For some reason, I was looking at the tour dates for the 1989 tour and saw no gigs in Chicago. East Troy hosted 3 or 4, but that's over an hour away from Chicago. Also, no gigs in the Denver area. Odd that Chicago got left out.
Of course it all comes down to logistics and stadium availibility, but still odd.
Kind of like missing NYC in 1978, save for one small theater date.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-01-03 12:10 by bv.

They treated the Alpine Valley shows like Chi. shows much to to chagrin of the rest of us

Was fine by me I saw 2/3 Alpine shows. I think it may have been the smallest venue they played during that tour except for Toads Place surprise show. First shows in Wisconsin since 1975.



Living Colour opened for them but not very memorable as I was just happy to have The Rolling Stones back. I had great seats for both those shows I saw but got caught trying to get my camera in both nights.
Alpine Valley is up for sale if any of you are rich and interested. The amphitheater and its 198-acre property are on the market for $8.4 million.
It also is where we lost Stevie Ray Vaughan and four others were killed in a helicopter crash following a performance on Aug. 27, 1990.

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roryg
They treated the Alpine Valley shows like Chi. shows much to to chagrin of the rest of us

How well I remember! LOL

Is there a general consensus on which Alpine Valley show in '89 was the standout performance?

Went to all three and would say Night One was the best, band still full of nervous energy while feeling out the stage. By Sat. they had the swagger but also a bit slicker.

My first Stones show

How did they shoehorn the enormous Steel Wheels stage into the Alpine Valley setup? Or did they even try?

Any photos showing the stage configuration from these shows?

Alpine valley holds quite a few people when full. Saw all three stones shows there. One of the problems with the venue is the parking. It can take hours to get out. I have not been there for many years but for the Stones and the Who in
The 80's the venue seemed to be way over sold. The restroom facilities were
Shocking. The number that sticks out in my mind for the Who attendance was 40,000.

Saw the Who in july and the Stones on Friday September 8 and Monday the 11th. WAY OVER SOLD. Saw a woman almost crushed because all the aisles disappeared. Had 13th row for the first show and it was my first Stones concert so I thought it was the best. Jagger wore a jean jacket with the "steel wheels tongue" on the back. On Monday he came on with the long gold jacket. The first night the stage was half built. On Monday they added makeshift runners going up the side. Never forget it. Midnight Rambler was the highlight both nights IMO.

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swimtothemoon
Alpine valley holds quite a few people when full. Saw all three stones shows there. One of the problems with the venue is the parking. It can take hours to get out. I have not been there for many years but for the Stones and the Who in
The 80's the venue seemed to be way over sold. The restroom facilities were
Shocking. The number that sticks out in my mind for the Who attendance was 40,000.

That's why I don't like going to shows there. One way in and one way out and no real parking lot just an area that turns to mud when it rains, which I think it did for the last night there. The parking area has no real lighting so finding your car is difficult in the dark and the fog in your head from partying. Also the hill which holds the majority of the people there that don't get reserved seats ( 7,500 seat pavilion) gets muddy as well. I recall mud-clump / sod fights going on at some shows. Other than that not a bad place to see a show lol.

Here is Rolling Stone magazines take as they listed it #6 Best Amphitheaters in America:

#6
Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, Wisconsin




Jam bands have flocked to this sprawling outdoor space, just outside Milwaukee, ever since the Grateful Dead started playing here in the Eighties. (Deadheads loved Alpine Valley, in part due to the site's generous camping arrangements.) And not just jam bands in the strict sense of the words: In 2011, this is where Pearl Jam chose to celebrate their 20th anniversary with a two-day blow-out. Andy Cirzan, vice president of concerts for Chicago's Jam Productions, still has fond memories of a Rage Against the Machine show that "turned 35,000 fans into a surging, amoeba-like entity that moved and grooved in flowing waves like nothing I had ever seen before."

Capacity: 35,600

Website: [www.livenation.com]

Fun Fact: Alpine Valley had to make serious structural repairs after the summer of 1989, when the grounds turned into what one local critic called "a muck-filled slip 'n' slide" that actually trapped fans overnight in their cars.

BTW, why is this thread listed as OT??

plexi

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timbernardis
BTW, why is this thread listed as OT??

plexi

I thought it was because it was about the band Chicago, on being on any of the Steel Wheels dates.

I thought, 'who cares?'

We looked for tickets for a Chicago area concert that year but my friend from Chicago said there were no shows but did find tix for Indianapolis so we drove the 1.300 miles one way from Montana. This, after car trouble in Chicago nearly aborted our trip. Were it not for the kindness of my friend who loaned us his car we might have missed them.

There were two shows, one of them being on the 20th anniversary of Altamont. Great shows.

plexi

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timbernardis
BTW, why is this thread listed as OT??

plexi

I posted it that way because if it doesn't please the powers that be, it gets dumped. Happened to me before, but it is BV's call.

My friends and I drove from Detroit to Alpine Valley for two Stones shows. We camped out at a great campsite not too far from there. Was raining a lot, but we had a blast. Large fires during the day, lots of smoking and drinking. I remember being so excited for my first Stones show since 1981! And we had fantastic seats and the sound was loud and in your face. One Hit to the Body left my ears rumbling. A big highlight was Ruby Tuesday and Play with Fire. I remember being so stoked they were pulling out so many rarities and truly classic songs like 2000 Light Years. Fantastic show that a lot of the live recordings from that tour go no where near accurately portraying how good they sounded live at those two Alpine shows I saw.

Both shows I saw there were really good musically. Keith was in very good form having just finished up playing with the Winos. I thought it was cool on the Sat show they played One Hit to the Body. Big guitar sound! The band had good energy and it was fantastic to see them after so many years away from touring. The downer was the aforementioned parking clusterf@&%, and the drive hour plus drive from Chicago. Matt Clifford keyboard sound was a bit thin to my ears. I have always rated the Steel Wheels tour fairly high over the years. After the Stones concerts there I only returned to Alpine Valley once to see EC and Robert Cray.

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withaheadfullofsnow
My first Stones show

Me too, so the whole show was rarities.

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rocker1
How did they shoehorn the enormous Steel Wheels stage into the Alpine Valley setup? Or did they even try?

Any photos showing the stage configuration from these shows?

They were only able to plug in parts of it. It looked like a bit of a jumble but it brought Mick and Keith out to close to us as they have part of the walkways. We didn't understand we were seeing the stage out-of-context at Alpine Valley until we saw it in its massive entirety at Busch Stadium in St. Louis the next week.

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mighty stork
Fun Fact: Alpine Valley had to make serious structural repairs after the summer of 1989, when the grounds turned into what one local critic called "a muck-filled slip 'n' slide" that actually trapped fans overnight in their cars.

I'm not sure how much fun that was. At least the part where we tried to crawl out of there. What those pictures don't show is the slope that travels down to the stage area, And you had to go back up it after the show. Slippy Slippy Slip, indeed. Some places in the area reported receiving 8-10" of rain in the previous couple of days.

The other thing to me at Alpine Valley was the sound system. Never better. Just phenomenal. They sounded great.