First of two shows in Chicago, with
the warm-up from Antigone Rising.
Stones keep rolling with the tours
By Joshua Klein, Chicago Tribune
The Rolling Stones made $162 million touring the U.S. last
year, easily out-grossing the likes of U2, Paul McCartney and apparently any
other single act in history, but they can't possibly be hitting the road for
the cash alone. At this point, the group has enough money to pay for several
lifetimes' worth of indulgences, indiscretions and transgressions. Likewise
the Stones seemed to be having fun Monday night at the United Center, or at
least a well-honed simulacrum of fun.
No, at this stage in their career, touring seems to be the last vestige of the
Stones' lock-up-your-daughters swagger and rebellion. Sometimes it seems like
all it takes is for someone to tell the band to stop to get them to start back
up again, and why shouldn't they? Jazz and bluesmen are encouraged to tour
until they keel over, so why not the Stones, who have contributed as much to
pop culture and music as anyone else?
Forget the group's OK recent record, "A Bigger Bang." And with the
exception of a couple of tracks performed Monday, it seems like the band
already has. No, the Stones' set, the first of two nights of their return
engagement, was as hits-heavy as any from their ongoing trek. Yet it's easy to
overlook the fact that with as many hits as the Stones have had, the group
could probably offer a different yet still satisfying best-of set every night.
That's why the band could get away with mothballing "Gimmie Shelter"
when they played Soldier Field in September.
That song was back Monday, plus other Stones nuggets such as "Let's Spend
the Night Together," though not always to good effect. It's always been
cooler to credit Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ron Wood with keeping the
Stones afloat, and indeed the ragged back-and-forth rhythm guitar work of
Richards and Wood is a force of nature, as is Watts' swing-inflected backbeat.
But it's Mick Jagger who makes a show great, and this night he wasn't quite up
to the task.
He wiggled and writhed in all the right places. But his voice let "As
Tears Go By" down, and too often he relied on the sing-along crowd or hid
between Richards' and Wood's riffs. Yet even they weren't always in top form.
It took some audacity to conclude the barely two-hour evening by singing
"you can't always get what you want" and "I can't no
satisfaction." But the Stones long ago belied both folly-of-youth
declarations.
They've had everything, and at this rate they'll get the last laugh too.
Rolling Stones Make Celebrity Demands In Chicago
by Vince Gerasole
CBS CHICAGO Everything has to be "just right" for tonight's Rolling
Stones concert at the United Center, but the important preparations have nothing
to do with the arena, the instruments or the sound system.
It's all about the pampering!
CBS 2's Vince Gerasole reports the theory is: if "he can't get no
satisfaction" backstage, Mick Jagger may not be at his best on stage.
If promoters want to spend the night together with the Rolling Stones, they've
got to provide some satisfaction.
Cable or satellite access to cricket -- any kind of cricket -- is a must.
Under their thumbs the controls to five separate video games, including one
suitable for families and small children.
The demands, including smartly dressed hostesses, are spelled out in the Stone's
contract with promoters. The top secret documents reveal Mick Jagger's code name
is “work out” and Keith Richards' is “X-ray.”
The Stones also insist on white Casablanca lily's for their dressing rooms, that
is everyone but Jagger.
“Some of them are a little over the top, but that's what we expect,” said
Lynda Simonetti at the Hilton Chicago.
At the Hilton Chicago, hoteliers say celebrity demands are expected.
“When the Atkins diet hit everyone was eating in excess of certain items,”
Simonetti said. “We had a celebrity of sorts who was looking for nine pounds
of bacon per day for the entire two weeks stay, which we made happen.”
The Stones require a backstage snooker table, but they do bring their own balls
Long-stemmed white roses for back stage tables? Go ahead and ask for them --
when you're a Rolling Stone you can always get what you want.
The Rolling Stones don’t ask for everything – they do bring along their own
furniture.
MUnited
Center, Chicago, IL