The Stones, Herby, and A Trip back to a December 1969 Concert at a Speedway.

[Pogo Dalek]

Yup. I finally Got my Rolling Stones Tickets!

What a Wild Day.

Got to Venue, had to wait to draw a number. That number would be in a Block of 5 that when they call your block of 5 numbers, that 5 people would go into the line.

Took 15 minutes for them to get to my block of numbers. They kept dancing around it when drawing the numbers. I wound up toward the end of the line.

But....I had a Plan B! Cell Phone!

As soon as the Tickets went on Sale, I went on the phone to call a Ticketmaster Location. But not the one in Fresno! LOLOLOL! I had it Made!

So..I AM GOING TO SEE THE ROLLING STONES! WOOHOOO!

oh yeah, I mentioned a Star Sighting...Well, It wasn't a Person, But a Bug. I saw Herby the Love Bug driving around Fresno! There was a Blonde Girl Driving it. I yelled out, "I like the Car" and the girl just waved and looked real young, and looked like she was having fun driving it. I don't know if it was Lindsay Lohan, Who Recently went blonde. But It was so cool seeing Herby! It was so Herbie, right Down to the "53" and the Little Herby Beep-Beep!

When I was standing in the first line to get my Number, I was standing next to a guy who was at
Altamont,
December 1969
I had never met anyone who was at Altamont Before!

I've met people who were at woodstock, but never anyone who was at Altamont For those of you too young to know What Altamont Was...

Here is the Write up in Wikipedia.....

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Altamont is a speedway in Northern California, near Livermore, that hosted a rock music festival in December 1969 which was marred by violence, including one killing.

The festival included the Rolling Stones and other bands (including the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane). About 300,000 people attended the festival, and the hope was that it would be "Woodstock West."

The festival was originally supposed to be at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. However, the permits were never issued for the concert. The venue was then changed to the Sears Point Raceway, but after a dispute with the owner of Sears Point, Filmways, Inc., over film distribution rights, the festival was moved to the Altamont Speedway. This move occurred only days before the event was to take place, resulting in many problems. Most importantly, facilities such as portable toilets and medical tents were lacking in number. The stage, which was only four feet high, was surrounded by Hells Angels who acted as bouncers; the sound system was hardly sufficient for such a large audience. The Angels were hired by the Rolling Stones' manager, Sam Cutler, reportedly for $500 in free beer, although it is suspected that their involvement was, in reality, motivated by a desire to manage drug distribution at the concert. The crowd management proved to be a disaster and many people were hurt and four were killed. Two of the deaths were caused by a hit-and-run car accident. Another death was the result of a person drowning in a drainage ditch. The most famous death was that of Meredith Hunter. Hunter, an 18-year-old African American drew a long-barreled revolver and was stabbed and kicked to death during the Rolling Stones concert just in front of the stage, allegedly by the Hells Angels. News agencies reported the event as a "drug induced riot." The Rolling Stones, who reacted rather helpless facing the brutality within the crowds, had to interrupt their performance. Finally, they decided to go on in order to prevent a riot.

The Altamont concert is often contrasted to the Woodstock festival that took place earlier in 1969, and is sometimes said to mark the end of the innocence embodied by Woodstock. However, there were many other factors contributing to the end of the counterculture.

In popular culture, the events at Altamont have been characterized as Hells Angels attacking innocent hippies. Various drugs were present at the event, some of which were of poor quality. These drugs were distributed to unknowing victims during the concert, with a resulting increase in "bad trips." Hells Angels acting as security guards were not only using some of these drugs, but were probably not the best people to handle these cases. Unlike Altamont, Woodstock's security had been provided by members of the hippie commune, the Hog Farm, led by Wavy Gravy. Obviously, fellow hippies would understand what those on LSD were going through.

Some commentators saw coincidences with the astrological situation, while others connected it with the Stones dealing with the Voodoo fashion. The album and song titles Let it bleed, Sympathy for the devil, and Gimme shelter, seemed approproate terms for the riotous atmosphere at Altamont.

The events of the concert are recounted in the documentary film, Gimme Shelter which includes the stabbing.

On May 25, 2005, the Alameda county sheriff's department announced that it was closing the stabbing case. The accused Hells Angel, Alan Passaro, had been acquitted at the time, after a jury concluded he acted in self-defense because Hunter was carrying a gun. There had been rumors over the years that a second unidentified assailant had inflicted the fatal wounds, and as a result, the police had considered the case to still be open. Investigators, concluding a renewed two year investigation, have now dismissed a theory that a second Hells Angel took part in the stabbing.

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Forget the  Woodstock 99, that was nothing compaired to Altamont!

[Homer]

I saw The Stones the last time they were here and for a bunch of old guys it was an excellent performance.

[Motley]

I'm glad that you got tickets for the Stones, I love to see someone so excited over concerts.  I love music and concerts so much that sometimes I think I'm the only one out there that really marks out over going to them.  I really hope you have a great time and please let me know how it was.

[Pogo Dalek]

I saw the Voodoo Lounge and Bridges to Babylon Tours!

If this concert is anything like Those, I will have a blast!

[smiles29]

yes congrats on getting your tickets.  wish i could get tickets to it but just cant afford it right now  :'( :'( :'(.     i did however get to got a WHO concert a couple of years ago and had a great time.  i felt a little outta place because i was 27 and everyone else at the concert was 40 something plus, but oh well.  i had a blast and would do it again if i could.

but anyway,  have a great time and tell us all about it when you get back!!! O0 O0 :D :D ;D ;D