 Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo
on Monday, March 10th. 2003.
The Rolling Stones first show in Japan, and first show took place at Nippon
Budokan Hall with an audience of almost 14.000 fans.
Set list:
Jumping Jack Flash - You Got Me Rocking - Live With Me - Let It Bleed - No
Expectations - Rocks Off - Everybody Needs Somebody To Love - Worried About You
Midnight Rambler - Slipping Away - Before They Make Me Run - Start Me Up -It's
Only Rock'n'Roll - Rock Me Baby - Can't You Hear Me Knocking - Honky Tonk Women
- Tumbling Dice - Brown Sugar - Satisfaction
 Weekend Bear/Licks
Tour: Rolling Stones here to rock Budokan for the first time in four decades:
By WAYNE GABEL, Asahi
Shimbun News Service
The title of their recent single sums up what the Rolling Stones are all
about. They might pause once in a while, but they don't stop.
The greatest traveling rock show on Earth has just rolled into town for six
dates in Tokyo, Yokohama and Osaka, including the capital's fabled Nippon
Budokan, where they'll be playing for the first time ever on Monday.
Stones tours are always massive undertakings, and this one is no exception.
But this visit to Japan, the band's fourth, sees them trying to scale things
down a bit. They're tailoring their shows to suit the size of the venue.
``One thing that's going to be a little bit different this time is that we're
going to play a couple of arena shows, which we've never done here,'' Mick
Jagger, the band's recently knighted singer, told a news conference that he and
his three fellow Stones-guitarists Keith Richards and Ron Wood and drummer
Charlie Watts-held in Tokyo on Friday.
The Budokan show marks the beginning of the second half of their 117-show
Licks world tour, which kicked off in Boston last September and is now making
its way through Asia before winding down in Europe this summer. There, and at
the Yokohama Arena, as at other medium-sized venues along the way, the band will
play shows that are markedly different from the ones they've been doing at giant
stadiums, including the upcoming dates at the Tokyo and Osaka domes.
``You'll find our set list will vary quite a lot,'' says Wood.
Jagger, who reckons only about half the material in the different productions
they've created for large, medium and small venues overlaps, says the band will
be mining their vast repertoire to include some of the cover songs they've
recorded over the years.
``We're re-covering ourselves,'' adds Richards, laughing.
For the guitarist, no justification for the covers is necessary.
``They're very good songs,'' he says.
But judging from reviews of the U.S. leg of the tour, which included 50
sold-out shows, fans can expect a generous helping of the classic tracks they've
come to know and love over the band's four-decade existence.
For a hint at what's in store, have a listen to ``Forty Licks,'' the
career-spanning collection of tracks released here last September by Toshiba-EMI
to mark the band's 40th anniversary.
Though it focuses on the past, the two-disc set, which includes ``Don't
Stop'' and three other brand-new tracks the band recorded with producer Don Was,
hints at things to come.
``When we were in Paris doing those four songs, we recorded a lot of other
tunes as well,'' Jagger explains. ``We hope to go and finish those off and do
some more. We haven't actually said when, but that's our intention.''
Fans who aren't able to secure any of the rapidly dwindling number of tickets
for the band's Japan gigs can take consolation in the fact that the Stones have
been recording some of their shows for posterity.
``We've done some films of the concerts which we did in America, which will
probably be released at some point,'' says Jagger. ``We've also done some
documentary film of all of the planning leading up to the concerts. We hope to
release that in the autumn.''
Though not quite the same as seeing the band live, the film is bound to be a
lot cheaper than the 51,000 yen that tickets for good seats at the Tokyo Dome
are going for on online auction sites.
Though there's been some speculation that this tour might be the Stones'
last, they don't seem to have wearied of travel. During this jaunt through Asia,
which also includes visits to Thailand and Hong Kong, they'll be playing in
China and India for the first time.
``It's always nice to go somewhere new, even if China is very old,'' says
Richards. ``It's about time they let us in anyway.''
Though recent articles about the band inevitably dwell on their age-Jagger
and Richards are pushing 60 and Watts is 61-they all look remarkably trim and
fit, despite having helped define the outlaw rock 'n' roll lifestyle. But now
that their peers, including George Harrison, are passing from the scene, people
have begun wondering how many more years they've got left in them. But they're
not contemplating retirement at the moment.
They do, however, concede that their age has slowed them down a bit. When
this tour comes to a conclusion, Richards knows exactly what he's going to do.
``Get some rest,'' he says.
Asked if there will be an album to mark their golden anniversary in 10 years'
time, Richards just laughs.
``See you there,'' he says.
 Big
in Japan:
Lead vocalist Mick Jagger performs "Satisfaction" in front of some
10,000 standing fans during the Rolling Stones' sold-out concert at Nippon
Budokan hall in Tokyo as the legendary British rock band kicked off their latest
tour here.
It was the Stones' fourth visit to Japan, for the first time in five years. A
performance at the Budokan Hall was slated back in 1973 but it was canceled
because of one of the member's history of illegal drug use.
The Stones are set to perform at Tokyo Dome on March 15 and 16, and will travel
to Osaka where they will perform at Osaka Dome on March 20 and 21.
With more than 40-year history of performance in the international rock music
scene, the average age of the group members is 60.
Thanks to Blue Lena's
friend in Japan for the setlist and sharing them with Stones Planet.
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