As you may have heard, The Rolling Stones played a show at The Fonda Theater, a small Los Angeles club, Wednesday night. For the first time in their 50-year career, they performed an album in its entirety: The 1971 classic, Sticky Fingers, which is being reissued June 9.
I was at the show. In fact, I was about 10 rows back on the floor. I’ve seen the Stones many times before, but never in so tiny a venue and never so close that I could see every nuance. For all the naysayers who spout that the Rolling Stones were never good again after Mick Taylor left in 1974 or that they are too past their prime to still be touring, all I can say is watching the band up close was exhilarating and illuminating. At 71, Mick Jagger is some freak of nature. He never slowed down. In the 85-minute show, he was off stage for less than two minutes during a saxophone solo in “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking.”
Keith Richards, also 71, is clearly going to outlive us all, despite the odds. He slide guitar work on “You Gotta Move” was nothing sort of inspiring in its bluesy soulfulness. Ronnie Wood, 67, may do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to guitar work, but Richards will forever and always be the Stones’ living, breathing heart and to see him burst into a grin at Jagger on the second song, “When The Whip Comes Down,” was to witness pure joy. And has there ever been a drummer with a more efficient sense of economy than Charlie Watts, 73? There is not a wasted note.
Before delving into Sticky Fingers, which the band played out of order, in part, no doubt, to build up to “Brown Sugar,” which opens the album, the Stones threw in “Start Me Up,” “Whip,” and “All Down The Line.” The encore consisted of “Rock Me Baby,” a tribute to B.B King; “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” and a cover of Otis Redding’s “I Can’t Turn You Loose.”
The Rolling Stones’ 15-city North American tour starts Sunday in San Diego.
Here are six things any performer could learn from last night’s show:
Be Proud Of Your Work: Sure, James Brown, may he rest in peace, will forever have the moniker of The Hardest Working Man in Show Business, but Jagger certainly deserves it as well. Whippet thin, he is flailing his arms, punching like a pugilist over the crowd, doing his best bantam rooster impersonation, snapping his hips every moment on stage. He’s a kinetic ball of energy, never resting, never not entertaining. A very obvious sense of pride in doing his absolute best radiates off Jagger and it is infectious.
Stay True To Yourself: Watts is as laid back as Jagger is flamboyant and they both stay true to their nature. Watts is a human metronome. There’s no flash, just impeccable, solid drumming that he, somehow, makes look effortless. He’s not there to do fancy drum solos or draw any attention to himself at all: He’s there to keep the beat. And no one does it better. There were several moments last night when Jagger would go back to the drum kit to grab a water and, every time, Watts greeted him with a big smile—that’s about as much emotion as I’ve ever seen him show on stage. At one point they even carried on a brief conversation, but Watts never broke from his unflappable, steady style.
Look Involved: Everyone on stage knows eyes are on them. As much as Jagger is the focal point, at any time, you could look at the other musicians and see how animated they were (Watts aside). Never, even when they weren’t playing, were they checked out. During “Wild Horses,” when they weren’t singing, the co-ed back up singers were locked in a seductive, slinky dance that never pulled focus from Jagger, but was a little sideshow unto itself, there to enjoy for anyone who looked over.
Be Engaged: At this stage in his career, you might think Jagger would have adopted a bit of aloofness. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Throughout the night, he was making eye contact with people in front rows, smiling at them, engaging them, exhorting them to clap their hands. He was fully present.
Be Happy: There were moments that joy absolutely radiated from the stage. There is no reason for the Stones to be playing gigs any more other than that they want to. The demand is there—they’re still filling stadiums—but it’s clear what drives them is their desire. To the man last night, Jagger, Richards, Wood, and Watts looked delighted to be on stage. Richards often smiled so broadly he looked like the cat who swallowed the canary.
Challenge Yourself: In doing Sticky Fingers from start to finish, the Rolling Stones challenged themselves to play songs, like “Sister Morphine” and “Sway,” that they most likely hadn’t played in decades live, if ever. Yet the renditions were perfect. I kept looking to see if Jagger was using a teleprompter or lyric sheets for some of the deep album cuts and he wasn’t. He knew all the words. And, more impressively, vocally he hit every note, including the high notes on “I Got The Blues.” There was never a moment when the band coasted. There's a reason why they're called The World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band and they proved it again on Tuesday night.
