 Pittsburgh
Friday January 10, 2003
Review by Blue Lena:
The Stones arrived in Pittsburgh at the Renaissance Hotel around 8pm on
Thursday the 9th, flying in from Montreal, Canada. This was a change in
hotels for the Stones, who had previously always stayed at the William Penn
Hotel. The Renaissance is located on 6th Street in downtown Pittsburgh and is
housed in the newly (2001) renovated Fulton Building. Billed as a boutique
hotel with all the amenities of a luxury hotel, both myself and the Stones
seemed to agree. It has a spectacular lobby, with a dome reminicent of the the
Fairmont San Francisco. One thing is for sure, at $109-$125 a night it was by
far the cheapest Stones hotel on the Licks Tour! Thank God for that, since we
Stones fans are sorely lacking in funds from all the shows we have seen.
Mick, then Charlie, Keith and Ronnie all entered the hotel by the main
entrance, the backing band followed suit shortly after. I had a 2 second word
with Keith regarding the skull chain of mine he had been wearing during the
first leg of the tour. Said hello to Ronnie & Jo as well. Welcomed Chuck,
Blondie and Shelley to Pittsburgh. Hadn't seen the Stones themselves in a
hotel since Philly back in September. Later we saw Ronnie & Jo go for
dinner and return, as well as many of the backing band. Mick must have snuck
out, but we saw him return later in the evening.
On show day the boys left for rehearsals around 4:15-4:30. Mick again was
taken out the basement entrance, while all the others went out the main doors.
Keith got an ovation from the crowd in the lobby. This is the first time I
have seen so many non-guests allowed in a hotel where the Stones were staying.
People lined the lobby with cameras & pens and several succeeded with
photos and autographs. Even the hotel staff came out of the restaurant and bar
to catch a glimpse of the boys.
The Pittsburgh weather was...well, it was Pittsburgh in January that's for
sure. By showtime it was snowing like crazy and there was a windchill of -5
degrees. We froze our asses off just walking across the street to the Mellon
Arena. The show was sold out, and on a night like that I sure wouldn't have
been wanting to hunt down scalpers, though I did see them lurking about.
We picked up our tickets at Band Will Call and headed to the VIP Lounge, where
we met Chuck and some people from the local media. We missed Ryan Adams as the
opener, which I wouldn't have minded seeing, but who can pass up free beer
right? After a pit stop at the bathroom, we headed to our seats in the second
row Keith's side. Fabulous. The best seats I have ever had for an arena show.
That doesn't count front row scalper tickets at Veteran's Stadium in 1997, or
when a friend allowed us to sneak into the front row in the First Union in
1999. These were legitimate second row, WOW.
We almost held our breath excitement as the lights went down and Keith stepped
out of the darkness a few feet from us, ripping into Street Fighting Man. God,
they are so CLOSE. And Keith looked SO good. We pinched outselves. The first
few songs were a blur, since it was hard to take my eyes off Keith at such an
up close and personal distance. I think Monkey Man is where I finally snapped
out of it and began to catch my breath. Mick was mimicking a monkey in front
of us! When I saw them grab the acoustics, I wondered what the tune would be,
and then the first notes of Angie were played. Mick forgot a few lyrics, but
who cares. Then they whipped into Live With Me, and the Let It Bleed set, my
favorite Stones album...and the best version of Midnight Rambler I have ever
seen played on the main stage. An extended jam ensued, with Keith teasing
Mick, and Mick teasing Keith...we were incredulous. At some point near
Tumbling Dice my friend caught one of Keith's picks in mid-air, which had been
flying out to the first 5 rows by the dozen it seemed.
Ah, time for Keith's set. I will never forget how beautiful he looked in that
one blue spot light that surrounded him during Slipping Away. "Hello
Pittsburgh, I told ya I'd be back". Thank God for that. Gimme Shelter was
a treat as usual, and Lisa showed off a new outfit and a new short haircut to
go with her superb vocal talents. Can't You Hear Me Knocking was a kick-ass
version, I particularly liked Bobby's sax solo and Mick's harp. On Honky Tonk
Women we danced for Keith...oh yeah.
At the first strains of Satisfaction we headed to the B-stage, getting in the
front corner on Keith's side. Of course, I had yet another skull scarf for
Keith (#8 since 1997). Other people enjoy giving scarves to Keith now too, but
it became my trademark. Even other people in the entourage have requested my
scarves, and have a few of them. In fact, on this particular night I was told
by Keith's personal assistant that he would love to have my scarf and
therefore it was sent to him after the show ended. I also got a few more Keith
picks for my collection at the B-stage.
After the B-stage set ended, we headed back to the main stage and were in the
corner on Keith's side in the front row. I happened to know the venue security
guy who left us stand there. It would have been nice to have 2 songs on the
main stage as encores, but this is the way they have been choosing to end
arena shows this tour. We got covered in a swathe of red confetti circles
during Jumping Jack Flash. What a show! Better than Pittsburgh '99 IMHO.
We headed back to the hotel, walking one mile in the snow, and were almost
frozen solid when we arrived. We chatted with Blondie, Bernard &
Chuck and everyone seemed to have been pleased with the set that night. I
was told that Keith indeed loved my scarf and called it the prize of the
evening. Needless to say, I was thrilled. We stayed up till they closed the
bar and closed the lobby down around 3am.
The next day we hung out at the bar again and were able to see the entire
entourage leave for the airport (onto Boston). That was after 3 hours of
loading luggage. The backing band left at 2:45pm, and the Stones themselves
followed a 1/2 hour later. Mick was again snuck out the basement door.
Thankfully, Keith always uses the front door. Blondie was riding with Keith
that day, so when I saw him come down the elevator I knew Keith wouldn't be
far behind. We stood to the left side of the elevator doors and when Keith
came out, he looked my way. Keith was purposely asked to stop and was told
that I was the one who gave him the scarf. I walked over to him, he put
his right arm around me and he murmured "Thank you darling"
and then he gave me a kiss on the lips! I said "Love ya baby" and
they headed for the van. Unfuckingbelievable. Someone took a photo, but it
wasn't anyone in our group...I'd love to see that! It was a lifetime dream
come true for me. After 22 years of being a fan, I finally met Keith Richards!
It was well worth the wait.
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