In jubilant celebration of
the Rolling Stones' recent announcement
of a 2018 Tour in Europe;
I am re-posting an old post from 2014
featuring photos that my BFF, Sheila, and I took
on our 36th rolling stone Anniversary.
NOTE:
I would post something new, but I don't have time because I have to contact Sheila and let her know that the Stones are touring in Europe and we immediately need to make plans to go!
photos in this re-post feature the hampton coliseum
in Virginia; where we saw the rolling stones
for the very first time!
Just like the Rolling Stones, we are looking through the past darkly . . .
Looking back on 2014 . . . When we were looking back on 1978!
[Old post begins now.]
_________________________________________________
Looking Through the Past Darkly . . .
Well . . . actually, we are looking through the doors of the Hampton Roads Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia. It was on this momentous day - June 21 - that we (my BFF Sheila and I) attended our very first Rolling Stones concert . . . Right HERE, in this very venue, a mere 36 years ago.
It's our Some-GirlZ/Rolling Stones 36th Anniversary!!!
If you don't know me, or Sheila, then allow me to introduce ourselves. Sheila and I, (along with our other BFF, the late, great Keith Richard-impersonator-extraordinaire and deeply missed)Johannah) have been known to many folks as "Some GirlZ" because of our checkered past as Rolling Stone stalkers (and Rolling Stone impersonators, just to make it weirder). The "Z" part is because we were also known as the Minnelli GirlZ all throughout high school and also because we were NOT the kind of "Some Girls" that the Rolling Stones were referring to in the song (and album) by that name. That is to say, we were pretty wholesome (as far as Rolling Stone-impersonating stalkers go).
To celebrate our Stones Anniversary, Sheila and I decided to do a little re-enacting of our Rolling Stone Quest by visiting the coliseum and reliving the memories of the mad rush we were a part of when those doors first opened all those years ago. It was our first time back to the hallowed site together and we took photos to illustrate our what our previous selves might have looked like back in 1978 as we tried to make our way inside the coliseum to see the Stones.
The picture below is of Rolling Stone fans at the Hampton Coliseum.
(circa June 1978)
Being only 18 years old and new to the Rolling Stone concert scene on that momentous June 21st, we were a little surprised to find upon our early arrival that a good size crowd had already piled up outside all the doors. We had naively expected to be the first ones there. But taking into consideration the fact that we arrived much later than other fans, we did pretty well in regards to squeezing ourselves into the front through the masses of humanity. After standing over six hours in the hot, hot sun, (which included one short downpour and ugly humidity the entire time), we bolted through those doors like cattle in a stampede and outran thousands of other people to stake our claim right in the front row! (It pays to be athletic if you are a Rolling Stones fangirl!)
Sheila and Connie demonstrate "Some Girlz" action poses.
We had a foolproof scheme in place to meet the Stones right after the concert. But ohhhh . . . Things did NOT turn out the way we had planned on that fateful night. In fact, all our brilliant plans of meeting the Rolling Stones were turned upside down in a real-life freaky plot twist; one that actually involved the Stones taking our hotel rooms. (Some stuff you can't make up.)
The entire night morphed into a Some Girlz version of an I Love Lucy episode. The fateful events of that evening became the impetus that launched us into an unforeseen concert-to-concert pursuit of the Stones (with no parent-notification), thereby filling the following days and nights with trespassing, high-speed car chases, and frequent rescues (from our own stupidity) by the kindness of strangers. But you'll just have to read my book for the juicy details.
(Once I finish it. And get an agent. And get it published. I'll keep you posted.)
After Sheila and I finished saluting the Hampton Coliseum, Sheila and I took an Anniversary Drive down Memory Lane.
Actually it wasn't really Memory Lane; it was Mercury Boulevard.
Same thing actually.
Sheila and I drove along the boulevard, reliving our vivid memories of hurtling down that road at death-defying speeds as we raced to obtain last-minute Rolling Stone tickets the day before the concert. Fortunately, we lived to tell the story (and killed no one, thereby proving that miracles are real). In hindsight, I' have begun to question the wisdom of allowing teenagers to have driver's licenses. I can't believe how many cars and pedestrians we endangered as we hurtled down streets in our Stones-fevered pursuit.
Someday, you will be able to read the entire story of which I hint. It is documented in my book, Some Girlz (with a Z), over which I continue to slave.
So stay tuned for updates on the book!
The Some GirlZ pictured from top to bottom:
Johannah Cantrell as Keith Richards
Sheila Allen Ninowski as Mick Taylor
Connie Taylor Krupp as Mick Jagger
Note: To see more historic photos of the Hampton Coliseum,
