Last night Julie and I saw The Rolling Stones at the United Center. We have both been to a decent amount of shows in our time but neither of us have ever seen the Stones. This was probably the best concert I’ve ever seen.

All the reviews of the other concerts mention how the setlist doesn’t change much from show to show. This didn’t really matter to me but I thought the list was great. I got to see Rescue and Miss You and I thought Jumpin’ Jack Flash along with You Got The Silver were two of my favorite songs. Really an all around great show and the special guest, Taj Mahal, was more ideal than the other shows.

Setlist:

Get Off Of My Cloud
It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll (But I Like It)
Paint It Black
Gimme Shelter
Wild Horses
Rocks Off (By Request)
Emotional Rescue
Six Days On The Road (with Taj Mahal)
Doom And Gloom
One More Shot
Honky Tonk Women
You Got The Silver (with Keith on lead vocals)
Before They Make Me Run (with Keith on lead vocals)
Midnight Rambler (with Mick Taylor)
Miss You
Start Me Up
Tumbling Dice
Brown Sugar
Sympathy For Devil

ENCORE
You Can’t Always Get What You Want (with the Roosevelt University Conservatory Chorus)
Jumpin’ Jack Flash
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (with Mick Taylor)

Tickets

For the initial on-sale tickets were priced at $150, $250 and $300. We had some difficulty trying to get the $150 tickets through ticketmaster and then we found that the Stones were selling $85 General Admission tickets through their website. Julie was able to get through on those and our seats were set as ‘Section 4 GA’ which looked on the seating chart like the back of the floor.

The day of the show we got an email regarding the ticket pickup info with instructions and it noted that ‘Seating locations are pulled at random’. When we arrived there was a line of about 60 people that moved quickly. Once inside the ticket pickup area they checked our ID, credit card info, and confirmation print out. Then the ticket person picked an envelope from a stack and asked us if we would mind standing for the whole show. He then gave us wristband for Pit Access and actual printed tickets (which is always a plus in this day and age). We left the ticket area and moved along to the main UC entrance. From there we headed right down to the floor and then into the pit area. At this point we’re probably an hour and half before the show starts and there was about 75 people in the pit. We were able to get a nice spot to the left of the stage and one person back from the barrier.

These are by far the best seats I’ve had at any show. Especially a stadium/arena show. I’ve been on the floor for Springsteen and Pearl Jam but neither was this close or had as much room.

Amazing experience.

Side Notes:

* Ronnie Wood was throwing guitar picks like it was a part-time job. I kept and eye out and towards the end of the show I was able to beat out an old lady in a scramble for one.
** The rest of my photographs from the show are here.
*** Julie’s photographs from the show and a couple videos are here.

**** Mick Jagger doing his thing.
**** I’m 89% sure that Keith Richards was wearing a pair of Rolling Stones branded high-tops.

Julie and I headed out with a group of friends to Minneapolis for the Mets – Twins series at Target Field. Being that it’s Minnesota and April there was a decent amount of snow on the ground. They managed to have the field clean for Friday’s game and the Twins offered free hot chocolate and coffee throughout the game. I think I stayed until about the 5th inning with the Mets leading by 8 runs or something. Julie managed to stay for the long haul.

Gluek’s

Before the game and after we headed to Gluek’s Restaurant & Bar which is considered the oldest restaurant in Minneapolis. Gluek’s Resturant dates back to the early 1930’s but the Gluek’s Brewery has ties that go back to 1857. The bar is a large German style beer house with a good beer selection and live music.

Al’s

Saturday morning we made our way over to Al’s Breakfast near the University of Minnesota’s campus. As expected we ended up waiting about an hour in line before getting a spot. Al’s is a diner that dates back to the 1950’s that is basically a building that has been wedged in an alley. They’re known for their pancakes.

Walking Brewery Tour

Saturday afternoon we headed out to three breweries which were all within walking distance to each other: 612 Brew, Indeed Brewing and Dangerous Man Brewing.

612 Brewing

After breakfast we hopped a cab over to 612 Brewing and began our walking brewery tour. 612 Brew took a little while to find the entrance as it’s in an industrial building nearly under an overpass. Their space was huge and they had the Cajun 2 Geaux food truck out front taking orders so we were well stocked with beignet. The brewery is rather new so the beer selection was small. I preferred their Zero Hour black ale over the other beers.

Indeed Brewing

After 612 Brew we walked several blocks to Indeed Brewing which was in a similar industrial area but a some what smaller place. They also had a food truck outside serving. The beer selection at Indeed was much better than the other places we stopped. I also like the old tavern feel of their brewery compared to the others.

Dangerous Man

We headed to Dangerous Man next but were temporarily halted by a doorman and a waiting period before we could enter. This setback in addition to our evening plans limited us to one quick beer. I went for the IPA. I wish we would have spent more time here but that wasn’t the case.

For St. Patrick’s Day this year I stuck to a strategic plan that was executed with precision.  I wanted to see the Chicago River Dyed and I wanted to make it to Chief O’Neill’s before the rush.  After trying to make reservations at a restaurant on the river we ended up with a reservation at South Water Kitchen which is a block away from the river. Our party drove down and parked at a place of employment and then we were ready for breakfast and drinks at South Water Kitchen just after 8am. South Water Kitchen is attached to Hotel Monaco so the facilities were ideal. We had some drinks, breakfast and then met up with some friends across the street at Emerald Loop.

From there we walked a block to the river and checked out the view from the Wabash Avenue  Bridge before heading down to the River Walk for a better view. I’m not sure if it always takes that long for the dye to move down stream or if it was the weather but I would recommend viewing the river East of Wabash in the future.

I probably spent about 45 minutes at the River before heading back to South Water Kitchen for a couple more drinks and then heading north to Chief O’Neill’s at 11am. Literally in and out of the Loop with no traffic. It was amazing.

Chief O’Neill’s was great as usual. $14 ‘All you can eat’ (one pass) buffet. $6 Guinness, no green beer. The crowd was a great mix and no one was obnoxious. I was able to grab a table in the back under the heated tent where we setup shop for the next 5 hours.

All around one of the smoother St. Patrick’s Day I’ve experience in a long time.

* Side Notes:
Previous St. Patrick’s Day: 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2012
** As seen above Jimmie McNulty plays a mean fiddle.