RSFCO

The 14.000 crowd had a great show. Jason Mraz the 28 year old sing a song writer were warm up at the gig.

Stones deliver thrilling LV concert

Foursome displays musicianship, athleticism worthy of much younger performers

by Mike Kalil, Review-Journal

The lines on their craggy faces run deep. But in pegged jeans and tight T-shirts, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts all still look to have the 0 percent body fat physiques of athletic 20-year-olds.

That contrast serves as the best metaphor for the Rolling Stones' thrilling Las Vegas concert Friday night. Songs as weathered as the 60-year-old-plus men playing them came alive in a muscularly lean performance brimming with unflagging vigor and strength for two hours.

"We're just here for one night only, so we're going to make the best of it," Jagger told the screaming crowd.

This veritable rock 'n' roll institution may have been founded 43 years ago, but its members continue reveling in an unabashed disinterest in acting their ages.

Whenever guitarists Richards and Wood fell to their knees for furious solos, they jumped back to their feet with the sprightly ease of teenagers.

Stoic drummer Watts is still eschewing showy fills in favor of a clean and powerful precision behind his kit.

And it's unlikely Jagger's shoes left a square inch of the sprawling stage untouched as he danced, pranced and strutted nonstop.

Halfway through opener "Jumpin' Jack Flash," Jagger was already covered in sweat, a hip-shaking, finger-thrusting firecracker frenetically preaching to an arena brimming with true believers.

After running through R&B rocker "She's So Cold" from the 1980 album "Emotional Rescue," Jagger took a quick sip from a water bottle, sprayed the remains on the front rows, then drop-kicked it far into the audience. In a room crammed with thousands of fans, Jagger had the dumb luck of sending the plastic projectile flying 14 rows back, where the only other rock stars in the room were seated. Brandon Flowers, taking in the show with the rest of The Killers, dodged to miss it.

A four-piece horn section and a trio of backup singers joined the stage for a loose run-through of "Tumbling Dice."

Three songs from the band's return-to-form new album, "A Bigger Bang," saw the Stones delighting in raw material as fun as it is sleazy.

"Put your lips to my hips, baby/And tell me what's on your mind," Jagger sang joyously as the band cut loose on "Rough Justice."

On a stage bathed in blue light, the band played Ray Charles' classic piano blues "Night Time Is The Right Time," with backup singer Lisa Fisher confidently taking center stage to howl alongside Jagger.

The duet left me wanting more. It would have been a treat to hear Fisher's fierce growl wailing through the apocalyptic "Rape, murder/It's just a kiss away" refrain of "Gimme Shelter" had the Stones included it in their set list.

Throughout the 20-song set, (ERROR: 21 songs) the Stones' two veteran axe men tossed off electrifying guitar work with the casual ease of journeymen.

"Start Me Up" saw Wood pulling screaming notes from a sunburst Stratocaster. On "Sympathy For The Devil," Richards crouched and sauntered around backward like a voodoo charmer during his extended solo.

Encoring with "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and a somewhat bloated "Brown Sugar," the band generally hewed to set lists similar to their 35 previous shows of the tour. But fans fortunate enough to sneak into the venue hours early likely thought they were in for something unique Friday night.

The Stones have been sound checking with "Tumbling Dice" before most concerts. On Friday afternoon, they tested sound levels with an extended warm-up, showcasing an eclectic selection of eight rarely played numbers. Among them were the "Sticky Fingers" classic "Bitch" and three funky soul covers: Otis Redding's "Mr. Pitiful," The Temptations' "Ain't Too Proud To Beg," and Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' "Going To A Go-Go."

Yet I didn't hear any fussing about the band's selections from dozens of fans interviewed after the concert.

The sell-out crowd of 14,000 was the smallest of the Stones' current tour, where they're generally playing to stadiums holding 40,000 to 80,000. That intimacy carried a price tag. Tickets' face value ran from about $150 to $468, but some fans paid up to $3,500 to scalpers or ticketing services for a pair of passes.

But fans, generally over 40 but younger than Jagger and company, weren't complaining.

"It was so awesome," said Sherry Crawford, 53, a Las Vegas sales manager who ponied up $1,500 for a pair of tickets near the stage. "I almost got to touch Mick Jagger, and they're the greatest rock band in the world."

Not everything stays in Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has a new stage prop thanks to a Las Vegas fan of the veteran British rock band.

Richards spotted Larry Pfeifer's black beaded belt backstage prior to Friday night's Stones concert at the MGM Grand and offered to buy it on the spot, the Los Vegas Review-Journal reported Sunday.

Pfeifer, however, refused to part with his "lucky belt" and told Richards if he would guarantee his re-entry to the concert, he'd go find him a similar one at the Hard Rock Hotel's gift store, the newspaper said.

Richards gave him a $100 bill, then made an odd request, Pfeifer said. The notoriously skinny axman said he wanted the longest belt he could find.

The fan made the mad dash and returned with the belt before curtain time, only to see Richards pull out a knife and start slicing his new acquisition.

It all made sense a little while later, however. When the Stones opened the concert with "Jumpin' Jack Flash," there was Richards and his new belt-turned-guitar strap

Mick Jagger, lead singer of the Rolling Stones, performs Friday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Photo by K.M. Cannon