Almanac Music and Travel: Chicago Hosts the Rolling Stones 50th Anniversary

 

Day 2 in Chicago in 2014 and the Rolling Stones decide to launch their 50th Anniversary exhibit as a tribute to the Chicago Bluesmen who inspired them.

 

“In breaking news today, Chicago Police have arrested a man described as a ‘pasty white Australian’ for disturbing the peace at Millennium Park. In what appears to be a random but disturbing act, the middle-aged man was seen pushing young children out of the way in order to wet himself at the Crown Fountain. Angry parents rang the police and the man was detained screaming ‘Lynda help!’ The seemingly fictional Lynda couldn’t be found and is still to step forward. The man has claimed heat stroke as the cause of his behaviour.” 

 

Yes, it was seriously hot and humid yesterday before getting some respite late in the day, but the heat couldn’t dampen a brilliant time wandering around this amazing city. The first thing I noticed about Chicago is its width. Everything about the sidewalks, roads and communal pathways has had a lot of thought put into it and it seems that despite the vertical concrete mass around you, you don’t feel squeezed in or claustrophobic.

 

I was totally surprised by how much public space there is. Firstly Lake Ontario looks like an ocean, not a lake. There is actually some official beaches at different points on the Lake, the closest being Ohio Beach which is 100m from the skyscrapers. This is the same body of water that turns into a giant ice rink in winter. Then there is Millennium Park, definitely right up there with Central Park for location and dramatic backdrop. The art installation ‘Cloud Gate’ is the best ‘object d’art’ I’ve seen, not just because it’s a beautiful stainless steel structure, but because it succeeds in stimulating people young and old like nothing else. That’s what great art does and this has it in spades.

 

 

 

 

The Crown Fountain is two 50ft pillars with LED displays. Water runs down them continuously and forms a pool about 2cm deep that you can walk through and cool off or you can stand under the pillars and get soaked. The interesting bit is the pillars. The faces of 1000 Chicago locals appear and stay there for 13 minutes, just looking and smiling. After 13 minutes their lips purse and a giant fountain of water shoot out of their mouths. An absolutely stunning piece of interactive art that serves a massive purpose to the kids on a day like yesterday.

 

 

 

 

There is another standout section of Millennium Park that you can’t help but bump into. The Jay Pritzker Pavilion is like the Myer Music Bowl on steroids. There was an orchestra rehearsing yesterday and the sound was superb. You could sit and listen on a grassed area the size of an AFL ground or there were several thousand seats closer to the stage. From there we were keen to see some water and Lake Ontario doesn’t disappoint. There is a big yacht club and lots of other watercraft catering for tourists but it’s the size of the lake that’s astounding. There is a breakwater with a couple of lighthouses so it immediately gives you the feeling of the sea, the only difference is that you can’t smell the salt water.

 

 

 

 

Another destination high on the list in Chicago is Navy Pier which was approx. another 20 min walk. It literally is a pier, but like everywhere else there is ample space to cater for big crowds. It contains a children’s museum, an observation wheel, rides and these enormous spaces for functions and exhibitions. One of these currently running is the Rolling Stones 50^th Anniversary exhibition. We thought it was just a photographic exhibition but it was so much more. There was so much to read and priceless artifacts if you’re a diehard fan. The show included:

 

• guitars and the stories behind them
• a recording studio set up as it was in the 70s with audio from producers
• all the history behind the album covers and the artists who did them
• The fashion the band has worn over 50 years
• original notebooks and other handwritten lyrics
• incredible photographs..period
• chronological history of the band
• an interactive mixing desk so you play with a classic Stones song
• a Martin Scorsese doco on the Stones in film
• a 3D 6min concert film of the Stones doing “Satisfaction” where you are in their face either front row or on stage with them
• my personal favourite, a fully re-created flat in Chelsea the way Charlie saw it when he used to visit when it housed Keith, Brian, and Mick in 1961. Disgusting and brilliantly done. It had the voice over from Charlie in that droll East London accent. “It wasn’t such a bad place, it’s just what they did to it.”

 

 

Lynda and I had our Stones concerts in Melbourne cancelled on us during their last tour so this was a ripper 2 hours. The love for each other in the band and the blues resonated throughout the tour. One of my favourite couple of albums of all time is Exile on Main St and there was plenty here to enjoy with some photos of it’s making I hadn’t seen before. No need to mention any drug taking but there was a comment from Keith saying, “nobody sleeps while I’m awake”. There was also a moving chronological concert calendar on a wall showing where they had played live over the journey. It’s estimated they have played to 45 million people. Extraordinary.

 

From there it was more walking the city, a magnificent burger and the train home. Hats off to the town planners and architects who built this city, one of whom I could have been had I not chosen the lucrative pathway of aircraft mechanic as a career. Some photos from yesterday.

 

 

 

More from Ian Wilson can be read Here.

 

 

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