Joe took us to an excellent dinner of filet mignon at the steak house at Harrah's and from there we headed to the Who gig. We had 12th row center seats, which were great, and since the crowd sat down for most of the show (imagine that), we could see fairly well. The Who played a set mixed with new stuff & old hits, and it was a rocking show (this my first time seeing them without John Entwistle), but as much as we enjoyed their set, we came out knowing that they weren't as good as the Stones!
On Stones show day we did some shopping, had a nice lunch, again treated by Joe. We went to the MGM early & waited in line to get the event shirt before it sold out. We chatted with some fellow fans and checked out the Stones art show in the lobby area. After that, we got a 25 ounce mango margarita and sat down to do some people watching before getting in line to enter the MGM Grand. All of the sudden my phone rang, and Bill was calling me to find out where I was. We immediately jumped in line and headed to the backstage area to meet him.
We ran into Blondie first & said hello and then goodbye, since we didn't think we'd see him in Atlantic City on the 17th. Blondie was in a good mood and gave E & I big hugs. We then saw Tim Ries and had a small chat with him before seeing Bill. Bill told me that I might be able to get my photo with Keith after the boys were done playing snooker. That was exciting to hear, since I'd been waiting for the correct opportunity since Boston back on September 20. We headed inside the RS Inn and grabbed some food & Becks beer. We saw lots of folks we knew like June, Gary, Nate, Angie, Allie & Rick. Later after we secured a couple of chairs at a table with Tim, Joe joined us. The place was packed. They had a regular bar in addition to beer & wine this time. We had more filet mignon and then lobster tail-yummy.
At one point I went out to go to the loo and couldn't because the band was coming by for the Meet N' Greet. We had found out earlier in the day that sadly Mick's Father had passed away today, and everyone was worried that Mick wouldn't be able to go on with the show. He put on a brave face, and when the band passed he said "hi" to those who were in the hallway, no evidence that anything was wrong. We were asked not to discuss it with anyone and if anyone asked about Mick's Dad to simply say "no comment". A really cool fan named Dawn got into the Meet N' Greet and got a great photo with the band.
Later on, when my phone had not yet rang, I was beginning to doubt that I'd ever get that photo op with Keith. Finally the RS Inn was closing and we were being asked to go to our seats, so I made a last ditch effort to call Bill and surprisingly he asked where I was and quickly came to meet me. Within seconds I was at the doorway and whisked behind the curtain and up the backstage hallway. We were walking fast, but things were in slow motion for me.
In a few seconds I entered the doorway of the room marked "Wardrobe", and was told to wait in the doorway. I did so, standing beside the cases filled with the band's stage clothing. Jo Wood walked in carrying 4 hangers of Ronnie's t-shirts. I didn't speak to anyone who passed. I just waited. I wasn't nervous. Maybe I was in shock.
I was told to get my camera ready, so I turned it on, but it has a 1 minute shut off if left idle. So, it shut off as soon as Keith came around the corner, looking just fucking fantastic and ever the pirate with a huge smile, and gave me a big hug. Bill introduced us again (I had been lucky enough to have met Keith before, but had never gotten a photo with him) and I gave Keith a red, white and black skull scarf, which he promptly hung around his neck. I thanked Keith for letting me see him and he said "Thank YOU, you keep on giving, and all I do is accept." Keith was all smiles, genuine, friendly, cool, sweet, everything you'd imagine he'd be. He grabbed me and pulled me close and Bill asked how to turn on my camera and then he took a few photos of us. I didn't even notice until afterwards that Keith wore his sunglasses for the first one, and then took them off for the second...but I do remember him leaning his head against mine. Then a woman snapped a photo of me, Bill and Keith together and when I lined up next to them, Keith said "You get in the middle" and I said "I'll be happy to be in the middle".
I just couldn't stop smiling. But, funny, either could Keith. I told him I'd been waiting for this since I was 12 years old and then thinking of the song "Far Away Eyes" said "Thank You Jesus, Thank You Lord" and Keith laughed and said "Don't thank them!" to which I replied "Thank you Keith!". Then the 3 of us walked out of wardrobe, down the hall together to Camp X-Ray, where Keith said goodbye and I said thanks for the 10th time to both Keith and Bill. I remember watching Keith duck into Camp X-Ray and then peak his head out again and smile at me. I think I floated out of the backstage area to where E, Joe, Allie, Rick and several other friends were waiting in the hallway.
Not a lot of words were spoken between us, but the emotion and the happiness and Keith's genuine spirit could truly be felt. He really did touch my heart, as did Bill for letting me have this unique opportunity with Keith.
I was on cloud nine as you can imagine, as we headed to our seats. I kept turning my camera on to show people the photos. I think some people were just as shocked as I was!
When the lights went down we were already on our feet cheering, it was great to be in a row with familiar faces. We were right next to Allie's cousin Barbara and Marcia was next to her. Knowing the state Mick must be in, I figured this would either be a great show or a terrible show, thankfully it was the former. The entire band was on fire tonight, perhaps trying to help Mick through it.
The setlist was as follows: 1. Start Me Up 2. It's Only Rock N' Roll 3. Shattered 4. She Was Hot 5. Sway 6. Streets Of Love 7. Live With Me 8. Midnight Rambler 9. Tumbling Dice 10. You Got The Silver (KR) 11. Connection (KR) 12. Under My Thumb 13. Rough Justice 14. Get Off Of My Cloud 15. Honky Tonk Women 16. Sympathy For The Devil 17. Jumping Jack Flash 18. Satisfaction 19. Brown Sugar (encore)
No major surprises, but it was nice to hear a jamming version of Sway again one last time, and I always enjoy hearing Live With Me. So the setlist was not what made it a great night, it was the band, they were just animals. From the opening chords of Start Me Up, they lived up to Keith's "open the cage & let the tigers out" schtick. It was cool to see the scarf I had given Keith tucked into his left coat pocket.
All throughout the night we looked at each other in amazement commenting on how good the band sounded, and now surprised we were that the crowd was not as lame as we expected it to be either. Streets of Love brought tears to my eyes and Midnight Rambler was excellent. When it was time for Keith's set there was no deeper appreciation coming from anyone else but me. You Got The Silver was perfect and Connection was the best version I've heard yet, tight, and Keith was even dancing. Keith made a reference to his head injury saying "You can bruise it, but you can't break it", which got a laugh.
We decided to head to the B stage for the first time in a while. The B stage in Vegas is always a pain because security there is so insistent on people going back to their seats. They threw a lot of the early people out, but we managed to get on the front corner with just 3 people in front of us. It was nice hearing Get Off My Cloud again & joining in on the "hey, hey ,you ,you".
Once Sympathy started we were starting feel sad that the show was going to end soon, it was that good. Keith even jumped off the ramp at one point, causing fans to panic. When the confetti fell, and the final bows took place, everyone around us was all smiles and all we heard was "That was awesome". Some people claimed it was even better than the Beacon, so that was saying a lot. One thing for sure, it was a perfect night, thanks to Keith, a little help from Bill, and the Rolling Stones!
