Last week, my twin brother and I blew into the Windy City like a crossfire hurricane to witness the messiahs of rock 'n' roll because sometimes you don't want to walk and talk about Jesus ' you just want to see his face.
We found ourselves bumping along the highway at 5 a.m. that Wednesday, racing the rhythm of our heartbeats, eagerly awaiting the first primal howl and piercing guitar chord from the glimmer twins, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
The Rolling Stones, the best and most notorious blues-rock band, were scheduled to play that night in the city known for its urban blues influence upon the world. Chicago has bred such legends as Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters, all hands that helped mold the shape of the Stones.
After spending a paradoxical day browsing the elitist shops, salivating over $1,500 shirts and $25,000 necklaces only to be bombarded by a slew of homeless people the moment we left the stores, we made our way to the show.
The night was frigid, resembling a wintry December evening more so than late October. Winds whipped at 30 mph at a zero-degree wind chill, knocking over uninhabited floor seats in the colossal, contemporary Coliseum, Soldier Field.
The Stones began the show behind their kaleidoscopic nine-story stage with fireworks and You Got Me Rocking.
You're all heroes
Jagger said to the crowd, commending us for tolerating the freezing temperatures, later stating, I can't feel my feet!
This in no way inhibited Jagger, 63, from dancing and dashing all over the stage with the athleticism of a 20-year-old. However, Richards seemed more stationary than usual, perhaps from the debilitating cold, with his cigarette hanging from his mouth and outlaw demeanor.
The band was in top form as they cut into Let It Bleed's Live With Me Monkey Man the murderous Midnight Rambler and Keith later singing You Got the Silver.
The veterans dazzled the crowd with new tricks, performing She Was Hot for the first time live, and Keith singing the rarely heard Little T & A.
Other favorites of the night were Under My Thumb
Honky Tonk Woman and Sympathy For the Devil
for two of which I found myself not more than 15 feet away from the stage.
The biggest band of all time is still letting off a bigger bang than any of their modern-day contemporaries who should be feverishly scribbling notes and inoculating their live show with a pure and potent shot from The Rolling Stones.
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Collin Minnis
