Rolling Stones Concert -- HP Pavilion, San Jose, CA 05-08-13
Rolling Stones Concert
HP
Pavilion, San Jose, California
May 8,
2013
This was my second Rolling Stones concert. The first was in November of 2005 at SBC Park
in San Francisco, part of the Stones Bigger Bang tour. I would rate them as two of the best concerts
of my life. The Stones really know how
to put on a show. They have this down
and it just feels like a class act from beginning to end.
They're definitely older than they used to be (but who
isn't?), but they can still keep a full house enthralled for two solid hours
without a break. The show lasted about
two hours and fifteen minutes without an intermission and it was the same in
the 2005 concert at SBC Park. That's
something I like about them. I hate
intermissions. The Stones just keep the
momentum going nonstop. The HP Pavilion
seats 17,496, and they were probably close to capacity. About a quarter of the seats in the
auditorium behind the stage were purposely left vacant, but they made up for it
with seating and standing room on the main floor. I didn't see any vacant seats.
I had some good fortune in getting these tickets. I had heard about the upcoming concert
probably on the radio. I checked into
getting tickets and somehow found out that the day they were to go on sale
there would be about 1000 tickets available at a drastically reduced price of
$85. A friend who wanted to go urged me
to try for them, so when they went on sale on a Monday morning I went online at
that time and managed to score two tickets at $85. I believe the next highest price was about
double that.
So I had the tickets, but they were will-call tickets. They would not send them out. They didn't want any scalping of these low
priced tickets. We had no idea where we
were sitting. I figured it would be some
sort of standing room, but it was actually a seat after all. On morning of the concert I received the
following message from them:
TICKET PICK-UP INSTRUCTIONS
Pick-up your tickets at the check-in table located
at N. Autumn St. (under stairwell) adjacent to the South Ticket Window.
The line forms starting at 6:15pm - do not
arrive early. Seating locations are pulled at random. Doors open at 6:45pm.
We will be using strict anti-scalper measures to
ensure that these $85 tickets go to Stones fans and don't end up on the resale
market with wildly inflated prices. We appreciate your attention to the
following, so that you have the best experience possible:
- Your picture ID, confirmation number, and the
credit card used to make the purchase are required for pick-up. You will
not be permitted to pick up your tickets without these three (3) items.
- You must pick up your tickets in person, along
with your guest.
- Once you have the tickets in hand, you will be
escorted into the arena. There will not be an opportunity to leave with
your tickets before going into the show.
- If we suspect any reselling or transfer of
these tickets they will be immediately voided and you will not be entitled
to any refund.
The concert was scheduled for 8pm, but it actually started
around 9. There was no warm up
band. Keith Richards seemed to be having
a good time. He was smiling and really
seemed to be enjoying being out there performing. Mick's voice is still strong. He still struts and prances the whole time,
but he doesn't run as much as he did
the previous time I saw him. He and
Keith will both turn 70 this year. They
all look thin and wiry. There is no
obesity epidemic with them. They keep
themselves in pretty good shape. Their
sound is still strong and vibrant, although I felt it did not have quite the
same riveting energy and raw power that it did in their earlier years. But then, how many of you have the same
energy and vigor that you had in your twenties and thirties? But let's leave off with how old they
are. Let's just consider them on the
merits.
This concert was fabulous.
It was a greatest hits parade from beginning to end. I'll list the set, but admit at the outset
that it is incomplete, but most of it is here.
They opened with
Get off
of My Cloud followed by
Gimme
Shelter featuring Lisa Fisher, who also sang backup throughout
Paint
It Black was a very poignant choice, I thought
John Fogerty was brought out to share the lead on It's All Over Now, which I would judge
one of the highlights of the evening
Bonnie Raitt sang Let
It Bleed with Mick, which worked very well.
Keith did Before They
Make Me Run, and Happy
Midnight
Rambler, Jumpin Jack Flash,
and Brown Sugar were probably my
merit badge choices for the evening, but everything was good.
They also did Bitch,
Miss You, Start Me Up, Sympathy for the Devil, Emotional Rescue, Honky Tonk
Woman, and they brought out a chorus for You Can't Always Get What You Want.
They closed with Satisfaction,
with Mick Taylor making an appearance on guitar, as well as on several other
numbers.
I am sure there are a couple of other songs that I have left
out. I didn't keep strict track as I
went along. I especially enjoyed the
local guests they brought in to share in a few of the numbers. John Fogerty stands out in my mind. It was a totally satisfying
presentation. The Stones are consummate
performers. The music is great as it has
always been, and they went full bore all the way to the end. Hard not to like a concert like that.