February 23, 2006
Day 148
The Rolling Stones happened to be in Buenos Aires this week. I'm not really a fan, so I wasn't going to go. However, Jenny, an English girl at my hostel, had some extra tickets and convinced me that it might be my last chance to see them. They may be old, but they are one of the greatest bands of all time, after all.
I went with Jenny and Shaun, also from England, to the stadium late this afternoon. It had been raining all day and didn't show any signs of letting up, but at least it was cool. When the Stones played two nights ago, it was almost 90, but today, it was in the low 70's.
We got situated on the soccer field where the concert would take place a few minutes before the first band began playing. The first band was nothing special, but the next band was really good, even though I didn't know any of their songs. The Argentines really liked them, though, and soon the stadium was filled with 70,000 screaming fans. It started pouring, but most people didn't seem to care.
By the time the Rolling Stones came out, the crowd had been thoroughly warmed up. Everyone was jumping around and cheering for a bunch of sixty-year-olds. Despite being so old, they still put on a good show, and Mick Jagger can still move pretty good. I got soaked, but it was still a lot of fun.
The first "last chance to see the Stones" I can remember was around 1981 when I was in college. Here is some guy's blog where he rips on the Stones. He has a pretty funny photo comparing Keith Richards to the mummy of Ramses.
http://www.nwlink.com/~timelvis/2005/05/rolling-stones-are-gathering-moss.html
"I used to love 'em, but it's all over now"
Funny stuff. I think these guys will keep touring until they're dead, but I bet they don't mind the old jokes as long as the money keeps rolling in. I read in the paper yesterday that they have grossed something like $167 million on their current tour so far.