THEY'RE ONE DOLLAR

First off, let me apologize for indulging in this long winded flashback. I wouldn't blame you for skipping to the end. For you younger folk, you're going to have to take my word on this one: Rod Stewart used to be cool. Really. I saw Rod Stewart and the Faces back in 1975, on a bill with (gulp) Loggins & Messina, Fleetwood Mac and Lynyrd Skynyrd (concerts had all sorts of freaky bills back then). It was at an outdoor venue, San Diego High School's Balboa Stadium. By the time the Faces came on, my friends and I were spent. We had walked into the concert with a five gallon cooler full of Tequila Sunrise (no shit). We were all under age, and none of us yet experienced drinkers; hence the overkill, and the choice of drink. Halfway through the show, we realized that we couldn't possibly finish off the cooler full of warming cocktail. So we did what any enterprising teens would do. We began selling drinks from where we were seated, at a buck a shot, right there in broad daylight. Hard as it may be to believe, security was so lax that no one questioned why there would be a line of people forming, leading to a bunch of fresh faced teenagers. We weren't shit faced or anything, but it was probably the first time most of us were buzzed. (My brother was loose enough that he had his first make out session, with one of my sister's friends.)

After a day of bands that we weren't there to see, as the sun was setting, the normal between-set music died down. David Rose's "The Stripper" began playing over the PA system; the band came out, and plugged in their instruments, to the anticipatory roar of the crowd. Then Rod Stewart came out, arms raised, with a bottle of champagne in one hand; the place went suitably nuts. Once they started playing, it became apparent why the road crew had laid out a stage length mat. Stewart would pick up speed and then slide on it, falling on his ass a few times. As would be expected, they played a mix of Faces and Rod Stewart solo stuff (it was after Smiler came out, so Rod Stewart did not yet fully suck). To be honest, I don't remember much of the set list, I just remember thinking that we were all part of the same party. The Faces were having a ball. They were loose, goofy and self deprecating, and probably as buzzed as anyone in the crowd. It was one of the first shows I'd been to that seemed like the performers and the audience were on the same page, albeit one soaked in silly soup.

One more memory must be exorcised. About a year later, my first girlfriend had just broken up with me. I'm driving down Friars Road in my (sorely missed) '61 Falcon station wagon, blasting the second hand FM radio, when the Rod Stewart cover of the Temptation's "(I Know) I'm Losing You" comes on. I started feeling all sad sack; woe is me type shit. That is, before the songs tempo started to pick up, and the rock endorphins began flowing. By the time Kenny Jones starts wailing, I'm thinking "Wow, Kenny Jones sure can play! ...Lynn who?"

Post script: Just before I was getting ready to post this, I ran into the documentary video posted below. About midway (at 2:54), Ronny Lane pretty much confirms what I said about being on the same page. (But you really should watch the whole thing.)

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Rod Stewart - (I Know) I'm Losing You mp3 at The Giant Panther
Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells A Story mp3 at Rock Town Hall
The Faces - Stay With Me mp3 at Eresmas.net (?)
Rod Stewart - True Blue mp3 at NatalieMcDonald.com
The Faces - Ooh La La mp3 at Foe Weel (If you ever intend to grow old, you'll be glad you have this one.)
Video:
Rod Stewart & the Faces - (I Know) I'm Losing You at YouTube
Clip from a Faces documentary (1970) at YouTube