You Can’t Always Get What You Want…

Luckily we did and bypassed this obscene scene!

Sixty…

Five…

Dollars…

for…

PARKING

!!!

WTHolyF???

‘Cause I Just Can’t Seem to Drink Y…

Yeah no, I can drink. We can drink. And boy did we get lucky (understatement!!) when we found 3 empty seats at the bar of a nice little place nearby that I’d love to mention but can’t for the life of me remember the name of. We had some lovely plates (the pork belly in kimchi sauce was surprisingly OMG good!) and cocktails (Gin! Some peachy thing masquerading as a raspberry thing) for what probably would be the price of a hot dog and coke inside the stadium.

To the Edge of This-uh World…

Getting in was a piece of cake since we didn’t use the entrances that the “herd” was lined up at. I was a little miffed because I had gone to great lengths to do the non-purse purse deal, spreading neccesities throughout my pockets and tucking phones into my waistband, etc. obeying the “no bags except clear bags” rule of the stadium, but lo and behold, all these women were getting in with their REAL albeit small purses. Note: My coolie leather covered in fringe jacket that I brought has ZERO storage capability. No pockets. None. Not even a clever little something inside. Nothing.

We start the hike up the ramps to the 300 level. Pretty sure this is a mile hike. All I know is my phone app told me I walked 4.4 miles that evening, and the bar was only a couple blocks away so… do the math. Unless the app calculates dancing as miles… nah, the number would have been much much higher 😀

The Stones were so kind to take a photo of us from the stage.

Bust another bottle, yeah…

Nate & I wandered around and discovered that a) there was no line at the women’s restroom near our section (woohoo!), b) that “at the request of the artist”, when you buy a bottle of coke, water, etc., they remove the lid before they give it to you. Apparently it’s a thing to throw bottle caps??? Note to self: Smuggle in bottle caps next time. c) t-shirts started at $45

Once upon a time you dressed so fine…

Oh come on! It’s hard to keep the headers in theme with Stones lyrics. Cut me some slack. We passed on the t-shirts. I made my tank top earlier that day. Yes, I took my first bathroom selfie in the public restroom at a Stones concert.

I wanna talk to the boss right away…

As we made our way back to our seats, the opening band was playing. I said they sounded kind of like Bruce Springsteen. “Watch, it really is Bruce and here we are wandering around the concession area!” Thankfully, that was not the case. There is a different opening band for each city. For Seattle, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real played. Yes, that’s Nelson as in Willie Nelson’s son.

Ti-i-i-ime Is On My Side…

A single note emanates from a guitar and cheering erupts while people make their way to their seats.

We wait some more.

I believe they are waiting for the sun to go down completely so it’s dark. Just like with fireworks, they will light up the stage.

But for now we keep waiting.

Jumpin’ Jack FLASHBACK!!!

Back in 2006, the Stones played Seattle and it was October. Read cold as shit and in an open air stadium. I liked the Stones well enough but they took forEVER to start and I was so cold I was ready to pay an exorbitant amount for a blanket at the concession stand or go home before the bloody show started.

And then they took the stage… and I’ll swear on a stack of albums that the temperature in that place rose a good 20 degrees. I wasn’t the slightest bit chilly the rest of the night. And that night? I swore I would never miss a Stones concert after that.

Ok, back to not freezing weather (Yay August, the only guaranteed sunny month in Seattle!) and waiting…

Ladies & Gentlemen… The Rolling Stones!!!

Yep, you could feel the temp go up. The show begins! Oh and btw, that voice? It’s Matt Clifford, who is also on keyboards, percussion and French horn. (I was curious if they had a guy that *just* did the announcement so I looked it up.)

I’ve been around for a long, long year…

Let me just pause here for a moment. Mick is now 76. I feel like I’m 150 watching him. Look at him in the photo right before this.  I mean seriously, how the hell does he move like that?? And for 2 hours??? Like I said, I saw them when they came here in 2006, thirteen years ago, and somehow he’s in better shape now than he was then, and I marveled at his ability to prance across a football field over and over again back then. Even Keith seemed younger, but we all know that Keith is going to outlive us all.

Ok, back to photos…

We came to rock for everybody like this…

When they all came down to the middle stage I felt like I was witness to an intimate show back in the British Invasion days.

Which is quite a feat seeing as this is NOT so intimate, no not at all.

Pleased to meet you… I hope you get my name…

My fav fav fav!!!

Also, I was rocking out to this, my whole body was moving EXCEPT my hands which were holding my phone. You’re welcome.

You better stop, look around…

Selfie with Mick! I swear he’s there in that bright spotlight.

I just want to make sure you saw the last 3 pics. The ones where Mick is back to back with Sasha and ends up BENDING OVER BACKWARDS! You saw it? Ok. Continue…

76.

Seventy freaking six.

Hoo hooo… Hoo hooo…

I want to see it painted, painted black…

Here comes a Warhol moment!

It’s just a kiss away…

Mick’s infamous lips.

Give it all you got…

Loved watching Mick and Sasha Allen (backing vocals) interact. Looks like they were having a blast! And Sasha darling, I LOVE that jacket!! The camera doesn’t do it justice but it’s all fringey in the most gorgeous way.

I’ll be back next season with a bang…

Fireworks to signal the end are nothing compared to what just lit up the stage for 2 hours!

I’m packing up my bags I’m gonna leave this town right away…

Orange vests swoop in to take it all apart, pack it up and head on to the next stop. Hat tip to the roadies.

Thank you guys for an AMAZING concert!!!

And if they are coming to your town and you don’t have tickets, go buy one. It’ll be in the nosebleed section for almost face value (unless you want to spend $2k and stand in the pit, it’s up to you) and you’ll thank me. No really, you will. If you’ve seen them, I wanna know! Leave a comment!

The Rolling Stones

Additional musicians