I met the Rolling Stones in Austin last night!
Date: October 24, 2006 00:36
At 6pm yesterday I met Mick, Keith, Ronnie, and Charlie backstage before their concert in Austin. There were 2 meet and greets, one for Radio Shack VIP and one for record label/radio stations/contest winners. I fell in the latter category. They took us by rented van to the backstage area where we waited for about 45 minutes and snacked on pretzels, candy, wine, and beer. Deciding to make use of their bathroom facilities, instead of encountering port-o-potties I found a posh trailer with Kohler sinks and a toilet so fancy it needed a manual to flush. And this wasn't even their restrooms.
Once back inside the tent, we were instructed there would be no autographs or personal photos allowed. They have a professional photographer that would be taking our pictures and emailing it in a couple of weeks. They split us up into groups of 10 and lined us up against a sheet with the tour logo and Radio Shack emblem.
The band entered the Radio Shack tent first and you could hear that group of 20 people applaud loudly but couldn't see anything. After shaking hands and posing for photos it was our turn. Our guide told us we needed to be louder than the last group so when they walked through the curtain we let loose. My first thought was "holy shit, its the Rolling Stones." I've seen them in concert 7 times before, listened to countless DVDs, CDs, etc but it doesn't compare to seeing them face to face. Its sort of like Mount Rushmore coming alive and the 4 legends walking right in front of you.
Mick looked amazing up close, he had on a long lavender shirt and a huge smile on his face. Just stunning to see up close. He shook each person's hand and said a quick 'how you doin?'. When it came to my turn all I could muster was 'you're the greatest.' Slightly cheesy sounding but what else can you say about Mick Jagger?
Ron was immediately after him and looked just like he usually does. I've met Ian McLagan several times as he lives here in Austin and plays a regular happy hour gig so this was like meeting his more-famous brother in a way. All I had time for was "thanks for coming to Austin."
Then came the real "holy shit" moment. Keith Richards is shaking my brother's hand and I'm next. He looks like a movie star up close, like the Jack Nicholson of Rock. Nobody looks more cool than Keith Richards, Johhny Cash notwithstanding. I shake his hand and say something like 'thanks for coming to Austin' but was just in awe. My mind started thinking about everything he and Mick have accomplished and all the amazing guitar licks he created. The lick in Satisfaction alone is enough to establish him as a legend, not to mention Honky Tonk Women, JJ Flash, Brown Sugar, Tumbling Dice, and on and on. It was a major moment.
Once Keith shook my hand, I was immediately forgotten though. He noticed this stunning blonde standing next to me and said "I have to meet this blonde." Then he did just that and gave her a big hug. Yep, it was Keith Richards all right. I hope he outlives us all.
Finally, we noticed that Charlie was on the other side of us but we didn't get to meet him at first. We extended our arms and shook his hand and blathered something short. He seemed very polite but a bit shy or reserved. The band then stood in front of us and posed for the photo. Mick did a cool rock star pose and it was done.
We then saw them meet the other group of ten people and pose for their photo, which looked great from our view point. It was all very surreal and fast, lasting about 2 minutes total, but like someone said, 'the best 2 minutes of your life.' My brother and I were very lucky to meet them, I thought about the thousands and thousands of fans that would die for that chance.
Then they were gone and we applauded once again. The show itself was truly awesome and we were told ahead of time they would be filming it for DVD release. Mick mentioned it as well. We got 21 songs, 3 covers, 2 world premieres, and 2 hours of the World's Greatest Rock n Roll Band. Meeting them was the icing before the cake, something that will be impossible to ever top.
Thanks for reading,
Tom