Stones, Snow and Needles - Part II

The Stones at Hyde Park, 1969. No, this isn't the concert we saw; the band members are a lot older and the fashions and hairstyles have changed but the highly charged energy and excitement remain the same.

It has been a long time since my last post, and you can very well tell from the title of this entry, since we are now at the beginning of summer (and obviously haven't seen snow for some time). Also, Zexiv's nephew's birthday (the subject of the last post) was 3 months ago; since that time, Puff, another niece, a brother and 2 sisters have also celebrated their birthdays, and Puff and Zexiv and a sister and brother-in-law of Zexiv's have had their wedding anniversaries as well. I apologize once again for my very lengthy absence as the past 3 months have been an extremely busy time for Zexiv and I, and we have been engrossed in a personal project of sorts, call it a culmination of efforts over a dream we have been pursuing for the last 2 years. It would take forever to catch up on all the time that has passed, but I thought I could start by continuing a story I began some months ago, and then move on to other, newer things.

It is not easy to get tickets for any good show that comes to Vancouver. Perhaps it has something to do with the way tickets are sold online these days. I recall a day perhaps 2 years ago when Puff tried to get tickets for a U2 concert. You could only purchase tickets at a specified time and date, and competition was extremely fierce. That morning, Puff had sat by the computer waiting patiently, and finally after some time, realized she was being asked to enter her choices. She quickly roused Zexiv from his sleep, and said excitedly, "I'm in, I'm in! What do you think of these seats or prices" Which do you prefer? Quick!". "Ah ... ah ..." replied Zexiv, still half asleep, his mind still in a haze, badly needing that first giant mug of Folgers' coffee to get it started. "Uhm ... er ... ah ...". Hurry! cried Puff frantically, rushing back to the computer. "This won't last!". Finally Zexiv suggested some seats but it was too late - in the perhaps minute or two that had passed, Puff had been logged out, or the choices she had been eyeing had suddenly become unavailable. When she finally got in the site again, everything had been sold. It was extremely frustrating ...

So when Zexiv, Puff and I heard that the Rolling Stones would be coming to Vancouver on the last concert of the Bigger Bang World Tour, we jumped at this chance of a lifetime to see this great band perform. Zexiv has been an admirer of theirs since he first bought their record "Some Girls" many years ago as a teenager, and continues to listen to their music to this day. Among the CDs he brought with him on the sub when we moved here was their double CD of greatest hits from 1964-1971, which he, Puff, and I love to listen to on those lazy Saturday mornings. We also enjoyed the soundtrack of the recent remake of the film "Alfie", which featured a great song sung by Mick Jagger, "Old Habits Die Hard" (the film unfortunately though came up a bit short compared to the music). So on the weekday morning tickets were to be sold online, Zexiv and I sat by the computer waiting anxiously, with a price range in mind, and Zexiv this time fully awake and alert with his cup of coffee in hand.

Surprisingly, it was relatively easy to get seats this time, although our first choice wasn't available - we think this could be because tickets are apparently pre-sold to members of the Rolling Stones club first. So we were excited when we all got our tickets - not exactly the price we had in mind, but still very well worth it, in our opinion. After all, who knows when or if we will get to see the Stones perform again? 2 of the Beatles are gone and it seems that everyone from that era is getting on in years, although Mick Jagger and his mates don't seem to show any visible signs of slowing down. Imagine that - the Rolling Stones live! It was to be indeed the show of a lifetime and literally the show that later brought the house down.

Next: Stones, Snow and Needles - Conclusion ...