Saskatchewan. Home of the Air Guitar.

I feel like I'm going to ralph right now, so sleeping is out and blogging is in.

Autumn's Ultimate Classic Rock Weekend went pretty freaking well. QT Librarian was good enough to join me at the Who concert on Thursday night. Man, my socks have officially been rocked. Pete Townshend is a guitar GOD. I could watch him do the windmill for hours on end. And while Roger Daltrey now dances like a middle-aged white man (seeing as he is, in fact, a middle-aged white man) he absolutely fucking NAILED the scream in "Won't Get Fooled Again". The set list was killer and the new material is worth checking out for sure. When they started "Baba O'Reilly" I just about jumped out of my skin and then bit my own tongue off. Pete Townshend's brother Simon was on backing guitar, and Ringo Starr's son Zak was playing drums. The whole evening was electric and every bit as great as I hoped it would be. The cool thing about the show is that it was all recorded - so you can order the dvd or cd online and the proceeds completely go to children's charities. Which is a pretty rad concert souvenir when you think about it. In hindsight I now realize that it may have been a little embarassing to be seen in public with me last night. I am the epitome of the dorky fangirl at the Who show. Only disappointment? No autodestruction. Although Pete Townshend did bonk himself on the head with his guitar after the encore.

Tonight was the Rolling Stones show. Three Days Grace was opening - which sucked considering Halifax got Kanye West and Sloan. The stadium formerly known as Taylor Field was buzzing with people. About twenty minutes before the Stones came on, everyone was doing the wave and the place was so crowded that it looked totally surreal. The stage itself was HUGE - seven stories high, two of which were full of people. The Stones themselves looked like ants in comparison. It was totally insane to be there and actually see the Stones in concert, but obviously they are getting older and don't have the stamina to keep the intensity going for the whole show. I thought the set list was a little weak, and maybe if they had chosen a few of their more classic, energetic songs - maybe then the breaks between each song wouldn't have seemed quite so long. I mean, it was cool to see Keith Richards perform, but I could have done with fewer Keef vocal solos and more "Paint it Black". You know what I mean? But what do I know? They are 60 years old and they are rock stars. They can do whatever the fuck they want to. I'm just another dork in the crowd.

I've always been more of a Ronnie Woods fan myself, but I must say, Mick Jagger was looking dead sexy tonight. Absolutely no inhibitions - dancing and running around like he was 20 years old all over again. It was hysterical watching his bodyguards try to keep up with him as he ran up and down the catwalk. I would love to see the man do the Boston Marathon. Ronnie Woods (my Stones crush - even at 60) was in fine form tonight - phenomenal guitar solos - I think he may have been compensating a bit for Keith Richards who, while he's still got it, was looking a little shaky. In fact, at one point Keef was standing on the stage alone killing time before he began his two songs, and it almost looked like some poor old guy with dementia had wandered away from the care home and somehow wound up on stage at a Stones concert. It was bewildering to say the least. Poor fellow - thinks he's a monkey, he does.

While the Who managed to cover the majority of my favorites, the Stones fell a little short. They redeemed themselves by doing an encore in the form of "You Can't Always Get What You Want". Had they not performed that one song - the one song I had been waiting for all evening - I would have been crushed. It wouldn't have ruined my evening, but I'd feel like I was leaving the concert being owed something. (Like when I saw Radiohead - it was a life altering concert, but they didn't play "Fake Plastic Trees" or "High and Dry". It actually hurt my feelings.) Anyway, the fact that this was the encore song just about brought me to tears, however, I was trying to hold my supper down, so I refrained from crying if only out of fear that it would lead to other fluids escaping out of my facial orifices. (I realize this is a gross visualization, but I'm one of those people who always cry when they puke. And I just don't know why.)

Highlights of Autumn's Ultimate Classic Rock Weekend:

- People in sweater vests and cardigans smoking dope at the Who concert.
- Roger Daltrey asking people to smoke said dope outside because he is allergic.
- Mick Jagger proclaiming that "Regina rhymes with fun!"
- The number of people strumming their air guitars at the Stones. They could form their own political party based on the sheer volume of numbers. Their leader could be the guy sitting two rows down from me who looked like he should have a glass eye, when in fact he didn't.
-The guy next to me shouting out "PLAY HELTER SKELTER!!!" Hmmm... jump on the bandwagon much? You do know this is a Stones concert right? The Beatles broke up over three decades ago. This affirmed my sneaking suspicion that a whole lot of people in the stands were only in the stands because it would be lame to live in Regina and not go to the concert.
- The amount of Rolling Stones related advertisements and puns in the local media.
For example: "Brown Burger! (How come you taste so good?)"
This is an ad for a burger chain here in Regina. Who comes up with this shit?! And do they actually make a living at this? Unbelievable!
- The two Mormon missionaries who were on the evening news. They said that they had to pack it in for the Rolling Stones weekend. Yes boys, the devil has come to town.... and his name is Keith.

I'm pretty sure all this ranting is just the MSG talking. And the sarcasm is a nervous defence mechanism that kicks in right around family holiday get-together time.
It is now officially time to break out the jammy jams.
Keep on rocking in the free world.