Best/worst Rolling Stones tours?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by shnaggletooth, Dec 11, 2008.

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  1. bhazen

    bhazen ANNOYING BEATLES FAN

    Location:
    Deepest suburbia
    That's one of the joys of seeing the Stones these days--Ron Wood really is (or can be?) an excellent guitar player (I'm thinking specifically of the Forty Licks tour, which I have on DVD.)
     
  2. jgreen

    jgreen Well-Known Member

    Location:
    St. Louis,MO.
    Why does Keith have to hog all the lead? He's twice as loud as Wood. He should stick to rhythm and turn Ronnie up.
     
  3. gd0

    gd0 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies

    Location:
    Golden Gate
    My contradictory experience... 66/75/78.

    66... exciting, energetic, Brian Jones(!), they played strongly enough to rise above the screaming girls.

    75... hmmm, I musta caught a rare good night (Kansas City) – tight as a drum, BIG sound... Wood was a non-factor, thankfully – maybe they unplugged him.

    78... limp, weak, tinny, nothing more than Mick going through the prancing motions... never wanted to see 'em again... I acknowledge my dislike of Some Girls as being a factor.
     
  4. Andrew

    Andrew Chairman of the Bored

    ...the Batmen....? :crazy:
     
  5. jackaroe

    jackaroe Active Member

    Location:
    Ontari-ari-ari-o
    AC/DC played before them (and after Rush) at Sarsstock in Toronto a few years back.
    http://www.thecanadianmusicscene.com/sars.html
     
  6. vinylman

    vinylman Senior Member

    Location:
    Leeds, U.K.
    My brother (a lifelong fan) saw them here on the 'Still Life' tour and he said Jagger stank the place out. Shouting lyrics so that they were basically incomprehensible.
     
  7. fabtrick

    fabtrick New Member

    Location:
    NorCal
    1981 - My first time, at Candlestick. Frickin' mind blowing, a dream come true. They were perfectly fine, even in retrospect.

    1989 - They had something to prove. And they did just that. Very under-rated tour, featuring songs I never dreamed they would do live: Harlem Shuffle, Undercover, and the pinnacle in my book: 2000 Light Years From Home - friggin' AMAZING.

    1994 - Not a BAD tour, but I do remember the version of ROCKS OFF was PATHETIC. Mick was singing the "What's the matter where's your boy" in a RIDICULOUSLY lower key compared to the album, and it sounded AWFUL. More recent peformances he's gotten closer to the original key and redeemed himself.

    1997 - I hated this tour. I hated the album. Lame.

    1999 - No Security. MIND BLOWINGLY AWESOME.

    2002/3 - Missed it. Don't ask.

    2005/6 - I saw 9 shows. A couple of blown riffs and cues here and there, but overall, they kicked much **** EVERY time.

    2009/10 - A residency in Vegas. I'll be there. Repeatedly.

    :goodie:
     
  8. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    I've seen the Stones 45 times since 1989. (Too young for anything pre-1981, and couldn't get tickets for 1981.)

    Steel Wheels (3 shows): because I never thought I'd see the Stones - and I got front row seats for one show - I was happy to go to the three concerts, but none worked for me especially well. This was the sight of the Stones getting back together - they weren't a unit again.

    Voodoo Lounge (7 shows): now THAT'S more like it! Better setlists and more cohesive performances. I was so down on the Stones after 1989 that I originally only planned to see the two loca shows; I loved those so much I added the other 5. And this is when 7 shows per tour was a LOT for me! If I had the same reaction nowadays, I'd probably have gone to 15 shows!

    Bridges to Babylon (10 shows): Good tour, but not great. Just not as inspired at 1994.

    No Security (5 shows): Ditto. Others seem more enamored of "NS", but I don't remember the five shows I saw as transcendent.

    Licks (11 shows): All over the place. The single best Stones show I've seen was on this tour - Roseland, 9/02 - but the others were more up and down. Arena shows beat the stadium gigs due to better setlists.

    Bigger Bang (9 shows): Also all over the place. They could be great one night (Atlantic City, Baltimore) and meh another (Chicago). The Beacon show on 11/1 was a disappointment because I COULDN'T SEE ANYTHING. The balcony seats lacked a view of the front half of the stage. I saw Charlie and the backup folks just fine, but I only saw Mick maybe 5 minutes of the show, and Keith and Ronnie were often out of view as well. Heck, the ticket was only $25, but still...
     
  9. George Blair

    George Blair Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
     
  10. George Blair

    George Blair Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    :confused:I've never figured out how ('specially Keith & Ron) they can play SO well, and then - even minutes later - play SO badly. You would think after a life of doing this it would just be muscle memory... SO much for practice-makes-perfect. :sigh:
     
  11. The Great One

    The Great One formerly known as SCARSE

    Location:
    Ascot
  12. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    "Supposed" according to who? I don't ever count out the Stones, though I will admit those shows felt close enough to the end that I flew to London to see them. I doubt they ARE the end, but just in case, I wanted to go.

    I saw the last two O2 shows, and I thought the prior one - the second of three at the venue - was superior. Charlie and Mick were on FIRE that night. The press had given the Stones some bad notices for the first O2 show, and Mick was clearly pissed. The final show was fine but a little more by the numbers, IMO.

    That Thursday show was one of the best I've seen from the Stones - I'd kinda forgotten how much I liked it!
     
  13. filper

    filper Forum Resident

    The only Stones concert I ever saw was Tour Of The Americas in '75 at Maple Leaf Gardens.

    I thought it was ****ing great.
     
  14. LarryDavenport

    LarryDavenport New Member

    Location:
    Seattle, WA, USA
    I don't care for anything after the 1978 tour because the shows got too big and the lads became old men.
     
  15. shepherdfan

    shepherdfan Western European Socialist Music Lover

    Location:
    Eugene, OR
    I'll always acknowledge the '69 U.S., '70 Europe, '71 British Isles, '72 U.S. and '73 Inglewood, Hawaii, Australia & New Zealand + Europe shows as the best. I just wish I was old enough to have witnessed them.
    Though their indoor shows on the '78 Some Girls Tour were good (Jagger's anger during the tour seemed to serve him well on some nights because of the possibility of losing Keith to the Toronto drug bust and his upcoming divorce to Bianca), I consider myself lucky enough to have seen the final '78 show in Oakland before the Stones became a corporate entity with the Jovan sponsorship in '81-'82. I thought it was great back then with my getting ready to become a Junior in High School sensibilities. In hindsight as I got older and witnessed other shows (like a certain Mr. Springsteen), Santana blew away the Stones that day considering that they got to play for an extended period of time. Santana was the last act before the Stones on that Day On The Green (with Eddie Money & Peter Tosh). When Santana was onstage, the Stones hadn't even left Anaheim yet for the show. They were two and a half hours late for their starting time. Jagger acted like he wanted the tour to get over with.
    I went and saw all 4 nights of the Voodoo Lounge Tour in Oakland in '94 and they were much better. I saw them in Seattle in '97 and they played well. I then saw them for two nights in Portland in '98 (I think) and they were really quite good. Keith was really on fire the second night.
    To summarize though, I have to say that the Taylor years were the best. My vote for the worst tour? '75 U.S. and '76 Europe may not have been their finest hour, but at least they were still considered dangerous then. So, I give points to them for that. My true vote for the worst tour goes to the '81 U.S. and '82 Europe Tours. They became a corporate enitity for the first time, Mick and Keith were starting a major fracturing of their partnership relationship and the guitars just sounded too clean on that tour.
     
  16. George Blair

    George Blair Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    There does seem to be a definitive break with the "danger" appeal after the '78 tour and Some Girls. I recently heard a tape of a show in Houston on that tour and they were spectacular. At one point Mick says "if the band seem a little ragged it's only because they were up all night f*****g!" You'd never hear stuff like that on later tours. :angel:
     
  17. Gregory Earl

    Gregory Earl Senior Member

    Location:
    Kantucki
    Man! I wish I had more than one show to measure them by. I'm so envious of you guys.
    I saw them only once in '99 in LA. I teared up when they came strutting out on stage and got chills throughout the show. Magnificent. I'll never forget it, or the elderly gentleman that I passed the pipe to. Classic night.
     
  18. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Yeah - Mick was 38 in 1981. Ancient! :rolleyes:
     
  19. ManFromCouv

    ManFromCouv Employee #3541

    Prancing Mick just doesn't work for me. :shake:
     
  20. Zep Fan

    Zep Fan Sounds Better with Headphones on

    Location:
    N. Texas
    I tried to get tickets, at the site, for the small halls tour of '78... but nothing materialized......

    I finally got to see the Rolling Stones for the first of two nights at the Dallas Cotton Bowl for the Steel Wheels Tour.
    I had always wanted to see Led Zeppelin perform at the CottonBowl.
    The Stones were the Biggest act I ever saw there. The opening act for the show was Living Colour. Due to the traffic, we got there after Living Colour had started their set. There was much to do about Mick's gal Jerry Hall, from the suburb of Dallas (Mesquite) and all of her friends that were attending the show. We were at the back of the stadium in the lower deck. It was okay... It was an event... a spectacle to see. I guess the only drawback was the group of 3 or 4 yong men and women nearby that had been sleeping together without bathing for while.... or so the odor would indicate....

    I had friends that went and saw the Stones, again at The Cotton Bowl for 2 shows, in 1981. I did not go, but I wish I had. I hear that the opening act, ZZ TOP put on a very imoressive set. It was Novemeber, I believe, and it rained on the day my friends went, but they were die hard Stones fans, and would weather anything to see them
     
  21. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    God this was a really good tour. The set lists were loaded up with material not played in decades, or never played live at all.

    Monkey Man, Live With Me, Bitch, It's All Over Now, etc. I don't know about other dates, but in LA Rocks Off was on fire with sharp biting horns, solid guitars, and Mick in top form, Keith looking and playing stone cold sober. And for fans of the later classics, five songs from Some Girls.

    I never saw them this good again. I saw a half dozen shows later including their final US date (so far). But 1994 was very special for the performances as well as the set lists. Oakland the next stop on the tour was booted well (Oct. 31) and shows exactly what I am talking about.

    So glad I went both nights in LA even if the first night was a bit better.
     
  22. drbryant

    drbryant Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Hey Scarse!

    I was right on the B-Stage rail, on Keith's side, for that last show, so my hand is probably in your picture. I agree that it was a great, great show. The second night was smoking, but there was a "vibe" on that final night. I even stayed for the closing bows, which I rarely do. One of the greatest weeks of my life, man. On vacation w/my family in London - Three Stones shows, and two Prince shows. Pre-financial crisis heaven.

    There were some real ups and downs during the Bigger Bang Tour, but those three shows at the O2 made it pretty clear to me that when they feel like it, they are still the best live band on the planet. I wish they had it in them for one last go round.
     
  23. drbryant

    drbryant Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    You don't need to feel that bad. The Beacon Show was good, but the guests and the fake fans up front took a lot away from the performance, which to me was very much "by the book". If you saw Atlantic City, you remember a LOUD, smoking show. In my opinion, many of the Arena shows in the US were much better than the Beacon.
     
  24. shepherdfan

    shepherdfan Western European Socialist Music Lover

    Location:
    Eugene, OR
    George,
    On the '78 Tour, I would bet money that Mick dropped the F-bomb at every show on the tour. At every show I've ever heard from '78, he dropped the f-bomb. He even sung it every night during "Just My Imagination". I lovingly refer to the Some Girls Tour as the Foul-Mouthed Jagger Tour. Mick was definitely a grumpy guy back in June and July of that year.
     
  25. RobertKaneda

    RobertKaneda New Member

    Location:
    Paris, France
    Probably because they don't do that anymore. At least not all night.
     
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