The Rolling Stones' secret show goes over big in L.A.

I'm a huge Rolling Stones fan. I think I've mentioned this on more than one occasion, and lately I've been lamenting the fact that their upcoming tour isn't coming anywhere near me anytime soon. What I do in situations like these is try to ignore that This Tour I'm Dying to See doesn't even exist. Poof! It's gone from my brain.

I can't seem to do that with The Stones. It's just impossible. On Saturday, my Facebook and Twitter timelines lit up with comments from my L.A. "friends" (more like people I work with remotely on a daily basis). All of them were going nuts about some huge "secret show" and a lottery drawing and $20 tickets and...you guessed it...The Rolling Stones.

My response? I proceeded to pop open a few cold beverages and sulk. Not mature, I know, but hey whatever works, right? Only two people I know managed to get through the lottery outside Los Angeles' El Rey Theater. Rolling Stone reports that 2,000 people showed up, and th place holds just 700, so I'd say my friends that did witness the greatness (at L.A.'s Echoplex) were extremely lucky.

I'm so jealous. I can't stand it! The band ripped through an amazing setlist that featured some incredibly notable Rolling Stones classics ("Midnight Rambler," "Little Queenie" and "Street Fighting Man"). They closed the show with the encore one-two punch of "Brown Sugar" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash," and by all first-hand accounts (well, actually my friends' drunken Facebook posts), a fantastic time was had by all.

All except for me, of course. Yeah, yeah I know, I'll quit feeling sorry for myself. After all, I did catch an Alabama Shakes secret show once.

At least the Stones were cool enough to post this great video of all the fun:

The Rolling Stones Live at Echoplex, Los Angeles -- You Got Me Rocking/ Respectable

This whole thing has me thinking: Have you guys ever been lucky enough to get in on one of these kinds of surprise, last-minute shows in small venues? Or, have you missed out on a secret show by not finding out about it until after it happened? I'd love to hear about it.

Photo courtesy of The Rolling Stones' Official Facebook Page