The last of two Aussie shows. The
group Airbourne is doing the warm-up for this gig.
Satisfaction - Let's Spend The Night Together - She's So Cold - Oh No Not You
Again - Sway - Worried About You - Ain't To Proud To Beg - Tumblin' Dice - Night
Time Is The Right Time - Intros - This Place Is Empty - Happy - Miss You - Rough
Justice - Get Off My Cloud - Honky Tonk Woman - Sympathy
For The Devil - Paint It Black - Start Me Up -
Jumping Jack Flash - You Can't Always Get What You Want (encore) - Brown Sugar (encore)
ANYONE who has picked up a guitar since the mid-'60s owes
a debt to the Rolling Stones.
In the one band you have the consummate rock frontman and the consummate rock
star, who have each spawned countless imitators.
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have single-handedly written the how to, and
the what not to do, bibles for rock 'n' roll.
Buying a ticket to see the Rolling Stones this year is buying a ticket to
witness genuine living rock legends.
Sure there's a handful of new songs from their we've-got-our-mojo-back return
to form album A Bigger Bang rubbing shoulders with the classics to stop their
umpteenth world tour becoming a total nostalgia-fest.
But the Stones know exactly why people pay what it takes, as quickly as it
takes to see them.
They boast a back catalogue of timeless, era-defining rock classics that are
instantly identifiable before Jagger even opens his famous mouth.
Their Rod Laver Arena show last night may be what passes for intimate in
their super-sized "because we can" world tour. It's also a rare and
personal glimpse at the world's first stadium rock band.
Forget reluctant rock stars or shoe-gazing dullards: the Stones are showmen.
They managed to bring most of their outdoor stadium set-up and shoehorn it
into their indoor show for the Rod Laver Arena as opposed to the
80,000-seat-plus venues they have played so far on their world tour.
A giant video screen and hydraulic stage, which moved from the front to the
back of the arena, cleverly gave front-row seats to fans at the back for a set
that included Miss You, Get Off My Cloud and Honky Tonk Woman.
Impressively, the Stones changed their set list from their outdoor Sydney
show on Tuesday.
Their only Melbourne show opened with the triple whammy of Satisfaction,
Let's Spend the Night Together and She's So Cold.
The two-hour set heaved with hits Tumbling Dice, Paint It Black, Sympathy
for the Devil, Brown Sugar, Jumpin' Jack Flash and Start Me Up.
Long-time Stones fan Tanya Miles flew from Hobart for the Melbourne show.
"I thought their 2003 Australian tour would be the last time we'd see
them play here, so when this tour was announced I made sure I got tickets,"
she said.
"They still sound so amazing and look so fit. I hope they just keep on
going. I can't wipe the smile off my face."
Special mention must go to Warrnambool rockers Airbourne, who had the
daunting and thrilling chance to open for the Stones. Their back-to-basics pub
rock adapted easily to the arena.
The Stones leave Melbourne today for two shows in New Zealand. But before
Keith did his laundry on his hotel balcony:
Rod Laver
Arena, Melbourne, Australia
