Desert Festival Night One Recap
By Russ Allsup
The night before the festival started I found out from a friend about a three day pass for sale at half price for only $225. So after work I went and bought the wristband for my chance to be part of rock history and see some of the biggest names in music on one stage over a three day period. Managed to catch a ride with a couple of friends who were heading out at 10 am on Friday. Made great time, taking two hours to get to Palm Springs. After we grabbed a meal at Denny’s and took a breather before boarding a shuttle bus and into the festival. Once inside, there were people and booths everywhere- a small city of concert goers. My friend Alex and I found my pal Bill and stepped inside his air conditioned RV for some cold water and quick conversation.
We got our bearings and headed into the festival’s music area to see what adventures were in store. After quickly surveying the area and checking things out we headed to our seats. Alex and Bill went to the high dollar seats with a decent view while I walked to the general admission area that was pretty far back. Wasn’t too awful though- I was at the front of the gen. Admission section and could just make out the musicians. There were also four huge video screens to make things a little more bearable. As the sun finally set, the man that all the other acts that weekend looked up to hit the stage. Bob Dylan played a selection of songs from his fifty- plus year career backed by a full band. With lyrics that have stood the test of time and a voice that has aged like a fine wine, he played for an hour and a half. Opening with Rainy Day Women and also performing classics like Tangled Up in Blue he was a perfect start to the ultimate lineup of classic music icons.
The Rolling Stones started at 9:40 to the sound of tribal drums and launched into, appropriately enough, Start Me Up. Their set concluded at midnight, with highlights such as Sympathy for The Devil, Little T & A, and an amazing encore or You Can’t Always Get What You Want, featuring a choir. The Stones absolutely still have it and turned the festival into the party it was intended to be. Everyone that I could see had huge smiles and sang along to every song. It was a great way to start what will surely. E known as one of the greatest music festivals.
