So much Satisfaction

When the 4th of July coincides with the weekend, everyone should build in at least two days to catch up with reality and get back into the swing of things, right? This lucky dog had Friday and Monday off, but I'm still struggling with the back-to-work grind. I blame it on my concert and visitor hangover...or Bill Cosby's confession or the child pornography raid on Jared Fogle's house. Regardless, things were nicer on Friday. Let's go back to that.

On Friday, my dear friends, TJ and Tasha, came to visit and, as per the usual, she came bearing gifts. So, we stocked our fridge with s'mores cookies and lemon bars before heading to Mass Ave for dinner. The wait for Bru Burger was remarkably short, so we took advantage of the situation and feasted on the world's most delicious burgers. Mark my words. After dinner, we took a stroll on the canal, listened to the gondoliers sing, watched YouTube videos of lip sync battles, and laughed like old times.

The next afternoon, TJ and Tasha checked into a hotel with his family as we all prepared for the epic Rolling Stones concert at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There's no better way to celebrate American independence than with the greatest living British band, right? I'll take this opportunity to tell you that I've always loved the Stones and had been counting down the days until the show. We arrived in time to hear the tail end of Saints of Valory's set and searched for a bit before finally finding TJ and Tasha's crew and setting up camp.

Rascal Flatts opened for the Stones and I was amazed by how many of their songs I knew. Many people were upset with a country-pop band doing the opening honors, but I actually enjoyed the juxtaposition in music. Everyone, even country stars, can appreciate the Stones and even Mick Jagger himself channels a little country sound in some of their songs. Plus, we were in Indiana at a speedway. You do the math. Here was their setlist:

Stand
Me and My Gang
What Hurts the Most (with snippets of Hozier's "Take Me to Church")
Love You Out Loud
Why Wait
Bless the Broken Road
Fast Cars and Freedom
Summer Nights
Rewind
My Wish
Banjo
Life is a Highway

IMS had never hosted a concert outside of race day before, so some aspects of the venue left something to be desired. First, there were over 50,000 people in attendance and we paid for the cheap, bronze section tickets. Since the speedway is flat, this prevented us from seeing the performers on the stage and forced us to watch the entire show on the three large screens overhead - think musical festival set-up. Also, our blankets were laid out on gravel (instead of the nearby grassy viewing hills), which made our seating arrangements rather unsatisfactory (see what I did there?). We may not have gotten what we wanted, but we definitely got what we needed when the Stones finally came out.

Guys, I was in absolute music heaven, despite my incessant fear of an ISIS attack. From the second the announcer said, "Ladies and gentleman, the Rolling Stones" to the final bow, I was singing and dancing and inhaling way too much second-hand smoke. It was so incredible to hear some of my favorite songs of all-time live and I was absolutely blown away by the amount of energy those guys still exude. Harry Styles' dad Mick Jagger will be 72 in a couple weeks, but he still dances and sings exactly like he did in the '60s. Keith Richards was also charismatic while on lead vocals, but took a nasty spill while jogging down the runway. Fortunately, he kept playing and laughed it off.


They infused plenty of local humor into the show and, at one point, Mick announced that Ronnie Wood was the winner and handed him a jug of milk to chug like the winner of the Indy 500. The best joke, however, was when Mick said he wanted to bring Tom Brady out to help on a song, but found the idea "a bit deflating." That drew a lot of boos from the Deflategate-sensitive crowd of Colts fans, but I found it hilarious. An additional bonus of the show being on the 4th of July was that we could see fireworks displays from all over Indy throughout the entire show. It was electrifying.

The setlist was absolutely amazing and I actually cried when they launched into "Wild Horses." I would have loved to hear "Beast of Burden" or "Paint it Black," but with a setlist like this, I really can't complain:

Jumpin' Jack Flash
It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)
Let's Spend the Night Together
Tumbling Dice
Out of Control
Let it Bleed (by audience request) -- I mentioned country vibes and you can definitely hear them on this song
Wild Horses
Bitch
Honky Tonk Women
Before They Make Me Run - Keith Richards on vocals
Happy - Keith Richards on vocals
Midnight Rambler
Miss You
Gimme Shelter
Start Me Up
Sympathy for the Devil
Brown Sugar

You Can't Always Get What You Want (with the Butler University choir)
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction




As if that wasn't enough, a 19-minute fireworks display started while the band took their final bow. The perfect end to a perfect 4th of July. Of course, the real end was waiting in standstill traffic for an hour and a half as we tried to leave the Speedway, but nothing could bring me down after a show like that.

Sunday was spent registering at Target (which probably deserves a post of its own) and I filled my personal day on Monday with some poolside reading, a stroll through the Indianapolis Arts Garden, and a matinee of Magic Mike XXL. God bless America. Also, they reference my beloved school, Miami University, in the movie and I almost shrieked in the theater. Pains of going to movies alone, I suppose.

By the time I'm finally running on all cylinders this week, it'll be time for another weekend. Not that I'm complaining. Hope you had a wonderful holiday filled with fireworks, sunshine, apple pie, pool time, and lots of family and friends!