Gazza wrote on May 4^th, 2013 at 9:40am:


~two and a half hours. Encore break couldn't have been more than a minute or two... Started right about nine, finished a hair before 11:30.

I was really hoping for Love in Vain as a second helping after MR, but c'est la vie...

Rollin92 wrote on May 4^th, 2013 at 8:52am:


I was happy to see that bill wasn't airbrushed out of the picture, though...

ER was indeed awesome...I wonder if they were all thinking

"" ?

It seems like such a simple song...like Hot Stuff...

same riff over and over...a little sexy sax...no crazy senseless running around

A slow strut aound the pit to feed Jaggers ego and to make the boys and girls squeal...

Gazza wrote on May 4^th, 2013 at 10:28am:



They checked a list for my name but I was 20th in a slow moving line so maybe they cut a few steps to speed things up. Looks like one person with a list trying to quickly supervise 3 people.

macdaddy wrote on May 4^th, 2013 at 9:57am:


Nice to see him and Brian there...although if they had airbrushed him out I wouldn't have been at all surprised

The Rolling Stones perform at the Staples Center launching their '50 and Counting' Tour in Los Angeles.
JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images
By GAVIN EDWARDS
May 4, 2013 11:20 AM ET
After 50 years, certain aspects of Rolling Stones concerts are completely unsurprising, even if you've never been to one. The show concludes with "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." Charlie Watts plays his Spartan drum kit with flair and swing. Mick Jagger has more energy than a cheerleading squad that's been chugging Red Bull.

Kicking off their 50 & Counting tour last night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the Stones had plenty of twists, however – starting with the UCLA marching band, which began the show by working their way through the crowd while playing a remarkably funky version of "Satisfaction." Highlights of the set included a vigorous version of the folkie nugget "Factory Girl" from Beggar's Banquet and a song the Stones had never before played live ("never ever ever," Jagger testified), despite it being a Number One hit: "Emotional Rescue." The 1974 single "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" got a stripped-down bluesy arrangement that made it sound like it belonged on 12 X 5, a decade earlier.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dpcZ72-jSs&feature=player_embedded

"You Can't Always Get What You Want" had a choir on loan from California State University's Long Beach campus and climaxed with a gospel breakdown. Country star Keith Urban came out for the Some Girls deep cut "Respectable" (very cool choice) and not only sang the hell out of it, but held his own trading guitar solos with Keith Richards and Ron Wood. He fared much better than Gwen Stefani, who looked adorable in a sparkly Stones shirt and ironed Seventies hair but couldn't find the heart of "Wild Horses," just offering vocal swoops and hiccups. Mick Taylor's one-song appearance on "Midnight Rambler" has been well-hyped, but the return of the prodigal Stone was still a treat. When Jagger and Taylor leaned in together, Jagger adopted his most ominous demeanor, but Taylor struggled to keep a grin off his face – he looked like he was having the time of his life, and he played like it, too.


Keith Urban and Keith Richards perform during the Rolling Stones '50 and Counting' Tour at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Similarly, when Richards took charge of the band for two songs ("Before They Make Me Run" and "Happy"), he had the gleeful demeanor of a teenager who'd just swiped his dad's car keys. "It's great to be here," he told the crowd. "It's great to be anywhere, let's be honest."


Jagger also alluded to the band's advancing years, saying that they were playing the Staples Center to make the Lakers look younger. (The show was pushed back one day so it wouldn't conflict with a potential Lakers playoff game.) But Jagger, at 69 years old, is in fine voice and still has an astonishing array of dance moves: he struts across the stage like Bob Fosse demonstrating a solo for the funky chicken, he windmills his arms in secret semaphore messages, he hops from one foot to the other as if the floor was electrified; he even does jazz hands. Richards contents himself with his trademark move, the left leg kick, but each time he does that kick, it feels like he's genuinely moved by the sounds coming out of his guitar and needs a physical outlet.


The Rolling Stones perform at the Staples Center launching of their '50 and Counting' Tour in Los Angeles.
JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images
If Richards' fingers aren't as nimble as they once were, his phrasing has only improved with time. When he and Wood hit the core of a song, as they consistently did, they felt like two old friends sitting on a park bench, finishing each other's sentences.

The band was rounded out by the Stones' usual sidemen, including Darryl Jones on bass, Chuck Leavell on keyboards, Lisa Fischer and Bernard Fowler on backing vocals, and Bobby Keys on saxophone. The sound gradually filled out as the evening went on, until "Brown Sugar" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash" were full-blast rock & roll, capable of blowing a 50-amp fuse.

[Although the arena was full, to pack the house, the promoter had to sell a slew of tickets discounted to $85 at the last minute. Top-notch seats went for as much as $600, which prompted Jagger's best line of the night: "Good evening, Los Angeles! Or is it really just Beverly Hills, Brentwood and parts of Santa Monica?"

Set list:
1. "Get Off of My Cloud"
2. "The Last Time"
3. "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)"
4. "Paint It, Black"
5. "Gimme Shelter"
6. "Wild Horses" (with Gwen Stefani)
7. "Factory Girl"
8. "Emotional Rescue"
9. "Respectable" (with Keith Urban)
10. "Doom and Gloom"
11. "One More Shot"
12. "Honky Tonk Women"
13. "Before They Make Me Run"
14. "Happy"
15. "Midnight Rambler" (with Mick Taylor)
16. "Miss You"
17. "Start Me Up"
18. "Tumbling Dice"
19. "Brown Sugar"
20. "Sympathy for the Devil"

Encore:
21. "You Can't Always Get What You Want"
22. "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
23. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"



Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-rolling-stones-offer-plenty-of-surpri...

PartyDoll MEG wrote on May 4^th, 2013 at 9:57am:


Dynamite. Thanks for this. It still gives me chills when I see him up there with them. The knob ends who complain about Mick Taylor should just fuck off. I wish Mick and Keith would give what everyone wants and slowly work him into the whole show instead of these wanky guests.

Glad you got to meet Rockman and Sharon (Stonesrule). Two genuinely great people (although Ive never met Sharon, personally)

sirmoonie wrote on May 4^th, 2013 at 12:24pm:



That dude didn't seem to be overindulging but also had the full page printout which suggested he paid full price for his ticket so maybe he threw up when he realized what everybody around him spent.

Love ER live, love the return of Factory Girl on the set. Don't care much for people like Gwen Stefani or Keith Urban as guests. They add nothing, but maybe that's me.

This is remarkable what this band is doing.  This goes beyond industry dominance.  This going concern ranks far up in recorded history in terms of impact/influence, meaning, power, and cultural superiority.  Some of these other alleged Messiahs better step up soon (any geeks been Raptured lately?  Not), or they will fall like the others waylaid by The Rolling Stones and their adherents.

Here's a pic I took of the Tongue Pit the very second they left the stage before coming out for the encore.  Easily could have fit maybe 100 more people in there.  From what we've seen in past shows, this pit is crammed.  I saw people leisurely strolling around in there going from one end to the other whenever they pleased, especially when either Mick walked around it.  I have no idea how many 85ers made it in there but I haven't heard one report saying that they scored a way in there.  Everyone in line with me were hoping to get there.  

Yeah I noticed the ushers when I got in were a little confused about the process regarding who was considered a pit person and just a normal seat.  Once inside and we weren't allowed to move around beyond that small area we were in, I began to ask every other person where their seats were and it was all over the board...100's..200's...300's.  But to be noted:  I did not come across one person that had floor seats.  And definitely no one I saw had a GA pit seat.