The Rolling Stones

The Stones are coming to the boonies! Yes, tonight in Bergen, a hick town somewhere in Europe, a 1960's rock band will be performing for 20,000 Norwegians, hopefully not in the rain. The venue is an old fort, right behind Håkonshallen.

This week our local radio station has interviewed a few local public figures about their relationship with the music of the Rolling Stones. Which had me thinking about what I think about them.

I'm a little too young to truly appreciate the change in music the Stones represented at the time. They were rawer than the Beatles and weren't the sort of thing nice people listened to. My childhood awareness of them was mainly due to jokes involving them and the road sign "Falling Rocks" (the latter were apparantly performing all over California).

I was reminded today of the first Stones song I heard, which was "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" on Radio Luxembourg. I thought the song was kind of cool, but it never became a favorite back then. No, the first time I heard a Stones song that I actually wanted to have in my collection, came courtesy of the Whoopi Goldberg movie "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and the Stones number it was named after. As I've gotten older, I appreciate the Stones more, because they no longer sound raw and bad to my ears. Certainly not compared to a lot of what came after them.

But I'm not going to the concert, though I sort of want to, since it is such an Event for us. I mean, it's the Stones, man!

Comments

Deadman said…
I prefer that raw sound in a band.

I've never seen them either, and at 250+ bucks a pop, it ain't bloody likely I will anytime soon!
Keera Ann Fox said…
Whoa. Going by relative purchasing power, the Stones tickets sold here in Bergen cost less than $250.
Kos said…
It's appropriate that the Old Stones are playing in an Old Fort.

Like you, I wasn't alive when the Stones first hit it big. But, given that my parents were 18 & 17 when I was born in 1969, I was surrounded by 60s & 70s rock & roll when I was growing up. The Stones were one of the reasons I started playing guitar -- Keith Richards' rhythm is still, IMO, unmatched today.
Keera Ann Fox said…
Oh, I was alive, but no one in my family listened to the Stones. And my interest remained so small that what you say about Keith Richards is news to me. My relationship to the Rolling Stones is like my relationship to whisky: I get that whisky-making is an artform and a quite fascinating one, but it'll never be my booze of choice.
Paula said…
I love the old Stones tunes, but have no desire to see them and sure wouldn't pay $250. Is that wrong?
Keera Ann Fox said…
It's 9:30 pm my time. The concert started 10 minutes ago (a bit late). I'm replying to comments in my blog. I know I have my priorities straight!
Anonymous said…
The Stones were a very prominent band for me while I was coming of age. One of my first impressions of my husband, in fact, was that he bore a resemblance to Mick Jagger (in a GOOD way! ;-) And they ultimately so pervaded my subcounsious, I had a really memorable dream featuring Keith Richards while I was pregnant with my daughter...

All the same though, if it was me in Bergen, I wouldn't go. First, $250 for a ticket is ridiculous. And second, I don't know that I'd enjoy watching a bunch of old guys up there singing those songs -- it might make me feel old, too.

(btw, as I write this, I'm listening to a concert recording of Jackson Brown, another legend from an ever so slightly later era)
Keera Ann Fox said…
You relate far more to the Stones than I do, for sure. :-)

From the reviews, the ticket price was worth it. The Stones gave a great performance, showing themselves not only as experienced pros, but as people who were playing music for the sheer joy of it. They also charmed their audience, with Jagger trying a few phrases in our local dialect.

Jackson Browne was very popular in Norway when I came back here in '81, to my disappointment. I found his music utterly boring.
Deadman said…
With all the music we see, and that's a LOT, especially this year, the most I have paid for tickets so far is $150.00 each to see the Eagles last year (at the college ten minutes from our front door) and $125.00 to see Phil Lesh and Freiends this poast April.

If the core four surviving members of the Dead reunite I would pay $250,00. But not for the Stones, even if they tried a few phrases of American during the show!

;o)>
Keera Ann Fox said…
When I "translate" amounts, I usually just divide the NOK by 10 to get the USD. That gets me much closer to the actual purchasing power. What costs 10 NOK here, costs a buck in the US. And that means, relative to wages and the price of living in our respective countries, that the majority of Norwegians (18,000 out of 20,000) got away with $140 a ticket. That's definitely doable for a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Deadman said…
ITA. Here in the SF Bay Area, Stones tickets aren't usually to be had for so little.

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