The Stones have left the building. And the Byward Market. And the city of Ottawa. Phew! Good thing. I don’t think I could have another night with 2 hours’ sleep. On Sunday night, 43,000 people were treated to more than a concert, more than a night out. It was one of those rare, beautiful experiences. The world’s biggest rock and roll band came to our town and blew our doors wide open. For first-timers, it was a chance to see a bit of rock history. For those who have seen the Stones in the past, it was all the more special, with Mick and the boys finally being on our turf. What a show! I just couldn’t get enough. Which leads into why I did what I did the very next day after the concert.
Ottawa is a really big small town. Word about something juicy going on travels pretty quickly, so at 10 am on Monday morning, I found myself standing outside night-club Zaphod Beeblebrox in the market, the rumoured location of a Rolling Stones video shoot. At this point there was a couple of pigeons, two tractor trailers, and my friend Ann Marie McQueen, a reporter with the Ottawa Sun, who had heard the same rumour. I was armed with a tape recorder to interview the throngs of fans that would be there to capture a glimpse of the Stones. After waiting a while, no one came. So I interviewed Ann Marie McQueen instead.
Hours later, I returned to nab a spot with friends at the pub beside Zaphod’s, on the outdoor patio. That’s when things really started to happen. Trailer after trailer arrived, the street was completely closed off, production crews were barking orders all day and beautiful people started streaming into restricted areas, signed up as ‘extras’ for the Stones video shoot. I found an adjoining patio between the pub and Zaphod’s, and lo and behold, the ‘extra’s’ were all hanging out, waiting patiently to be called in to take their place inside the bar, waiting patiently to be part of something so cool, wow, a Stones video. That’s when it hit me. I decided to act like an extra. Sure, I didn’t look like one of them. These were hip rocksters in super funky clothes, clothes chosen just for them by a wardrobe lady that kept disappearing into a giant wardrobe trailer. I was wearing hiking boots, jeans, and a giant grey sweatshirt. I spoke to no one, afraid to blow my cover. Every once in a while, from my spot on the ‘extra’s patio’, I would hear a big roar from the ever-expanding crowd lining the sidewalks. Ronnie Wood had just arrived and disappeared into a trailer. Another roar. It was Keith! Then Charlie. Then Mick. Incognito amidst the extra’s, I waited patiently as they were called in to the bar, to take their place in the video shoot, one by one. Of course I had never given anyone my name, I didn’t fit the physical ‘look’ that these people had been hired for, and I wasn’t quite sure how to handle that moment when I would be the only one left, with absolutely no explanation of what I was doing there, no paperwork filled out, nothing. I was fully prepared to be busted and return to my friends outside on the pub patio. That’s when something incredible happened. The wardrobe lady came into the ‘extra’s’ holding tank and asked me if I had something else to wear. I said no. Then she handed me the hippest green shirt, and told me to change, fast. The last round of extra’s were summoned to the video set, and I was one of them. I was now inside the club, doing my best to blend in, tucking myself into the crowd on the dance floor. I kept praying the director wouldn’t notice the one woman in the middle who just didn’t project hipness. A couple of moments later, the Stones entered Zaphods, climbed on the stage, and the fantasy began. The band kicked into their single, ‘Streets of Love’, and our job was to act like a bunch of bar patrons doing what they do, grooving to the band. I was in so much shock over what I was seeing, Mick and the boys a mere ten feet away on a tiny stage, and I tried to pump my fist to the song but my entire body froze. Eventually I did pump my fist, and swayed with both arms in the air, showing off my prop drink, sharing a laugh with Ronnie Wood. Cameras rolled, production people shouted, beautiful people were put in strategic positions, regular people like me maintained the important role of padding out the bar. I wasn’t trying to get into the video, I just wanted to see the Stones play in a tiny bar. It was an experience I will never ever forget. Watch for the video ‘Streets of Love’ coming soon to Much Music. I wonder if my fist ended up on the cutting room floor.
