 Chicago
2005, Blue Lena’s Tour Journal from Soldier Field
(photos
are clickable for enlarge)
Arrived in
Chicago
late in the afternoon on Friday September 9, the day before
the big Soldier Field show. On the plane I sat next to 2 fans who had met me
last tour in
Pittsburgh
, so the flight went fast since we chatted Stones and looked
at my Stones photo album and the read the new issue of Stones Planet the whole
way to
Chicago
. Met my friend E at the airport, had a Becks in the bar and
we headed off to our hotel. Had a nice feast at our regular joint The Cheesecake
Factory and then spent the entire evening at the Stones hotel, catching up with
old pals and meeting some new friends. Mick himself had been in the bar earlier
in the evening, which was quite unusual for him. One fan we know of managed to
even get an autograph. Another got his glass that he had drank Coke out of!
 Spoke
with Bernard Fowler & later Tim Ries
who I had interviewed for Stones Planet
#18 and was able to give Tim the copy of the fanzine in person-he was excited
about the inclusion of his new Rolling Stones Project cd and posed for a photo
with me. Spent the end of the evening sitting with my friend Blondie Chaplin and
his friends Nicholas Tremulis & John Pirruccello from the Nicholas Tremulis
Orchestra (http://www.nicholastremulis.com/).
We had first met Nick with Blondie during the Licks Tour before heading
to the Aragon Ballroom show. Nick & Blondie played together at the Double
Door and we caught their show last tour and most recently they had done a show
together in July in
Austin
,
TX
. My friend E and I ended up closing down the bar, being the
last to leave at
3am
.
On show day, I awoke much too early
after 4 hours sleep and was starving. So, headed over to the hotel again and had
a fantastic brunch and some Bloody Mary’s.
 The
bar area was not very full and we chatted with a few fans and later Blondie
again before he and the band left for the show around
3pm
. We headed back to our hotel and changed for the show before
grabbing a cab to Soldier Field. The traffic was horrendous and it took almost
45 minutes to ride there, which was only about 4 miles. It was another gorgeous
evening for a show, and not as hot as it had been at opening night in
Boston
. We stopped by the merchandise stand and got the cool
silicone red & black A Bigger Bang bracelets, 2 for $5, what a bargain! We
headed in by Gate 6 and went up the stairs to the VIP Lounge, which was
completely empty. It was located next to the On Stage ticket holder party area
and the American Express private party. Since beer on the main floor was $7 a
pop, we saved some money…and managed to pack in 4 or 5 Heinekens and Amstel
Lights in the 2 hours before show time. The bartender was a great friendly guy
and we chatted with him until some other people finally arrived a ½ hour later.
Took a few pix in the VIP and then at
8pm
headed down to our seats.
They gave everyone pink wristbands for
the field, so you didn’t have to show your ticket as much. We saw quite a few
fans we knew, some who were sitting quite close to us. We took some photos on
the field before the lights finally went down at
8:40pm
. The stadium was huge with 60,000 people and it erupted into
a roar when the boys jumped on stage to the sound of “Start Me Up”. We were
hoping for some setlist changes tonight, but the show turned out to be pretty
standard, with the exception of “Ruby Tuesday” being thrown in as song
#5.
 The
crowd was really into it
which certainly helps to make a large stadium feel more
intimate. I looked around a few times and saw people standing up even on the
third level, which is unusual for
US
stadium shows. Everyone around me danced through the whole
first half of the show. “Bitch” was a nice addition as song #8, even if
it’s not a rarity. My only disappointment was that in the home of Chicago
Blues the Stones dropped their new killer blues track “Back of My Hand” from
the set.
Keith did the same set, and I can’t complain because
“The Worst” with Keith & Bernard sharing the mic is fabulous and the new
tune “Infamy” is rocking…but throwing in “Little T&A” here and
there might be nice! We left our seats during the middle of “Infamy” to get
back to the B-stage. You think people would have heard of the Stones B-stage
concept before, but NOOOO. Trying to get people to move in towards the B-Stage
was like trying to move a herd of deaf crippled cattle. We ducked into 2 empty
seats right near Keith’s side of the B-stage, and there were only 3 other
people in the row-3 people who stood still and would NOT move, even though I
told them if they wanted to see the Stones close up now was the time to get
going.
 The
girl whined “I don’t want to be pressed up against that stage” to which I
replied “Well I do!”, so I just crawled across the seats behind her. Then
this guys says to me “Security told us not to move” as I viewed people still
not going to the rail of the B-stage. I said “Well, that doesn’t mean you
have to listen to them!” and asked if he minded if I stepped in front of him
and he let me through. Phew, finally, front of Keith’s mic with no one
obstructing my view, what a struggle.
Just as I secured my space, the Stones
B-stage was inching ever closer during “Miss You” and when it came to a
stop, I went on autopilot just looking at the boys who were one again in front
of my face. I always find it so hard to look AND listen to what they are playing
at the same time when they are that close. Mick, Keith & Ronnie all came
directly in front of me several times which was great. I had my disposable
camera, and snapped 4 pictures, when the security guy made me put it away-dork!
Everyone around me was using camera photos, what the hell is the difference? I
obliged though and put it away for the rest of the set. I remember Mick standing
beside Daryl during “Oh No Not You Again” singing the line “the moon is
yellow, I’m like jello, staring down your tits” and they both looked at each
other and laughed. “Satisfaction” was fun to see up close on the B-stage, it
was a great version and I enjoyed it. The sound out there wasn’t too good
because there was a delay and an echo, but it rocked anyway. After “Honky Tonk
Women” started and the B-stage started to move back to the main stage, we also
headed back to our seats.
 When
we got back there
we found a lot of people had
been sitting down during the B-stage set because of course they couldn’t see
it. They rose back up to their feet for “Out of Control”. Keith really came
back to the main stage with a tremendous burst of energy and during “Jumping
Jack Flash” he wailed away, kicks and all, it was great. I always like “You
Can’t Always Get What You Want” at the stadiums because everyone sings along
and it’s cool to hear the whole 60,000 in unison. Mick exclaimed near the end
of the show “
Chicago
you’re a great fucking audience!”. Again for the last
encore of “It’s Only Rock N’ Roll” Keith just went mad on guitar and
stayed in the section in front of us just jamming his heart out. Pretty soon it
was final bows and fireworks around
10:40pm
and that was the conclusion of Soldier Field 2005.
 After
the show it was a ½ hour walk to even make it out of the stadium, and the
surrounding Soldier Field area. We walked & walked. We tried to get a bus
since last tour were stuck at
Comiskey
Park
in
Chicago
looking for a taxi for 3 hours! But the busses proved just
as jammed so we kept walking…for an hour! Finally when we had walked the whole
way to
Michigan Avenue
we went to a hotel there and got in cab line. Made it back
to the Stones hotel around
midnight
. The security man at the bar told me they were at capacity
and we couldn’t go in and it would be a long wait, so we just said fine and
walked around to the other side and went in near the bathrooms, that solved that
problem.
 We
again chatted with Bernard, Blondie and Tim
and
Tim and many, many fans. Finally got a table after about an hour and hung out
until the bar closed down again. At
4am
we were at the 24 Hour Walgreens buying microwavable
White
Castle
burgers and ice cream! What a bedtime snack!
The following day we made one last stop
at the Stones hotel and had lunch and drinks with Blondie. A fan had given
Blondie a black leather Chicago Police motorcycle jacket to give to Keith and
Blondie was going to give it to him on the plane on the way to NYC. I tried on
the jacket, which would drown Keith, but it was cool, and I got my picture taken
in it. Left the bar around
3pm
when the Stones were headed out to fly to NY for the MSG and
other NY area shows.
When I got on the plane at
7:15pm
that night, I fell fast asleep and woke up in
Pittsburgh
again. Stay tuned for upcoming tour reports from
Toronto
,
Pittsburgh
, Hershey and
Washington
,
DC
.
-Blue
Lena, September 17th.
2005
© photo Blue Lena & E
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