The Pilgrimage

"The Pilgrimage"

Some men are Pilgrims of Mecca.
Others journey to the Wailing Wall,
Still those like me travel you see,
To see their most favorite band of all!

For those of us who are unfortunate enough to be getting a little older this story is written. This is true and will remain a highlight of my life that will stay locked in my heart and memories until I draw my last breath!

It all started at 2:00 a.m. July 30, 2003 when my wife and I, two sons and their girlfriends all piled into two vehicles for a great adventure. You may say this is not such a big deal but to me it was the pilgrimage of a life time and a memorial to a childhood friend who should be here.

We purchased tickets for the mere price of sixteen dollars a piece to the "Toronto Rocks" rock concert at Downsview Park in Toronto, Canada. We live in western New York State and left at this absurd time to make sure we would be at the gates at 8:00 a.m. so we could get close enough to the bands, particularly the Rolling Stones and AC/DC!

It was around 4:30 a.m. when we arrived at the train station in Hamilton, Ontario as we had previously decided to take the trains and avoid the traffic of the rapidly growing venue. I must admit that I found most Canadians more helpful and friendly than those that commute on the New York City subways, no offense to New Yorkers of which I am one! Once in Toronto we changed over from the train to the subway and proceeded to Downsview Park. The sun shining, it promised to be a beautiful day.

We arrived at the park and were standing at the gates at 8:00 a.m. There were already about a thousand people in line. Now mind you, we stood there for an hour trying to understand why they wouldn't open all the gates and let us all in? When they finally did, we walked down a long concrete runway of an abandoned airstrip all the way to the other end and the stage. This was where the concessions were located and where they passed out free cases of bottled water which would prove to be an important necessity later in the day.

I was the leader of our small expedition and had decided to get close to the stage but not so close that we couldn't sit down later in the day if we had too! We could see the enormous preparations made for the event and looked forward to a day of rock and roll. I was fifty two and my wife forty nine and I won't even mention the ages of the youngsters. At any rate it wouldn't amount to a hill of beans later on!

As the day rolled on we were entertained by musical guests like "The Isley Brothers," "Justin Timberlake," "The Guess Who" and "Rush." Then as the sun dipped low in the western horizon and all 490,000 people were antsy, Angus Young struck one single chord on his guitar and caused a virtual sea of people to jump their feet screaming. This is a tease I told another individual, "a wake up call!" AC/DC didn't come out for another fifteen minutes or so but when they did it was a performance of a magnitude 10.0 on the Richter scale and to quote a phrase "The Crowd Went Wild!"

Now by the time AC/DC had worked everyone into a rock and roll frenzy, we were primed and ready to see the main headliners, The "Stones!" Unfortunately they were late and I think someone said, believe it or not? it was traffic!

Now, for the reasons I made this journey in the first place! I've been a hard core Rolling Stones fan since their first appearance on the "Ed Sullivan Show" in the early sixty's. I was in my mid teens when I started to follow their careers and continued to for four decades. Who would ever think they would last that long? A friend, who is no longer with us, taught me my first riff on an electric guitar and wouldn't you know, it was "Satisfaction." I look back on those days and wish he was here to see these guys but it's up to me to savor the moment for him and if he's watching from somewhere up there, "This ones for you Charlie and thanks for turning me on to the "Stones" and I'll miss you always buddy!"

Anyway, the legends themselves come out on the stage and I get goose bumps because in all those years I never saw my favorite rock and roll band. They start with an electrifying performance of 'Start Me Up" and as we're starting to leave, ended with "Jumpin Jack Flash."

Now I won't go into the fine details of the size of the crowd or the length of time spent in the hot July sun that day but I will sum it up with an eloquent quote from Brian Johnson lead singer of AC/DC. As he walked out on stage he reached for a glass of water and turning to face the crowd of 490,000 all he could say was"Holy Shit!"

Finally, I would like to thank Mick, Keith, Charlie and Ron for being those unsung heroes of mine and the years of enjoyment they've given me and everyone else who has followed their long musical careers.





footnote: I could have written at least ten if not twenty pages about the trip and concert but I didn't want to bore all of you to death!