 MGM Grand, Las Vegas
on Saturday, February 8th. 2003. 18.000 people said goodbye to Forty Licks
tour, and now it's time for Australia, Japan and Europe Set list:
Start Me Up - Street Fighting Man - It's Only Rock'n'Roll -
Don't Stop - Monkey Man - Let It Bleed - You Can't Always Get What You Want -
Midnight Rambler - Tumbling Dice -
Thru and Thru - Before They Make Me Run - Sympathy For The Devil - Gimme Shelter
- Can't You Hear Me Knocking -
Honky Tonk Women - Satisfaction - You Got Me Rockin' -
Like a Rolling Stone - Brown Sugar - Jumping Jack Flash.
 Energized
Stones close U.S. leg of tour in LV:
by Spencer Patterson, Las Vegas Sun
Three songs into the Rolling Stones' Saturday concert in Las Vegas, Mick
Jagger took a moment to mark what might be a significant moment in the band's
illustrious touring career.
"We're going to Sydney (Australia), so this is the last show we're doing
in the U.S.," Jagger told a sold-out MGM Grand Garden Arena crowd of nearly
14,000. "We're going to make this a real good one."
Jagger didn't say whether he meant the last scheduled U.S. date on the
Stones' 40th anniversary tour or the band's last show ever on U.S. soil.
But if Saturday's performance does turn out to be the Rolling Stones' final
stateside appearance, it will certainly be remembered as a fitting way to say
goodbye.
Backed as always by a collection of fine musicians, the Stones kept the
audience singing for nearly 2 1/2 hours with a set packed full of old favorites.
Though occasionally ragged, the Stones themselves provided more instrumental
brilliance than in either of November's Las Vegas shows (at MGM Grand Garden and
The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel), or the recent "Live at Madison Square
Garden" concert on HBO.
The band also corrected the sound-mix problems that plagued its November
visit, rightfully turning up guitarists Keith Richards and Ron Wood and
thankfully turning down a horn section that overpowered the ensemble in its
previous Las Vegas visit.
The Stones also recognized that many fans might be attending their second MGM
performance in three months, altering the set list enough to keep it fresh for
everyone.
Last time around, the band featured songs from its 1971 album "Sticky
Fingers." This time, the album of the night was "Let It Bleed,"
with the Stones including five songs from the 1969 landmark: "Gimme Shelter,"
"Midnight Rambler," "Monkey Man," "You Can't Always Get
What You Want" and the title cut.
Once again, Jagger was Mr. Energy. Eschewing most of his onstage clothing
rack for a simple light-blue Liberty Bell T-shirt, the singer performed aerobics
that would likely exhaust many performers half his age.
And if anybody needed proof that a man five months short of his 60th birthday
can still be considered a sex symbol, they got it when Jagger began sauntering
his way down the runway toward the band's smaller "B stage."
Hordes of women, ranging in age from early 20s to late 60s, stampeded toward
the center aisles. Later, one female fan actually held hands briefly with
Jagger, handing him her scarf before collapsing into her date's arms.
Richards appeared in high spirits all night, wandering the stage to share
laughs with his bandmates. Wood shared in the jovial mood, occasionally giving
the crowd the thumb's-up sign and smiling behind his trademark cigarette.
Jagger even coaxed Charlie Watts out of his seat briefly during his band
introductions, as Richards and Wood worked a smile out of the generally stoic
drummer.
Musically, the show featured more breathing room than its November
counterpart, as the instrumentalists soloed and jammed together longer on
several occasions.
This was especially true during "Midnight Rambler," the concert's
highlight. As Jagger pumped new life into his harmonica and Richards and Wood
stood back-to-back wrapping blues riffs around one another, Watts did a
masterful job of keeping the number's ever-changing tempo from getting away from
the band.
A cover of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" provided an
unexpected touch during an otherwise lackluster B-stage segment, while Richards'
"Thru and Thru" -- a song best known for being featured in an episode
of "The Sopranos," -- achieved supreme creepiness.
"Can't You Hear Me Knocking" continued to be another conduit to
great things for the Stones. Among other goodies, the 10-minute workout features
more intense Jagger harmonica work, a grandiose closing solo by Wood and saxman
Bobby Keys.
Added to the live show for the first time last year, "Knocking"
offers hope for continued bursts of creativity from the aging legends.
It only remains to be seen whether Las Vegans will have an opportunity to
witness those magical moments onstage again.
 
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