Timeless

"A rolling stone gathers no moss" ...

... but THE Rolling Stones show us the true meaning of life, the timeless beauty of music and the blues and the musical hooks that just never fade with the sands of time. Tonight was a special moment in time - in which I got to experience (once again) what music is all about, what true performers bring to the stage.

Let's face it - the Rolling Stones are, as they say, the Greatest Rock And Roll Band - ever. Sure, they can put on a spectacle - and both times that I have seen them in action have indeed been "spectacles". The stage show is high-tech - but in the same breath, is just plain down-and-dirty, back alley, rock and roll grit.

But it's when you get down to the music and the performance of it that you realize what sets these gents apart. They've been a band since the early '60s - so yes, they are a tight musical force to be reckoned with. When you play with folks for that long, you get an undeniable groove that digs deep. It's that ability to play behind the beat, that greasy quality that is just so right - yet not sound off time or out of tune.

Sure, their "greatest hits" sound timeless. "Tumbling Dice" was as soulful now as it was when I lived off it during a train ride to Austin. No, you can't always get what you want - but sometimes you just might find that you get what you need - and on this night, the great songs from their long and illustrious past shone brightly. Don't let the age fool you though. An absolutely amazing version of "Bitch" would remind you of what rock and roll is all about!

The reality though is that this is, and always was, a blues band at heart. From their incarnation as the name of a Muddy Waters song, you have to remember their roots. And when they go back to those roots - "Honky Tonk Woman" and "Brown Sugar" ring a bell - then you know that three chords just never sounded quite so good - sloppy, greasy, dirty, the real deal ...

And after all is said and done, I again realized that rock 'n roll is really quite simple - and was always meant to be. As Muddy Waters said, "the blues had a baby ... and they named it rock and roll". My faith in the music hath been restored by a bunch of (what many call) old geezers up there strutting about like they are 20 years old. Hallelujah for that! Life really should be this simple - and for an evening at Zilker Park, it was ...

I can only hope that when I am 60-odd years old, that I have the fire and passion that I witnessed tonight!