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| My floor level view of the Hackney Diamonds stage Seattle WA, Lumen Field, May 15, 2024 |
I finally got to see The Rolling Stones after two previous attempts where the concerts were cancelled. Last week was such a blast! Our dear friend, Ken Forman cooked up the idea some months back as he and his wife Vicki have a daughter and family that live in Seattle. My wife, Mary Kit has three children that also live within the Seattle region and every now and then we make it a point to get together with the Forman's up in the great Pacific Northwest. We all see our kids, grandkids and then get together for an event in our homes away from home.
Ken was a dog with a bone on this one. First, the Stones advanced ticket sales AARP sponsored website crashed (how appropriate) when all the old fart baby boomers were trying to get primo seats at the same 10:00 am "Start Me Up" time! Never the less, Ken was undeterred and secured four tickets the next day on another "pay the equivalent of your first born" ticket service.
The four of us arrived at Lumen Field (home of the Seattle Seahawks) after a wonderful Mexican food dinner. I also have to give a big shout out to my son-in-law, Spencer who gave me great directions to a great parking lot he uses just a few blocks from the stadium with immediate freeway access!
The concert was such a blast and all four us loved every minute of it! Mick Jagger at 80 years young is still hopping around the stage like he's in his 30's. As for the average 60+ year old fan base, I could see more than a few hobbling just to get to their seats, and then relive their 20's and 30's and stand like everybody else for the entire two hour show. I'll admit, I had to sit down several times to give my old feet a breather.
Now for the playlist this week. I've used the Hackney Diamonds tours setlist from the May 15th show we attended. The first video is my handheld iPhone shot of Start Me Up, and then I've got an eclectic choice of YouTube videos celebrating these enduring songs from the everlasting Rolling Stones!
I was thinking I would never see this, and by God here I am, watching The Rolling Stones live in Seattle. When they started their last song of the evening, (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, I thought back to the ten year old boy in 1965 listening to that song come on his Sony transistor radio for the first time. I still remember that moment so clearly, sitting on my front yard lawn almost 60 years ago, thinking, "What a wonderful song this is, who are these guys? Rock 'n' roll baby, it gets in your blood.
So here I am, following my one true religion, together with friends and strangers, all of us celebrating life in the three-cord church of electric music. Long live The Rolling Stones! Thank you Kenny for this moment and this night, I love you buddy.
Enjoy the playlist my friends.