The Rolling Stones concert review
Published in The Calgary Herald on October 28, 2005
Here’s a look at what the Rolling Stones performed last night. For a complete review, please read Heath McCoy's review on page E1.
1) Start Me Up: Ladies and gentlemen, the Rolling Stones! Yep, with a burst of
red fireworks, Mick, Ron, Charlie and the dude from Pirates of the Caribbean
come roaring out as the smell of weed hits the air.
2) You Got Me Rocking: Mick does his overhead clap thing during this track from
Voodoo Lounge and gets the crowd involved. He also does the “pointing my
fingers, pointing them at you” thing which, really, who else can pull off?
3) She’s So Cold: “‘Allo Calgary!” Mick says. “We whacked our collective
memories, which are fantastically. . . er, absent, and we can’t remember
playing here before.” He’s right, though they’ve been rocking for 42 years,
this is the first time they’ve rolled through Calgary. We also hear the
mandatory Edmonton comment, which is met with mandatory boos.
4) Tumbling Dice: Mick takes off his red shirt and sports just his black
t-shirt with red sparkles. He could be the only 62-year-old in the building who
can pull it off.
5) Rough Justice: Sitting in the sixth row, fellow scribe Heath McCoy and I are surrounded by very
pretty women who were given free passes to the concert by Ron Wood in Banff.
They show us their autographed set list and we’re jealous.
6) Wild Horses: So how do the Stones look, you ask. Well, not quite David
Bowie, though you’d be fortunate to look like that at that age. Though they
could be the thinnest band since The Ramones.
7) Rain Fall Down: Though its easy (and fun) to make ageist comments about the
Stones, it’s a mistake given their abilities. Okay, one joke: When did they
make Cocoon 3?
All Down The Line: Mick saunters over to the sidestage and points up at fans
in the crowd, who cheer back.
9) Night Time (Is The Right Time): A Ray Charles cover. It obviously isn’t as
good as the original, but backup singers help inject the soul it is obviously
lacking. Fanboys, send your e-mails to. . .
10) The Worst: Before this Keith Richards song, Mick dons his honorary white
hat (and wears it well). He introduces the band, and Keith gets the biggest
cheers. Keith plays this solo on an acoustic guitar as the rest of the band
leave the stage.
11) Infamy: Another Keith song, and one of the better ones on the new album, A
Bigger Bang. Ron Wood returns to play on this. But it’s a bit muddy and nowhere
as good as the studio version.
12) Miss You: The whole band reappears in new outfits as everyone in the crowd
simultaneously coos, “ooh ooh uh ooh uh ooh ooh” during the chorus. The stage
rolls out on tracks all the way to the back of the arena, which is pretty cool,
making this one of the night’s highlights.
13) Oh No, Not You Again: Still at the rear of the Saddledome, Mick starts
singing with one of those Madonna mic-headsets. It sounds better than on the
album.
14) Get Off My Cloud: Fan-freaking-tastic! We’re into the material everyone
showed up for, and because of his hands-free headset, Mick kicks into his
signature dance moves. Sadly, The Rooster isn’t one of them.
15) Honky Tonk Women: We kick into one of rock music’s great cowbell songs.
Will Ferrell is nowhere to be seen. . .
16) Sympathy For The Devil: The stage returns to its original position and Mick
is into his third costume change. Red spotlights bleed throughout the stadium,
the band is tight, and the entire effect is amazing.
17) Paint It Black: Brilliant! I think back to Tour Of Duty episodes I enjoyed.
. .
18) Brown Sugar: Everyone who wasn’t already on their feet is now. The sparkly
lights from hundreds of fans’ “lapping tongue” buttons seem like iridescent
algae in the dark.
19) Jumping Jack Flash: “Fank you! Well, I’ve had a good time,” Mick says
before the band launches into a great version of this. They walk off stage as
the crowd awaits the encore.
ENCORE
20) What You Want: But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what
you need. Again, fantastic. Again, Mick has changed his shirt.
21) Satisfaction: Anyone else think this lot’s been getting nothing but
satisfaction for the last four decades? Anyway, it’s a great version, and I’m
sure I’m not the only one who can’t wait to tell their kids they were here. . .
