Through Seattle, Darkly
Both Red Mill locations are closing early on Sunday, and that can mean only one thing -- the Rolling Stones are back in town.
Way back in August, the Mill began running ads in The Stranger counting down the days 'til the big concert, along with a photo of six employees wagging their tongues at the camera, much like on the T-shirts they're all wearing. Then in September, upon release of the Stones' surprisingly decent new disc, RM hosted all-day listening parties at both locations. Of course, this would've been difficult to distinguish from any other day at Red Mill, where the Stones always seem to be in heavy rotation.
Sunday marks the Stones' return to the Key Arena where, 40 years ago, they made their Seattle debut. On December 2, 1965, a half-full Coliseum (as it was then called) hosted a half-hour set, with Northwest rock legends the Wailers and Paul Revere & the Raiders warming up. The Stones played to another half-full Coliseum in 1966 before returning for two sold-out Coliseum shows on the afternoon and evening of June 4, 1972. (Compare that coked-up era to now, in which the limey sexagenarians play only one show every two days.) A killer performance of "All Down the Line" from one of those '72 shows appears in the incendiary, never-officially released documentary Cocksucker Blues.
The Stones last played the Coliseum 1975 before graduating to the cavernous Kingdome for two gigs in 1981. They skipped Seattle in 1989 for Vancouver, but returned to the Dome in 1994 and 1997 for two of the most overblown concerts this town has seen. The last time 'round, in 2002, they skipped Seattle again, instead playing the Tacoma Dome.
At the '94 show, Mick Jagger bantered something about "a lotta great bands from the Northwest," though he didn't name names. However, the next year he told Rolling Stone: "I wasn't crazy about Nirvana -- too angst-ridden for me. I like Pearl Jam." Unfortunately, unlike in 1965, neither Pearl Jam, nor Mudhoney, nor any other local talent will open Sunday's show. We're stuck with Mötley Crüe.
So, why all the fuss at Red Mill? Apparently the owners are big fans, and they bought concert tickets for their employees. (No word if attendance is mandatory.) As for non-Stones fans craving a solid Sunday night burger, there's always Burgermaster.
