July 17, 2024: You Just Might Find You Get What You Need

Levi's Stadium
Santa Clara, CA

According to legend, the first time I got on a plane to attend a concert was when I flew to Detroit to see Journey for the first time. That's not exactly true. About four months before that memorable night, I was in Germany seeing the Rolling Stones. The key difference between those two trips is that the trip to Michigan was solely to see the newly reformed Journey while the trip to Germany was a vacation with my friend Ana Gloria to visit our friend Barbara and her husband Chris who were stationed there while he was in the US Army. When we planned the trip, Barbara let us know that she and Chris had tickets to see the Rolling Stones in Nuremberg one of the days we'd be visiting. We said if you can get us tickets we'll pay you back when we see you, if not it's not a big deal -- you go to the show and we'll do something on our own that night. They were able to get us a pair of tickets which cost about 50 Deutsche Marks (this was pre-Euro days) and we were set. So a few days after arriving in Europe and visiting Paris (thus missing Journey's debut with Steve Augeri) and Munich, my friends and I were on the road to Nuremberg to see the Stones. It was a memorable show filled with classic Stones hits and thus a legendary band was checked off my list of acts to see.

I was never a huge Stones fan. As a kid born in the late 1960s, the Stones were just that ubiquitous band that had been around forever. I vividly recall people shocked -- absoulutely shocked -- that they were still touring in the early 1980s. These guys were in their forties for crying out loud! Much too old to be carrying on as rock stars! Still, they're the Rolling Stones and a major influence on 20th century music, so of course I paid attention to their music. However, having seen them in 1998, I didn't feel a burning need to see them again in the subsequent years as they continued to tour. Usually whenever a local show was announced, I thought about it for a second then thought "well, I saw them in Germany, I don't really need to see them again."

Flash-forward more years than I want to admit, and my high school friends and I have gathered for our annual Christmas party. After a spending a day and dinner in San Francisco, we gathered back at my friend Isabelle's house for dessert and still more conversation. Somewhere along the line the conversation turns to music and Keith Richards' upcoming eightieth birthday. Now, Isabelle is a big fan of the Rolling Stones and an even bigger fan of Keith Richards and retrieves a painting she made of him back in high school. I instantly remember it from that time and we all laugh and reminisce about our teen-aged selves. We then marvel at the fact that Keith Richards is still alive at eighty and Barbara and I recount the tale of seeing the Stones in Germany.

Once home from the party, I start thinking. Isabelle has never seen the Stones. Mick and Keith are eighty -- there aren't going to be a whole lot of more opportunities to see them and they'll be in the Bay Area in July. Tickets had been on sale for a while, and I knew they'd be pricey but I took a look to see what a decent seat would cost. As I thought, they were expensive, but not more than what I'd be willing to spend to see one of my favorite acts, so on December 18 I texted Isabelle: "In honor of Keith Richards' 80th birthday I would like to treat you to one (1) ticket to the Rolling Stones in July." She delightedly agreed and off I went to grab two seats for the show.

The show date finally rolls around, and Isabelle and I head out for dinner in Mountain View before catching the light rail to Levi's Stadium. We run a little late at dinner, but I didn't expect it to be a problem as there was no way the show was going to start at the ticketed time of 7:00 -- it was still light out for crying out loud! We arrived at the stadium and it took a little longer to get through security than usual -- something in my bag set off the alarm -- but we eventually got inside. I'd forgotten exactly where I had gotten the seats. My brother and I have season tickets for the 49ers, so I knew where to sit and knew I'd gotten seats near to where our season tickets are, but wasn't exactly sure where. It turns out they were in the club section that I'd only been able to see when we toured the stadium prior to the opening season. So our seats were about the 50-yard line if it'd been a football game. I was also pleasantly surprised to find the seats were wider than our seats and had padding. Very comfortable.

When we arrived, the opening act was performing. While there hadn't been an opening act advertised, I wasn't surprised. It was an all-girl band called The Beaches and they were quite good. I did keep laughing to myself though thinking "they're young enough to be the Stones' grandchildren!" Isabelle and I half listened and half chatted through their set while we waited for the main act.

As darkness fell, the stage lit up. Here we go. The first thing we hear is the opening riff to "Start Me Up" because of course that's what you open with! Mick and the boys take the stage like only the Rolling Stones can and my first thought is "Yeah, they've still got it." They've been around longer than I've been alive, but they still have that ultra-cool swagger that screams "We're the Rolling f-in' Stones and you're not!" The crowd was up on its feet and unlike crowds at other shows with acts of this vintage (ahem, old) they stayed on their feet almost the entire night.

The second song of the set was "Get Off of My Cloud" and my heart swelled. Nearly twenty years ago my aunt Diane was dying from cancer and a nurse had asked her what her favorite music was and she replied "rock." This got a laugh from the family who were there at the time especially my uncle Tom. Diane's idea of "rock" was Anne Murray and the Carpenters! She was definitely an easy-listening type person. After her funeral, the family gathered back at my parents' house for what can best be described as an old-fashioned Irish wake (with cosmos instead of old-fashioneds!) Late in the evening, my uncle Tom went out to his car and brought in a CD and re-told the story of Diane telling the nurse she liked rock music. He then put the CD on and cued it up and said "I'm sure this is what Diane is listening to now." He hit play and "Get Off of My Cloud" came blaring out of the speakers. We all laughed and cried and danced. Tom died ten years later, so hearing this song brought back happy and sad memories of them both.

As the set rolled along through classic hits, new tunes, and fan-favorites, I found myself watching Isabelle as much as the show. She was clearly really enjoying herself. She's had a rough few years and I was so happy to see her having so much fun. About half-way through the show, Mick went off stage for a bit of a break and Keith took over and sung a few tunes I didn't know. Isabelle loved it.

Throughout the show, I was amazed at just how much energy they had. Mick and Keith are eighty. Ron Woods is seventy-eight. They were going full-bore the whole show -- and this was the second to last show of the tour. Sure, they're doing stadium shows that pull in huge audiences and have multiple days off between shows which I'm sure helps them keep going full bore on show nights, but I kept thinking about how so many of my favorite performers are in their 70s and 80s and could only come to one conclusion -- music keeps you young.

A few highlights of the show for me included a cover of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" (well, duh), "Sympathy for the Devil", and an amazing version of "Gimme Shelter." That last tune had one of the backing singers come front and center to sing a duet with Mick and all I kept thinking was "my god, she's channeling Tina Turner!" Turns out, she had been starring in the London version of the Tina Turner musical before joining the tour. She was absolutely fantastic!

The show closed out with "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" which was absolutely perfect. As I stood there and sang along I couldn't help but think about how glad I was that I had gone to see the Stones one more time. They're perhaps the greatest rock band of all time and can still bring it 60-plus years on.

Set list:

Start Me Up
Get Off of My Cloud
Tumbling Dice
Angry
Far Away Eyes
Like a Rolling Stone
Bite My Head Off
Mess It Up
You Can't Always Get What You Want
You Got the Silver (Keith Richards on vocals)
Little T&A (Keith Richards on vocals)
Before They Make Me Run Keith Richards on vocals)

Sympathy for the Devil
Honky Tonk Women
Midnight Rambler
Gimme Shelter
Paint It Black
Jumpin' Jack Flash

Encore:
Sweet Sounds of Heaven
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction