(Note: I have NO proof at all that the following events occurred, the only witness' were my co-worker Kent (I don't remember his last name), our shop supervisor at Paradise Entertainment, Paul Lee and 'The Rolling Stones')
3A.M. December 18th, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. The terrace of the Hotel Vancouver, penthouse suite.
Kent and I looked at each other and I said, "Hey, wanna smoke? It may be the last time we're ever here...."
(About 12 Hours earlier): When I had moved to Vancouver in 1994, I had first set out to find a job as soon as I could. With resumes in hand, I hit several of Vancouver's 'lighting and sound' production companies (companies that provided entertainment lighting, sound equipment and technicians for concerts, dances, conventions etc). Within a day or two of getting out some resumes, I had received a call from Vancouver's 'Paradise Entertainment' - They held Vancouver's largest venue which was the old Expo '86 grounds in 'False Creek' in downtown Vancouver called 'The Plaza of Nations'.
'Paradise Entertainment' not only held this prestigious venue, but also did many off-site events, from dances, conventions, concerts, weddings, karaoke and more. I was hired at first to just be an on site laborer, who helped out with event's like Indy racing, Van's Warped tour, huge weddings, huge conventions, massive dances, concerts and film shoots.
By December 1994, I had been promoted to 'on-site manager' for the plaza of nations venue, Enterprise Hall, which was not only startling to me, as I had some decent experience in lighting and sound, but I was younger than a lot of the crews I assembled and worked with. The weddings and off site work I did was also fun, I ate foods I'd never heard of, got to be at some of Vancouver's most wealthy neighborhoods and prestigious golf courses, but playing wedding songs over and over, week after week, it was kinda starting to grate on me a bit... I had already stacked up a number of weddings at Paradise Entertainment and had warned management that for my 100th wedding gig, I was going to play the music I wanted!
My job as the on site manager was to manage all planning, organizing the work crews, set up and striking (tear down) of any functions happening at the Plaza of Nations venue.
On the afternoon of December 17th, I had arrived on site to prepare work for a small function in Enterprise Hall, if I recall correctly, it was some sort of gathering of Buddhist monks, which was pretty interesting on its own.
As I walked into our back shop, where we housed all of our P.A. equipment, lighting and electrical, I ran into our shop keep Alex Rivas, a great sound tech originally from Mexico (he had done sound for SLAYER to the Pope's visit in Mexico - Even had the pix to back that up!).
I saw Alex had some gear that he was prepping to go out and asked him what that gear was for and he told me that it was for some "Rolling Stone's birthday party" happening later that night and that our co-worker Kent was going to be heading out with it.
I was aware that the Rolling Stones were playing BC Place stadium, which was adjacent to our venue and that the band was doing a two night stint in Vancouver. Our company had given myself and my boss Larry Darling (another New Brunswicker) tickets to the December 18th show.
I asked Alex, what exactly this "party for the Rolling Stones" was all about and he said he wasn't too sure of the details, and to ask Paul, his supervisor for the details.
So I left the back warehouse and found Paul Lee, the off site manager and asked him what the gear Alex was prepping was for and Paul gave me pretty much the same answer. So I pressed him a little more, asking, 'So is this for some fans that are having a birthday party?' and Paul replied, "Well no, I'm pretty sure it's one of the band members birthdays and also the crews Christmas party, Kent is going to be DJing, do you want to go help him set up?"
I thought I'd heard him say that it was one of the Rolling Stone's members birthdays and that he'd just asked me if I had wanted to go....
So I asked Paul to clarify what he'd just said and with butterflies welling up in my gut, I said, "Did you just ask me if I wanted to go, help Kent at a Rolling Stones members birthday party??"
Now my event in Enterprise Hall was already set up and set to go, it was one of our events that really didn't need me to be there until the tear down, so I'd have plenty of time to help Kent at the hotel and then return to tear down my event at the Plaza Of Nations and then head back to the party.
So I went and checked on my gear and spoke to the point of contact for my event and then went back to our offices to wait for Kent.
When Kent showed up, we both excitedly talked about this CRAZY, out of this World event we'd be chosen to be apart of that evening. According to the itinerary, Kent and I would head to the Hotel Vancouver, set up the gear for the birthday party and then I'd leave to come back tear down my equipment, then I'd return to the hotel to help Kent strike that gear.
I can't remember what time that afternoon we had set out to set up the gear, it must have been late, I remember it was dark as we set out in the van with the equipment. Kent and I were so excited, it was unbelievable, we were going to be at the Rolling Stone's penthouse suite at the Hotel Vancouver for one of the band members birthday, we were not even too sure who's birthday it was, but at that point we really didn't care.
His problem was that he knew where the front of the hotel was, but he didn't exactly know where the service entrance was, which was where we needed to get to and then we'd take a private service elevator up to the top floor.
We eventually found the underground entrance and off loaded our gear. A security guard got us to the service elevator and told us that when we got to the top floor, we see a small staircase that would take us up to the back entrance to the penthouse suite. So as the doors closed, Kent and I looked at each other, beaming grins across both of our faces.
It was a pain in the ass to haul the gear up those stairs, but we eventually made it into the penthouse and entered a door to a small waiting room, next to it was a kitchen, that then opened up into the penthouse proper. I was never anywhere else except that side room, that had a couch, a desk and a table set up for our equipment. I had gone into the kitchen (there will be more on that later) and into the main room of the penthouse.
While we were there at that time, which I believe now was around 7-8PM when we began to set up the gear catering was milling about, along with a couple of reps from the record company and a few management folk. Everyone was really cool and I ended up speaking to someone who apparently was the bands manager or tour manger at the time. He was a big man, with a loud voice. I can't remember his name.
As we unpacked the gear, which included, a set of PA speakers, a CD player, cassette decks, and amp to power it and all the wiring, A/C cords... But as Kent and I began to set up, we soon realized, that who ever had put this gear together totally screwed up. I don't recall exactly what was missing or was wrong, but I do remember not getting any power, thus no sound.
This was beginning to be a problem. It was getting on, I think maybe 9:30 -10PM when Kent left to go and get some replacement gear.
It was around this time that the 'manager' began to get a little irate. I met with him in the kitchen and he told me that the band was now playing their show and after the show they were heading here immediately. it was Keith Richard's 57th birthday party as well as the crews Christmas party...
So that was it, Keith Richard's 57th birthday!.... As we waited for Kent to return and it was taking longer and longer, this burly man got more and more irate. "We paid for this to be set up and going when the band got here and you don't even have the right equipment!" I don't exactly recall everything else this man hurled at me, but I do remember him threatening to throw me off the balcony of the terrace... I shit you not. I swear on my Mother's grave, the guy did threaten to throw me off the balcony (Which when I thought back, 'you know, to be thrown off the top of the Hotel Vancouver's penthouse by the Rolling Stone's manager, well, there's probably worse ways to go)...
It seemed to take Kent forever to get back with the right equipment, but when he did we were in full panic mode. "The band was on it's way, the band was in the lobby, the band was on it's way up..."
The table we had, well, we were always sent with a table cloth to drape over the tables to make them look a little presentable.
I remember being on my hands and knees, messing about under the table with some wiring when I had turned about, still on my hands and knees and realized I was no longer alone with Kent in the room. From my point of view on the floor, I was now looking at a set of legs and as I looked up, there I was, on my hands and knees on the floor in front of Charlie Watts and his wife Shirley Shepherd, a very beautiful woman at her age. I stood up and introduced myself and he said something like, "So, you're the entertainment for the night?"
Right then, from the doorway to the rest of the penthouse, Keith Richards swayed in, drink in one hand and a smoke in the other and said in his British accent, "Alright are we going to get this party started or what???" - Classic Keith Richards right?.... Kent and I introduced ourselves and Charlie and Keith looked through what music we had been sent with and really, it was quite embarrassing. I mean, the usual 'gigs' that Paradise Entertainment did were weddings, dances, birthday parties (Non Stones ones), so the music we had was like canned music, Pop, Rock, stuff... This is the Rolling Stones, so someone left and came back to our room and gave Kent some CDs to play, some of their music.
I had to get going to strike my event back at the plaza, but right before I left, Kent and I were invited by Ron Woods son 'Jesse', to smoke a joint with him out in the hallway.
So I left, and literally ran back to our venue, tore down that equipment by myself, wheeled it to our warehouse and then made my way back to the hotel.
The place was rockin' when I got back, packed wall to wall with friends and family of the band, the road crew were opening their presents and Kent and I saw huge 8 balls of crack cocaine, which were quickly whisked off to other rooms.
I must have walked by Mick Jagger four or five times before I recognized him, the man is a midget.
I guess it was one of those things, where obviously you know who the guy is, but they are like the Worlds biggest freakin Rockstars, they are giants right? No, no, Mick is like only 5 ft something (Google says 5'8, but he's NOT that tall, I swear to you) and he was wearing this goofy hat. I never met anyone personally other than Keith, Charlie and his wife and Jesse Wood.
The night began to wind down and the band had cleared out around 2:30AM to get something to eat or party somewhere else, I wasn't ever all too clear as to where they disappeared to.
The place was empty aside from a couple hotel staff and Kent and I. We packed up the gear and before we left, I suggested we take a walk around and that's where we ended up outside on the terrace of the penthouse suite. I pulled out my pack of smokes and offered Kent one. I said to him, 'Hey, wanna smoke? It may be the last time we're ever here, in the penthouse suite of the Hotel Vancouver'.
I was still staying at my Aunt and Uncles in East Vancouver at that time and the next late morning I told my Aunt and Uncle about this CRAZY night we'd had. My aunt suggested that I should call my Mom and let her know.
Mom and I, when I had left for Vancouver, were not on the best of terms, but she had been worrying about me, Vancouver is a big city and considering it had Hell's Angels and other gangs, a heroin epidemic, 'swarmings', robberies, yeah, she was concerned.
So I gave Mom a call, maybe not the best way to start off a conversation with your Mom, who's been worrying about you, but I said, 'Mom, you'll never guess where I was last night!'.... I think she said something like, "Do I want to know?"
I then told her the whole story of the night before, being at Keith Richards 57th birthday, meeting Keith and Charlie, being threatened with being tossed off the penthouse terrace and that tonight (December 18th), I was going to see the 'Voodoo Lounge' tour, probably THE biggest show I've ever seen.
Larry and I had a blast that night at the show. It was pretty cool to see that show and be thinking that just the night before I had met a few of the guys and had set foot where few mortals had. I really had no proof that I had been there. 1994, was a very long time before I owned a cellphone with a camera, Kent didn't have a cell phone, I think I might've had a pager at the time... You don't want to be bugging people for their autographs when it's after their show and it's someone's birthday party, but I know I was there, Kent knows too.
And that my friends, was just the beginning of my adventures in Vancouver.....
3A.M. December 18th, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. The terrace of the Hotel Vancouver, penthouse suite.
Kent and I looked at each other and I said, "Hey, wanna smoke? It may be the last time we're ever here...."
(About 12 Hours earlier): When I had moved to Vancouver in 1994, I had first set out to find a job as soon as I could. With resumes in hand, I hit several of Vancouver's 'lighting and sound' production companies (companies that provided entertainment lighting, sound equipment and technicians for concerts, dances, conventions etc). Within a day or two of getting out some resumes, I had received a call from Vancouver's 'Paradise Entertainment' - They held Vancouver's largest venue which was the old Expo '86 grounds in 'False Creek' in downtown Vancouver called 'The Plaza of Nations'.
The Plaza of Nations
'Paradise Entertainment' not only held this prestigious venue, but also did many off-site events, from dances, conventions, concerts, weddings, karaoke and more. I was hired at first to just be an on site laborer, who helped out with event's like Indy racing, Van's Warped tour, huge weddings, huge conventions, massive dances, concerts and film shoots.
By December 1994, I had been promoted to 'on-site manager' for the plaza of nations venue, Enterprise Hall, which was not only startling to me, as I had some decent experience in lighting and sound, but I was younger than a lot of the crews I assembled and worked with. The weddings and off site work I did was also fun, I ate foods I'd never heard of, got to be at some of Vancouver's most wealthy neighborhoods and prestigious golf courses, but playing wedding songs over and over, week after week, it was kinda starting to grate on me a bit... I had already stacked up a number of weddings at Paradise Entertainment and had warned management that for my 100th wedding gig, I was going to play the music I wanted!
My job as the on site manager was to manage all planning, organizing the work crews, set up and striking (tear down) of any functions happening at the Plaza of Nations venue.
On the afternoon of December 17th, I had arrived on site to prepare work for a small function in Enterprise Hall, if I recall correctly, it was some sort of gathering of Buddhist monks, which was pretty interesting on its own.
As I walked into our back shop, where we housed all of our P.A. equipment, lighting and electrical, I ran into our shop keep Alex Rivas, a great sound tech originally from Mexico (he had done sound for SLAYER to the Pope's visit in Mexico - Even had the pix to back that up!).
I saw Alex had some gear that he was prepping to go out and asked him what that gear was for and he told me that it was for some "Rolling Stone's birthday party" happening later that night and that our co-worker Kent was going to be heading out with it.
I was aware that the Rolling Stones were playing BC Place stadium, which was adjacent to our venue and that the band was doing a two night stint in Vancouver. Our company had given myself and my boss Larry Darling (another New Brunswicker) tickets to the December 18th show.
I asked Alex, what exactly this "party for the Rolling Stones" was all about and he said he wasn't too sure of the details, and to ask Paul, his supervisor for the details.
So I left the back warehouse and found Paul Lee, the off site manager and asked him what the gear Alex was prepping was for and Paul gave me pretty much the same answer. So I pressed him a little more, asking, 'So is this for some fans that are having a birthday party?' and Paul replied, "Well no, I'm pretty sure it's one of the band members birthdays and also the crews Christmas party, Kent is going to be DJing, do you want to go help him set up?"
I thought I'd heard him say that it was one of the Rolling Stone's members birthdays and that he'd just asked me if I had wanted to go....
So I asked Paul to clarify what he'd just said and with butterflies welling up in my gut, I said, "Did you just ask me if I wanted to go, help Kent at a Rolling Stones members birthday party??"
Now my event in Enterprise Hall was already set up and set to go, it was one of our events that really didn't need me to be there until the tear down, so I'd have plenty of time to help Kent at the hotel and then return to tear down my event at the Plaza Of Nations and then head back to the party.
Enterprise Hall - Plaza of Nations, Vancouver
So I went and checked on my gear and spoke to the point of contact for my event and then went back to our offices to wait for Kent.
When Kent showed up, we both excitedly talked about this CRAZY, out of this World event we'd be chosen to be apart of that evening. According to the itinerary, Kent and I would head to the Hotel Vancouver, set up the gear for the birthday party and then I'd leave to come back tear down my equipment, then I'd return to the hotel to help Kent strike that gear.
I can't remember what time that afternoon we had set out to set up the gear, it must have been late, I remember it was dark as we set out in the van with the equipment. Kent and I were so excited, it was unbelievable, we were going to be at the Rolling Stone's penthouse suite at the Hotel Vancouver for one of the band members birthday, we were not even too sure who's birthday it was, but at that point we really didn't care.
Hotel Vancouver
As we zigzagged through Vancouver's downtown, Kent was so excited that we actually got lost! For me, I was a Vancouver 'newbie', so I had an excuse, I had only moved to Vancouver months before this, Kent, he'd grown up here, so he had no excuse.His problem was that he knew where the front of the hotel was, but he didn't exactly know where the service entrance was, which was where we needed to get to and then we'd take a private service elevator up to the top floor.
We eventually found the underground entrance and off loaded our gear. A security guard got us to the service elevator and told us that when we got to the top floor, we see a small staircase that would take us up to the back entrance to the penthouse suite. So as the doors closed, Kent and I looked at each other, beaming grins across both of our faces.
It was a pain in the ass to haul the gear up those stairs, but we eventually made it into the penthouse and entered a door to a small waiting room, next to it was a kitchen, that then opened up into the penthouse proper. I was never anywhere else except that side room, that had a couch, a desk and a table set up for our equipment. I had gone into the kitchen (there will be more on that later) and into the main room of the penthouse.
While we were there at that time, which I believe now was around 7-8PM when we began to set up the gear catering was milling about, along with a couple of reps from the record company and a few management folk. Everyone was really cool and I ended up speaking to someone who apparently was the bands manager or tour manger at the time. He was a big man, with a loud voice. I can't remember his name.
As we unpacked the gear, which included, a set of PA speakers, a CD player, cassette decks, and amp to power it and all the wiring, A/C cords... But as Kent and I began to set up, we soon realized, that who ever had put this gear together totally screwed up. I don't recall exactly what was missing or was wrong, but I do remember not getting any power, thus no sound.
This was beginning to be a problem. It was getting on, I think maybe 9:30 -10PM when Kent left to go and get some replacement gear.
It was around this time that the 'manager' began to get a little irate. I met with him in the kitchen and he told me that the band was now playing their show and after the show they were heading here immediately. it was Keith Richard's 57th birthday party as well as the crews Christmas party...
So that was it, Keith Richard's 57th birthday!.... As we waited for Kent to return and it was taking longer and longer, this burly man got more and more irate. "We paid for this to be set up and going when the band got here and you don't even have the right equipment!" I don't exactly recall everything else this man hurled at me, but I do remember him threatening to throw me off the balcony of the terrace... I shit you not. I swear on my Mother's grave, the guy did threaten to throw me off the balcony (Which when I thought back, 'you know, to be thrown off the top of the Hotel Vancouver's penthouse by the Rolling Stone's manager, well, there's probably worse ways to go)...
It seemed to take Kent forever to get back with the right equipment, but when he did we were in full panic mode. "The band was on it's way, the band was in the lobby, the band was on it's way up..."
The table we had, well, we were always sent with a table cloth to drape over the tables to make them look a little presentable.
I remember being on my hands and knees, messing about under the table with some wiring when I had turned about, still on my hands and knees and realized I was no longer alone with Kent in the room. From my point of view on the floor, I was now looking at a set of legs and as I looked up, there I was, on my hands and knees on the floor in front of Charlie Watts and his wife Shirley Shepherd, a very beautiful woman at her age. I stood up and introduced myself and he said something like, "So, you're the entertainment for the night?"
Right then, from the doorway to the rest of the penthouse, Keith Richards swayed in, drink in one hand and a smoke in the other and said in his British accent, "Alright are we going to get this party started or what???" - Classic Keith Richards right?.... Kent and I introduced ourselves and Charlie and Keith looked through what music we had been sent with and really, it was quite embarrassing. I mean, the usual 'gigs' that Paradise Entertainment did were weddings, dances, birthday parties (Non Stones ones), so the music we had was like canned music, Pop, Rock, stuff... This is the Rolling Stones, so someone left and came back to our room and gave Kent some CDs to play, some of their music.
I had to get going to strike my event back at the plaza, but right before I left, Kent and I were invited by Ron Woods son 'Jesse', to smoke a joint with him out in the hallway.
So I left, and literally ran back to our venue, tore down that equipment by myself, wheeled it to our warehouse and then made my way back to the hotel.
The place was rockin' when I got back, packed wall to wall with friends and family of the band, the road crew were opening their presents and Kent and I saw huge 8 balls of crack cocaine, which were quickly whisked off to other rooms.
I must have walked by Mick Jagger four or five times before I recognized him, the man is a midget.
I guess it was one of those things, where obviously you know who the guy is, but they are like the Worlds biggest freakin Rockstars, they are giants right? No, no, Mick is like only 5 ft something (Google says 5'8, but he's NOT that tall, I swear to you) and he was wearing this goofy hat. I never met anyone personally other than Keith, Charlie and his wife and Jesse Wood.
The night began to wind down and the band had cleared out around 2:30AM to get something to eat or party somewhere else, I wasn't ever all too clear as to where they disappeared to.
The place was empty aside from a couple hotel staff and Kent and I. We packed up the gear and before we left, I suggested we take a walk around and that's where we ended up outside on the terrace of the penthouse suite. I pulled out my pack of smokes and offered Kent one. I said to him, 'Hey, wanna smoke? It may be the last time we're ever here, in the penthouse suite of the Hotel Vancouver'.
I was still staying at my Aunt and Uncles in East Vancouver at that time and the next late morning I told my Aunt and Uncle about this CRAZY night we'd had. My aunt suggested that I should call my Mom and let her know.
Mom and I, when I had left for Vancouver, were not on the best of terms, but she had been worrying about me, Vancouver is a big city and considering it had Hell's Angels and other gangs, a heroin epidemic, 'swarmings', robberies, yeah, she was concerned.
So I gave Mom a call, maybe not the best way to start off a conversation with your Mom, who's been worrying about you, but I said, 'Mom, you'll never guess where I was last night!'.... I think she said something like, "Do I want to know?"
I then told her the whole story of the night before, being at Keith Richards 57th birthday, meeting Keith and Charlie, being threatened with being tossed off the penthouse terrace and that tonight (December 18th), I was going to see the 'Voodoo Lounge' tour, probably THE biggest show I've ever seen.
Larry and I had a blast that night at the show. It was pretty cool to see that show and be thinking that just the night before I had met a few of the guys and had set foot where few mortals had. I really had no proof that I had been there. 1994, was a very long time before I owned a cellphone with a camera, Kent didn't have a cell phone, I think I might've had a pager at the time... You don't want to be bugging people for their autographs when it's after their show and it's someone's birthday party, but I know I was there, Kent knows too.
Voodoo Lounge stage (outdoor)
And that my friends, was just the beginning of my adventures in Vancouver.....
No comments:
Post a Comment