The ROLLING STONES – 11-8-1969 (first show) Fabulous Forum, Inglewood

EXPERIENCE ROCK HISTORY!

the ROLLING STONES
Ike & Tina Turner Revue
11-8-1969 (first show)
Fabulous Forum, Inglewood (Capacity: 17,000)

Well, we end the ‘60s fittingly with the “World’s Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Band” – The Rolling Stones!
But before we get into that, please do not forget to check out: Top Ten Historic Classic Rock Concerts 1968-1972 to experience the cream of concerts from this era!

The question used to be, “Are you a Beatles or Elvis fan?” (this compares apples to oranges), the question really was, “Are you a Beatles or Stones fan?” (this compares apples to bad apples).  I was a die-hard Stones fan and still am.

I had only five Beatles LPs; “Meet”, “Pepper’s”, “Magical”, “Abbey” and “the White Album”, of those “Abbey” was the only one that I played a lot.  On the other hand I had all the Stones LPs; up to and including “Exile” and all were on heavy rotation.
The Rolling Stones are the World’s Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Band in the truest sense; they represent all that Rock ‘n’ Roll should be and can be.

Back in 1965 the first time I heard “Satisfaction” on the radio, it was like a ten ton carnival of liberating fun with jet engines flew in, hovered and whoosh gone!  What was that sound?!  Now it’s a standard – back then it was banned on some U.S. radio stations; but in L.A. it debuted at Number One on KHJ’s “Boss” 30 before even charting! No single, not even a Beatles single, ever did that!

Where are the “Satisfaction” and “Light My Fire” equivalents of today?  Do I even need to expound on that obvious answer?

The Stones were here for the long haul and history proved it; 37 years later their 2006 tour took in more revenue and was seen by more people than any other band on the planet!

This was a great concert for those of us who attended the first show of the evening; back when the Forum was still Fabulous.  For some reason ($), two concerts were scheduled to take place on the same evening.  And we either got there late or Terry Reid and BB King got bumped due to the delays.  In either case I remember that the first show started way late, which was a bit of a bummer.  We sat well over an hour before Ike and Tina hit the stage which caused the second show to start well past midnight.
Thankfully my semi-girlfriend at the time and I were good at entertaining ourselves while we waited.  She was a former “Dating Game” bachelorette that I got to know in high school art class. (She chose bachelor Luke Halpin of TV’s “Flipper” fame). She had recently transferred from another L.A. school and I was pretty much the first guy she got to know and we hit it off.  She had it all; beautiful face, great body and a sparkling personality – with that combo it was only natural that she would move on, but not before we had a really good time together and that night was one of those times. We had a decent view from decent seats angled up a bit but to the right of the stage and once again close enough to see Mick and the Boys facial features – we did not have big screens back then.

I remember when we came out of the concert seeing the zombie-fried faces of the second show fans whose drugged-prepped concert turned into a three hour wait outside while they peaked and crashed before ever hearing a note.  Bummer.  On the bright side, I was not one of them.

The Ike and Tina Turner Revue really had to pull out the stops to satisfy the overly-patient packed Forum.   And they did; just as James Brown was the “hardest working man in show biz”, Tina Turner easily qualified for the female version!  She exploded with energy; enjoying her resurgence of popularity during her “Proud Mary”-era that set off a solid two decades of hits and iconic imagery associated with her.

The Stones were in fine form and pretty much ripped through the concert, but we knew why – they had freezing fans outside – hey, it gets cold in the winter in L.A. too – we might have to put on a jacket.  But they made up for it at both shows that evening with a killer set; pure gold.   I mean, they played early Stones!  “I’m Free”, “Carol”, “Little Queenie”, “Satisfaction” and First Time EVER Live Performance of; “Live With Me”!!!  And featured songs from the classic, “Begger’s Banquet” LP (Love that LP!) and the masterpiece, “Let It Bleed” (Love that LP – even more?).

This was a historic era for the Stones and the fans and this was a really great and fun concert, but a far greater and funner and much more intimate Stones concert experience was still in my future.
STONES 06-09-72 HOLLYWOOD PALLADIUM

Lineup:  Mick Jagger (Vocals and Harmonica), Keith Richards (Guitars, Dobro and Vocals), Mick Taylor (Guitars), Bill Wyman (Bass), Charlie Watts (Drums), Ian Stewart (Piano).

Setlist: Jumping Jack Flash, Carol, Sympathy For The Devil, Stray Cat Blues, Prodigal Son, Love In Vain, I’m Free, Midnight Rambler, Live With Me (1st time played live), Little Queenie, Satisfaction, Honky Tonk Women, Street Fighting Man.

ROLLING STONES -FORUM 11-8-69 LIVE SAME SET LIST AS 1ST SHOW – THE WORLD’S GREATEST ROCK ‘N’ ROLL BAND!