The Rolling Stones Still Rock
I was a late bloomer in regard to becoming a Rolling Stones fan. Like the Beatles, the Stones are among the Top 5 rock bands of all time, arguably in the top two. But while I acknowledged the Stones' greatness, I never felt compelled to go out an buy an album.
However, a year or so ago, I decided that I needed a Stones album in my collection, so I went out and bought "Let It Bleed" on CD. It has my favorite Stones song, "Monkey Man," plus a bunch of other classics and some tunes I'd never heard before.
It blew me away.
So I moved on to the other three all-time classics of that magical Stones period from the late 1960s to early 1970s: "Beggars Banquet," "Sticky Fingers" and "Exile on Main Street," which some still consider the greatest double rock album ever.
What I like about the Stones is the guitar interplay, the razor-sharp lyrics and just the overall bad-boy attitude and groove.
Since "Exile on Main Street," the Stones have been hit and miss, from the great "Some Girls" and "Tattoo You" to the slicker, more professional stuff of the 1980s and 1990s, the latter period being void of all-time classics.
Earlier this year, it was announced that the Stones would play the Toyota Center in Houston. Considering my newfound appreciation of the band, a big part of me needed to get tickets, albeit quite expensive ones. Plus, you never know when their last tour is their last tour.
On the flip side, I wondered if the old geezers would be worth seeing, considering the ticket prices ($400 for the top ones) and the possibility that a band member, most likely the wrinkly-faced, partyguy smoker who plays lead guitar and co-writes most of the songs, would drop dead on stage by the time the December concert rolled around.
The day the tickets went on sale last summer, I was out grubbing around in the yard. My wife, Amy, came out to remind me that Stones tickets would go on sale in 15 minutes. I hemmed and hawed. She suggested I go for it. I gave her my credit card, and she managed to go online and score two $90 tickets about 2 minutes after they went on sale. Minutes later, the concert was sold out, with the exception of some luxury box seats.
With Amy having no desire to see the Stones, I gave the other ticket to my brother-in-law as a birthday present.
Several months and two hurricanes later, we found ourselves Thursday at the Toyota Center, sitting in some boss seats about 20 rows up from the side of the stage. A guy came out and announced that the opening act, Los Lonely Boys, would not play due to an illness. The crowd didn't mind, but it seems like if you've got the chance to open for the Stones at a sold-out show, you drag yourself out there and play unless you've got bird flu or ebola.
About 9 p.m., the opening chords of "Start Me Up" put the audience on their feet, where they stayed during most of the show.
The Stones very quickly dispelled any notion that they no longer were vital. Touring on their best album in years, "A Bigger Bang," they ripped through a set of new and old songs. With no fancy light show or stage gimmicks, it was all about the energy and the music.
For about two hours, the Stones flaunted their title as World's Greatest Rock 'N' Roll Band and served notice to their contemporaries that four decades of concert experience have only made them better performers.
Here's the set list, from what I can remember:
Start Me Up
It's Only Rock 'n' Roll
She's So Cold
Tumbling Dice
Oh No Not You Again
Rain Fall Down
Dead Flowers
The Night Time is the Right Time (Mick Jagger with one of the side singers)
Slipping Away (Keith Richards)
You Got It in for Me (Keith Richards)
Miss You
Rough Justice
Get Off of My Cloud
Honky Tonk Woman
Sympathy for the Devil
Brown Sugar
Satisfaction
You Can't Always Get What You Want
Jumping Jack Flash
In concert reviews from around the country, the Stones have gotten knocked for not taking more risks in their set list. Or they get critized for not playing this song or that song. Or that they're just going through the motions.
I disagree with all of that.
Picking a set list must be tough for them. They want to push the new material, but they don't want to blow off hardcore fans who come to hear the old stuff. They also don't want to alienate portions of the crowd by playing obscure stuff, regardless of how great it might be.
For me, the concert easily made my Top 5 list, and I've seen a lot of concerts, from The Who to Husker Du, from Stevie Ray Vaughan to Rage Against the Machine, from The Replacements to Johnny Cash.
It takes a lot to keep me from looking at my watch toward the end of the show and saying to myself, "OK, I've seen these guys. Time to wrap it up and go home."
But the Stones last Thursday kept up the energy for two remarkable hours and made me glad I didn't give in to the temptation to scalp the tickets on Ebay, where they could have fetched almost $400 apiece.
However, a year or so ago, I decided that I needed a Stones album in my collection, so I went out and bought "Let It Bleed" on CD. It has my favorite Stones song, "Monkey Man," plus a bunch of other classics and some tunes I'd never heard before.
It blew me away.
So I moved on to the other three all-time classics of that magical Stones period from the late 1960s to early 1970s: "Beggars Banquet," "Sticky Fingers" and "Exile on Main Street," which some still consider the greatest double rock album ever.
What I like about the Stones is the guitar interplay, the razor-sharp lyrics and just the overall bad-boy attitude and groove.
Since "Exile on Main Street," the Stones have been hit and miss, from the great "Some Girls" and "Tattoo You" to the slicker, more professional stuff of the 1980s and 1990s, the latter period being void of all-time classics.
Earlier this year, it was announced that the Stones would play the Toyota Center in Houston. Considering my newfound appreciation of the band, a big part of me needed to get tickets, albeit quite expensive ones. Plus, you never know when their last tour is their last tour.
On the flip side, I wondered if the old geezers would be worth seeing, considering the ticket prices ($400 for the top ones) and the possibility that a band member, most likely the wrinkly-faced, partyguy smoker who plays lead guitar and co-writes most of the songs, would drop dead on stage by the time the December concert rolled around.
The day the tickets went on sale last summer, I was out grubbing around in the yard. My wife, Amy, came out to remind me that Stones tickets would go on sale in 15 minutes. I hemmed and hawed. She suggested I go for it. I gave her my credit card, and she managed to go online and score two $90 tickets about 2 minutes after they went on sale. Minutes later, the concert was sold out, with the exception of some luxury box seats.
With Amy having no desire to see the Stones, I gave the other ticket to my brother-in-law as a birthday present.
Several months and two hurricanes later, we found ourselves Thursday at the Toyota Center, sitting in some boss seats about 20 rows up from the side of the stage. A guy came out and announced that the opening act, Los Lonely Boys, would not play due to an illness. The crowd didn't mind, but it seems like if you've got the chance to open for the Stones at a sold-out show, you drag yourself out there and play unless you've got bird flu or ebola.
About 9 p.m., the opening chords of "Start Me Up" put the audience on their feet, where they stayed during most of the show.
The Stones very quickly dispelled any notion that they no longer were vital. Touring on their best album in years, "A Bigger Bang," they ripped through a set of new and old songs. With no fancy light show or stage gimmicks, it was all about the energy and the music.
For about two hours, the Stones flaunted their title as World's Greatest Rock 'N' Roll Band and served notice to their contemporaries that four decades of concert experience have only made them better performers.
Here's the set list, from what I can remember:
Start Me Up
It's Only Rock 'n' Roll
She's So Cold
Tumbling Dice
Oh No Not You Again
Rain Fall Down
Dead Flowers
The Night Time is the Right Time (Mick Jagger with one of the side singers)
Slipping Away (Keith Richards)
You Got It in for Me (Keith Richards)
Miss You
Rough Justice
Get Off of My Cloud
Honky Tonk Woman
Sympathy for the Devil
Brown Sugar
Satisfaction
You Can't Always Get What You Want
Jumping Jack Flash
In concert reviews from around the country, the Stones have gotten knocked for not taking more risks in their set list. Or they get critized for not playing this song or that song. Or that they're just going through the motions.
I disagree with all of that.
Picking a set list must be tough for them. They want to push the new material, but they don't want to blow off hardcore fans who come to hear the old stuff. They also don't want to alienate portions of the crowd by playing obscure stuff, regardless of how great it might be.
For me, the concert easily made my Top 5 list, and I've seen a lot of concerts, from The Who to Husker Du, from Stevie Ray Vaughan to Rage Against the Machine, from The Replacements to Johnny Cash.
It takes a lot to keep me from looking at my watch toward the end of the show and saying to myself, "OK, I've seen these guys. Time to wrap it up and go home."
But the Stones last Thursday kept up the energy for two remarkable hours and made me glad I didn't give in to the temptation to scalp the tickets on Ebay, where they could have fetched almost $400 apiece.
posted by Brian Pearson at 2:51 PM
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