappearing) lips from the beginning of the show and the tongue pit, the stage was awash with rapidly changing colors and spotlights. So while my photos were not taken right at the stage, they are some of the better looking ones I have shot in a while.
Dave Grohl wth The Rolling Stones
So far every show they have done has had a local guest. For us it was Dave Grohl! He sang a verse and played guitar on "Bitch." At this time I should mention that my concert neighbors not recognizing one of the most famous musicians from two pivotal bands of the grunge generation, leaned over to ask who it was. I started chatting with them in the gap before the next song and discovered they had bought $40 counterfeit tix, then bought "cheap" nosebleed seats at the door and by some miracle got upgraded. I wish I had taken a photo of the counterfeit tix. They were way off from the original coloring. Considering it's a Ticketmaster event you think they would have tried harder at the duping. In any case, I was blown away by the fact that they spent the entire night SITTING with people standing all around them. What's the point of getting upgraded if you aren't going to watch the show???
The band played so many famous songs it's probably best just to look at a set list. Songs that really stuck in my head are "Wild Horses," "Friend of the Devil" (probably for the crazy poofy jacket Mick wore), and "Paint it Black."
Mick Jagger
All in all a fantastic show. Amazing music, amazing visuals, and an amazing performance even with their getting on in years (unlike Dylan). With that I will leave you with a few more great photos from the show!
