Remembering Candlestick Park's
Forgotten Concert: Ladies and Gentlemen:
The Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band in the World:
The Rolling Stones!!!!!!!
1 How ya'll feelin'; ya feelin' aw-rahhht?
---Mick Jagger, Tattoo You Tour, Hampton Roads, VA. in the Year of our Lord.
2 I worked that tour in hashtag wheneveritwas. I worked it at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on October 17 and 18th in whatever year-of-our-Lord I choose to even think about.
3 The Stones. I've said this, and I'll say it again: I sold merch at most stadium rock events that came through the Bay Area.
4 I worked most Day-On-The-Green shows beginning with Journey, then Foreigner, and moved to a bunch after those two. I even worked Wham.
5 I made thousands of dollars at these events. We're talking a minimum of $1,200 to $1,500 in one day, cash, and that's way back when, including the epic Candlestick Park two-day Tattoo You tour starring The Rolling Stones.
6 That one paid me $2,500 over the two days.
7 I say this to let you know that at the receiving end of Rock 'n' Roll, no other band generated more money than the Rolling Stones.
8 Money-wise, they crushed all challengers. At the dawn of the '80's, the Stones owned Rock-n-Roll.
9 And they toured longer than most. The Grateful Dead is possibly the only band that toured more.
10 It doesn't matter. A film of the entire concert exists. I have it here. It isn't the Candlestick performance, but it is the Hampton Roads, Virginia show, complete with backstage nonsense and all the rest. This is the Hampton Roads show. Click on the link below and enjoy as you read. Crank the volume, and love it!:
11 Listen: At one point in my life, I was young, and ambitious; I had just landed my teaching gig at YB, and I was ready to take on the world.
12 At that time, the Rolling Stones announced that their Tattoo You tour was on its way to Candlestick Park. I rode that wave, worked both days, made tremendous money, AND found a great pirated copy of the Hampton Roads, Virginia show later in the year. I turned it into a cassette tape, and spent an entire summer blasting it to and from my commute to Giants' and Niners' games, where I worked summers as a ballpark vendor.
13 I rode damn near everywhere listening to it.
14 I always played rock tapes in my car, but when I got this one, I played it every ride up and every ride home. I memorized every moment of the concert.
It was that memorable a show. Today's DN will detail some of that show's highlights.
15 This piece can get confusing, since I'll be talking about two different shows:
16 The band had just finished doing what was then a newer song called Shattered, to the usual tepid response audiences give to new songs. They don't know the song, so it slows the show down. After the applause died down, Mick Jagger approached the mic and said words to the affect of, "You know, the Beatles played their last concert here!"
17 The crowd rose, cheered, screamed, and hooted. Classic moment. When the noise level moved down, Mick stepped to the mic and said, "Useless fahcking informahyshun." The crowd went out-of-their-heads crazy; Keith began the first chords of Let's Spend the Night Together, and the entire place fell into a rock frenzy, the likes of which I've seldom seen since.
18 I went to Y.B. the Monday morning following the show with my eyes falling out of my head. Utterly no sleep, but I would never miss a day of teaching because of that. I had the students do some desk work; I was still shaking, completely blown away by the experience, the music, the crowds, the Stones' performance, and the money. There was a strange quiet in the classroom. I heard whispering, but I didn't care. At one point, a student broke the silence.
19 "Hey, Mr. Harrington. Were you at the Rolling Stones' concert yesterday?"
20 I looked up with an exhausted scowl. Another voice came from in back of the room:
21 "He LOOKS like he was at the Rolling Stones' concert yesterday!"
22 The class exploded, and I broke into a semi-millionaire smile.
23 Here is the set list of that epic day at Candlestick. I added some notes where needed:
Under My Thumb
(As I recall, a ton of balloons came out from the stage, shielding the Stones from the audience. They got their gear, and the second the balloons began to disappear, the opening riffs to Under My Thumb played. I've seen better openings by them, most, in fact.)
When the Whip Comes Down
Neighbors
Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) Temptations' cover
Shattered
(It was after this that Jagger did the Beatles' bit. Worked like a charm, because they rarely did Let's Spend the Night Together, so it was a HUGE treat hearing the opening riff, which everone in the stadium recognized. Monster hit. Show biz, I'm tellin' ya.)
Let's Spend the Night Together
Black Limousine
(Not on my cassette.)
She's So Cold
(GREAT lyrics. Give them a listen. Mick spins the original lyrics just enough to bring forth chuckles.)
Time is on My Side
(Anybody getting older can relate, just a great old clunker!)
Beast of Burden
Waiting on a Friend (acoustic)
(I think this is a beautiful song.)
Let it Bleed (acoustic)
(Bawdy rocker; and that's why I love the hell out of it!)
You Can't Always Get What You Want
(One of the greatest rock songs ever.)
Tops
(Set-the-table song, not on my cassette.)
Tumbling Dice
(Love this one too!)
Hang Fire
Let Me Go
Little T & A
(Keith Richards wrote almost all of the Stone's music, but he seldom fronted the band. He smokes this one. I love when he sings, 'cuz he's so raspy, yet shows presence. Keith is <ahem> an acquired taste, to be sure.)
AND THE FLASHY FINISH:
Start Me Up
(Great song the first time you hear it!)
Miss You
(I once dubbed this one the world's greatest love song. This guy is "completely lost over a woman. "Sometimes I sing. Sometimes I sing to myself. Sometime I sing...and he almost turns into a chicken he's so messed up. That's a guy suffering loss! Crazy stuff!)
Honky Tonk Women
(Great sing-along.)
All Down the Line
(I hated this song when I first heard it, but after listening to it a bunch, I really wound up loving it.)
Brown Sugar
(Always one of the best live, Mick gets the entire stadium yelling WOOOOOO! The trouble I have with the song is it's actually a serious song, if you listen, and pretty sad, because those things have gone on, and still do in some places.)
(The transition here to Jumpin' Jack Flash is spot on. Well placed tension with Mick screaming at the audience, followed by the first licks of JJF becoming terrific repose, text-book. If you like these guys, you love this moment in the Hampton show.)
Jumpin' Jack Flash
(At Candlestick Mick disappeared during an amazing jam between Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, only to emerge from a painted Stones' tongue at the top of the set, singing from a cherry-picker WAY high, which moved him around and then lowered him back to the stage, where he put a cape around himself. The cape had the British flag and the American flag sewn together! Show biz, dude!)
Street Fightin' Man
(This song encored the Winterland show ten years earlier. A guy who was there told me that.Some great guitar in this one as well.)
Encore
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
(Who doesn't love that theme? Anthem rock!)
24 Candlestick rarely had live rock. They did after baseball games, but concerts? Hardly ever. This historical concert will always live as one of my favorite rock moments, and I've had many. I've seen the Stones better, and younger, but this tour was epic.
Epilog
25 It's funny because on the second day of the show, we didn't have as much merch to set up, so a few of us walked "back stage," which was behind the outfield. The Stones created a small village with market umbrellas, folding chairs, flowers, and food, all set up for friends, relatives, and workers. We got to go back there!
26 We were like kids in a candy store. We also got into the Giants' locker room, where they had a huge breakfast spread on Sunday. We assumed that as workers, we were able to partake. We did, plates of food, and nobody said a word. That's the only time I ever got into the Candlestick locker room.
Epilog Two:
27 We also got to take turns leaving the merchandise stand. Once the show started, most people weren't buying stuff. One guy at our stand didn't like the Stones, so he said he would take care of the stand, allowing several of us to go out and watch the concert. SO fun!
28 Well.
29 Does this count as a riff?
30 Just kidding.
31 Bringing it all Back Home: I wrote this while waiting for all the stuff I recorded last week to move to a flash drive.
32 In the middle of writing this, a little bell went off on the desktop. A little voice in my head said, "Your cake's ready!"
33 Livin' in my mind most mornings. Sort of fun. I feel a bit like Peter Sellers.
34 You ought to try it sometime.
35 Anyway, the bell got me frazzled. I gottago check and make sure the stuff traveled over to the flash drive. It was something like a million gigs.
36 THAT'S how bad my playing has been!
37 Took an hour. I'm going back there to check right now. I'll report back. Promise. <leaves> <comes back>
38 Looks like all my videos made it! My phone is free of all those videos, and they're all out of the computer. I think I'll name my new flash drive Jumpin' Jack Flash Drive.
39 I don't know if the videos will play, but not one of them was ready to post anyway, so it's really just stuff that clogged my iPhone. Apple kept asking me for money.
40 The flash drive is a 16 gig Memorex I got on sale for $12.99, none of which is going to Apple.
41 Nice to see happy endings.
42 And happy beginnings.
43 I can finish this up, and then go see my g'daughters, who looked radiant yesterday. I'd show a pic, but my camera wun't working.
44 They have learned how to smile, and almost to mug for the cameras. When I feed them, or let them lie on my shoulder, I have them grab my pinkie finger. They're getting a nice grip.
45 After they master that, I'm going to see if they can grab a guitar pick. I'll see to it they don't eat it, unless it's a golden Fender pick. I have one that you can see through.
46 I can see that you are seeing right through me.
47 That's my cue to make like a diet and dash.
48
49 What?
50 In all sincerity, I'm on the Dash diet. Every time I see a zucchini, I dash.
51 Must be nice.
52 Gottago
53 See you again.
54 Have a GREAT day.
55 Peace.
3 The Stones. I've said this, and I'll say it again: I sold merch at most stadium rock events that came through the Bay Area.
4 I worked most Day-On-The-Green shows beginning with Journey, then Foreigner, and moved to a bunch after those two. I even worked Wham.
5 I made thousands of dollars at these events. We're talking a minimum of $1,200 to $1,500 in one day, cash, and that's way back when, including the epic Candlestick Park two-day Tattoo You tour starring The Rolling Stones.
6 That one paid me $2,500 over the two days.
7 I say this to let you know that at the receiving end of Rock 'n' Roll, no other band generated more money than the Rolling Stones.
8 Money-wise, they crushed all challengers. At the dawn of the '80's, the Stones owned Rock-n-Roll.
9 And they toured longer than most. The Grateful Dead is possibly the only band that toured more.
10 It doesn't matter. A film of the entire concert exists. I have it here. It isn't the Candlestick performance, but it is the Hampton Roads, Virginia show, complete with backstage nonsense and all the rest. This is the Hampton Roads show. Click on the link below and enjoy as you read. Crank the volume, and love it!:
11 Listen: At one point in my life, I was young, and ambitious; I had just landed my teaching gig at YB, and I was ready to take on the world.
12 At that time, the Rolling Stones announced that their Tattoo You tour was on its way to Candlestick Park. I rode that wave, worked both days, made tremendous money, AND found a great pirated copy of the Hampton Roads, Virginia show later in the year. I turned it into a cassette tape, and spent an entire summer blasting it to and from my commute to Giants' and Niners' games, where I worked summers as a ballpark vendor.
13 I rode damn near everywhere listening to it.
14 I always played rock tapes in my car, but when I got this one, I played it every ride up and every ride home. I memorized every moment of the concert.
It was that memorable a show. Today's DN will detail some of that show's highlights.
15 This piece can get confusing, since I'll be talking about two different shows:
- I worked the two Candlestick shows and made $2,500 cash, which I put in a wrinkled grocery bag so I wouldn't get mugged in the parking lot. It came in hundreds, fifties, twenties, and, when stacked side-by-side, it became an accordion of money.
- I later found a pirated vinyl copy of the Hampton Roads, VA show at an underground record store in San Jose, and then I taped it. I played that thing everywhere I traveled, sang every note, and even knew Jagger's between-song babble, always a treat at a Stones' concert. The concert I have for you here is the video of the Hampton Roads, Virginia concert, same tour, Tattoo You.
- So I listened and learned how to phrase a lot of Stones' tunes listening to the Hampton tapes. Got it? I noticed one thing that good rockers do: they plan their between-songs banter, just a bit. It changes, but they have an idea of how to play the crowd they're playing. Here's a fun story from the Candlestick show in San Francisco:
16 The band had just finished doing what was then a newer song called Shattered, to the usual tepid response audiences give to new songs. They don't know the song, so it slows the show down. After the applause died down, Mick Jagger approached the mic and said words to the affect of, "You know, the Beatles played their last concert here!"
17 The crowd rose, cheered, screamed, and hooted. Classic moment. When the noise level moved down, Mick stepped to the mic and said, "Useless fahcking informahyshun." The crowd went out-of-their-heads crazy; Keith began the first chords of Let's Spend the Night Together, and the entire place fell into a rock frenzy, the likes of which I've seldom seen since.
18 I went to Y.B. the Monday morning following the show with my eyes falling out of my head. Utterly no sleep, but I would never miss a day of teaching because of that. I had the students do some desk work; I was still shaking, completely blown away by the experience, the music, the crowds, the Stones' performance, and the money. There was a strange quiet in the classroom. I heard whispering, but I didn't care. At one point, a student broke the silence.
19 "Hey, Mr. Harrington. Were you at the Rolling Stones' concert yesterday?"
20 I looked up with an exhausted scowl. Another voice came from in back of the room:
21 "He LOOKS like he was at the Rolling Stones' concert yesterday!"
22 The class exploded, and I broke into a semi-millionaire smile.
23 Here is the set list of that epic day at Candlestick. I added some notes where needed:
Under My Thumb
(As I recall, a ton of balloons came out from the stage, shielding the Stones from the audience. They got their gear, and the second the balloons began to disappear, the opening riffs to Under My Thumb played. I've seen better openings by them, most, in fact.)
When the Whip Comes Down
Neighbors
Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) Temptations' cover
Shattered
(It was after this that Jagger did the Beatles' bit. Worked like a charm, because they rarely did Let's Spend the Night Together, so it was a HUGE treat hearing the opening riff, which everone in the stadium recognized. Monster hit. Show biz, I'm tellin' ya.)
Let's Spend the Night Together
Black Limousine
(Not on my cassette.)
She's So Cold
(GREAT lyrics. Give them a listen. Mick spins the original lyrics just enough to bring forth chuckles.)
Time is on My Side
(Anybody getting older can relate, just a great old clunker!)
Beast of Burden
Waiting on a Friend (acoustic)
(I think this is a beautiful song.)
Let it Bleed (acoustic)
(Bawdy rocker; and that's why I love the hell out of it!)
You Can't Always Get What You Want
(One of the greatest rock songs ever.)
Tops
(Set-the-table song, not on my cassette.)
Tumbling Dice
(Love this one too!)
Hang Fire
Let Me Go
Little T & A
(Keith Richards wrote almost all of the Stone's music, but he seldom fronted the band. He smokes this one. I love when he sings, 'cuz he's so raspy, yet shows presence. Keith is <ahem> an acquired taste, to be sure.)
AND THE FLASHY FINISH:
Start Me Up
(Great song the first time you hear it!)
Miss You
(I once dubbed this one the world's greatest love song. This guy is "completely lost over a woman. "Sometimes I sing. Sometimes I sing to myself. Sometime I sing...and he almost turns into a chicken he's so messed up. That's a guy suffering loss! Crazy stuff!)
Honky Tonk Women
(Great sing-along.)
All Down the Line
(I hated this song when I first heard it, but after listening to it a bunch, I really wound up loving it.)
Brown Sugar
(Always one of the best live, Mick gets the entire stadium yelling WOOOOOO! The trouble I have with the song is it's actually a serious song, if you listen, and pretty sad, because those things have gone on, and still do in some places.)
(The transition here to Jumpin' Jack Flash is spot on. Well placed tension with Mick screaming at the audience, followed by the first licks of JJF becoming terrific repose, text-book. If you like these guys, you love this moment in the Hampton show.)
Jumpin' Jack Flash
(At Candlestick Mick disappeared during an amazing jam between Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, only to emerge from a painted Stones' tongue at the top of the set, singing from a cherry-picker WAY high, which moved him around and then lowered him back to the stage, where he put a cape around himself. The cape had the British flag and the American flag sewn together! Show biz, dude!)
Street Fightin' Man
(This song encored the Winterland show ten years earlier. A guy who was there told me that.Some great guitar in this one as well.)
Encore
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
(Who doesn't love that theme? Anthem rock!)
24 Candlestick rarely had live rock. They did after baseball games, but concerts? Hardly ever. This historical concert will always live as one of my favorite rock moments, and I've had many. I've seen the Stones better, and younger, but this tour was epic.
Epilog
25 It's funny because on the second day of the show, we didn't have as much merch to set up, so a few of us walked "back stage," which was behind the outfield. The Stones created a small village with market umbrellas, folding chairs, flowers, and food, all set up for friends, relatives, and workers. We got to go back there!
26 We were like kids in a candy store. We also got into the Giants' locker room, where they had a huge breakfast spread on Sunday. We assumed that as workers, we were able to partake. We did, plates of food, and nobody said a word. That's the only time I ever got into the Candlestick locker room.
Epilog Two:
27 We also got to take turns leaving the merchandise stand. Once the show started, most people weren't buying stuff. One guy at our stand didn't like the Stones, so he said he would take care of the stand, allowing several of us to go out and watch the concert. SO fun!
28 Well.
29 Does this count as a riff?
30 Just kidding.
31 Bringing it all Back Home: I wrote this while waiting for all the stuff I recorded last week to move to a flash drive.
32 In the middle of writing this, a little bell went off on the desktop. A little voice in my head said, "Your cake's ready!"
33 Livin' in my mind most mornings. Sort of fun. I feel a bit like Peter Sellers.
34 You ought to try it sometime.
35 Anyway, the bell got me frazzled. I gottago check and make sure the stuff traveled over to the flash drive. It was something like a million gigs.
36 THAT'S how bad my playing has been!
37 Took an hour. I'm going back there to check right now. I'll report back. Promise. <leaves> <comes back>
38 Looks like all my videos made it! My phone is free of all those videos, and they're all out of the computer. I think I'll name my new flash drive Jumpin' Jack Flash Drive.
39 I don't know if the videos will play, but not one of them was ready to post anyway, so it's really just stuff that clogged my iPhone. Apple kept asking me for money.
40 The flash drive is a 16 gig Memorex I got on sale for $12.99, none of which is going to Apple.
41 Nice to see happy endings.
42 And happy beginnings.
43 I can finish this up, and then go see my g'daughters, who looked radiant yesterday. I'd show a pic, but my camera wun't working.
44 They have learned how to smile, and almost to mug for the cameras. When I feed them, or let them lie on my shoulder, I have them grab my pinkie finger. They're getting a nice grip.
45 After they master that, I'm going to see if they can grab a guitar pick. I'll see to it they don't eat it, unless it's a golden Fender pick. I have one that you can see through.
46 I can see that you are seeing right through me.
47 That's my cue to make like a diet and dash.
48
49 What?
50 In all sincerity, I'm on the Dash diet. Every time I see a zucchini, I dash.
51 Must be nice.
52 Gottago
53 See you again.
54 Have a GREAT day.
55 Peace.
~H~
fin.
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