Gimme Shelter

Last night I learned why Mick Jagger is a sex symbol. Having been introduced to him and the music of the Rolling Stones when he was already pushing 45 (I was 8) I just didn't see the appeal. He just seemed like a skinny old man courting major hip replacement surgery with all of that strutting and gyrating around stage. Clearly, having smoked waaaaaaay too much of something, he had deep crevices at each side of his mouth, and his hair desperately needed a good washing. Yes, I was a judgmental child, but I also knew a dirty old man when I saw one.

Last night, though. Whoa. In Gimme Shelter, which I saw in the basement of the Rubin Museum of Art with an old college friend, LA, Mick is hot. There's no other way to describe him. He still showed off those awkward gyrating pelvic bones, but the shaggy hair and pretty pink lips nearly had me and LA swooning on the floor. (That could also be because of the one (count it!) drink I had just before.)

The true star of the documentary, however, was the drummer, Charlie Watts. Obviously, blow dryers were acceptable appliances for men in the late '60s, because his hair is incredible. Framing his pale, chiseled features, it hung poker straight down to his chin, with a lovely side part. And he's so tense as he plays, curling his lips into his mouth and occasionally giving Mick a side glance as if to say, "Really? That move again with the hands held above the head and the hips? Really?"

What was truly remarkable about him though is that he seems to be the only member of the band who took the events of the film seriously. Gimme Shelter was intended to be about the Rolling Stones's 1969 American tour, and for the most part it consists of footage from various concerts, where Mick sings, girls scream and Keith Richards wears frilly pink shirts through which his nipples show. There's an incredible scene from Tina Turner's performance as an opening act, in which you realize why she was so revolutionary for women musically, socially and sexually.

Unfortunately, not all of the Stones' concerts went so smoothly. At the Altamont Free Speedway Festival in northern California 850 people were injured, 4 were killed and a fifth was stabbed to death right in front of the stage. Much of the blame was placed upon the Hell's Angels who were hired (wages: beer) to keep people off the stage and protect the generators. Obviously, not trained professionals, as intoxicated as the crowd and by definition anti-social, the Angels armed themselves with sharpened cue sticks and viciously attacked anyone out of line, including the lead singer of Jefferson Airplane. If your security doesn't know who is actually allowed on the stage, it's clearly counter-productive to have them. On the other hand, the crowd was unbelievable! I've never seen such unruliness in a public arena - climbing the rafters, milling about on stage, stripping naked and climbing on top of people (ew), and throwing glass bottles into the crowd (a pregnant woman suffered a skull fracture).

As I watched Watts watch the footage of this particular concert, and listen to a Hell's Angel on the radio blame the Stones for the whole fiasco, I could see the incredible pain it caused him. No one spoke of the bad press they would suffer, or the fines, or the generally despicable behavior of the organizers. The Stones watched the footage to see if there was anything that might show who stabbed and killed 18-year-old Meredith Hunter, an African-American man who had purportedly wished to shoot Jagger because his girlfriend mentioned how hot the latter was. Jealousy, it seems, never pays.

I'm still mulling over this film. The contrasts with the orderliness of my own concert-going experiences (even those that are free and outdoors) is startling. It explains the generally terrible reputation of Hell's Angels in California (and really, motorcylists in general) and it has me very curious about something. How many of those naked, unruly, irresponsible, drugged-up young people became my teachers? Also, where can I find the red, ruffled bolero with sparkly flowers Keith Richards wore? His daughters are so lucky.