Stones B'lore

Closed Thread
  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    In the Lair of the Village Idiot's Apprenctice
    Posts
    3,385

    Stones B'lore

    It was wet and slick and the crowd wanted more.

    A sudden burst of April showers didn’t cool the ardour of boisterous fans, not much anyway, at the Rolling Stones first-ever concert in India at the sprawling Palace Grounds here yesterday.

    “We don’t mind the rain,” screamed a fan.
    Acknowledging the presence of over 20,000 music afficionados, lead-singer Sir Mick Jagger said, “Dhanyavad”.

    “Bangalore, it had to rain… it will drain away… I like India,” said the band’s lead guitarist Keith Richards, as the rain-soaked fans cheered on.

    Starting with Brown Sugar, Glimmer Twins Jagger and Richards held the audience in sway. As the music and the pyrotechnics on the mammoth backdrop picked up pace, what started off as a benign shower gathered power too.

    But the sizzling hot lips and the slithering red tongue, the raunchy gyrations of Jagger and Richards and the sultry Lisa Fischer’s (backing vocals) little steamy act with Jagger generated enough heat.

    Came one after the other — It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll, Start Me Up and Don’t Stop that segued into Angie.

    Looking like colourful birds in bright jackets — gold, pink, electric blue — the band was hyperkinetic. The grey-locked rockers pranced up and down, putting youth around them to shame.

    At the audience end, it was a veritable mummy, daddy and kids yatra. Entire families had turned out for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

    Video images of fans and the band were interspersed and displayed with graphics on the giant plasma screen, as a backdrop to the stage.

    Gathered were also hundreds of fans from abroad, including Sri Lanka, Japan and Britain and Stones lovers from Coimbatore, Delhi, Chennai and Pune.


    From school-going kids and young techies to Stones fans of over 60, they were all there, swaying hands and crooning during the two-and-a-half hour performance.

    Forget the sedate corporate boxes, the standing-only area was the only place to rock.

    Of course, those who paid up Rs 5,000 for a seat were treated to goodies like free French wine. But alas not even a fleeting meeting with the band backstage.

    Spotted amongst these pampered beings Infosys Managing Director Nandan Nilekani, Wipro Technologies Vice President Suresh Vaswani, Philips Software CEO Bob Hoekstra, film actor and DMK MP Sharath Kumar, Vijay Kirloskar, Manoviraj Khosla and actress Radhika. Dr Vijay Mallya had a box to himself.

    The finale was the famous album Satisfaction, which ended with fireworks and confetti.

    A pity that fewer people turned up for this awesome show compared to other international gigs in recent months. Blame that on the Mumbai show on Monday and advancing of concert dates.


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    In the Lair of the Village Idiot's Apprenctice
    Posts
    3,385

    Ruling Stones gather Mumbai mass

    By: Narendra Kusnur
    April 8, 2003
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    At 8 pm last night, the Brabourne Stadium was in a blue mood, as hundreds of blue lights dazzled suddenly. Soon, Mick Jagger appeared in a blue jacket. Over the next few minutes, the mood changed to brown as the Rolling Stones rendered Brown Sugar.

    For two hours, the Stones charmed the crowd. The majority was in their over 35s, but one spotted some younger people too.

    It was only rock ‘n’ roll, but we loved it. The 59-year-old Jagger was a treat to watch, as he ran across the stage with the energy of a 19-year-old.

    View the Rolling Stones concert photo essay

    Equally important, there was amazing accompaniment from guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, drummer Charlie Watts, bassist Darryl Jones, keyboardist Chuck Leavell, and a host of horn players and back-up vocalists.

    People started trickling in around 6 pm, and a lot of them were caught in a lengthy queue. Nearer the small gate that was meant for the Rs 2,000 and Rs 1,200 crowd, there was total chaos. Once people got in, there was a long wait till the actual show began.

    To be sure, one felt that Jagger wasn’t really at his perfect best on the first couple of tracks. It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll, it seemed, was doctored to cater to his age. But once he got the flow (ironically, with Start Me Up), he was as smooth as a river.

    From typical Stones numbers like Don’t Stop and Tumbling Dice, to classics like Sympathy For The Devil and Honky Tonk Women, to slower masterpieces like Angie and You Can’t Always Get What You Want, he cast a spell on the crowd.

    Richards too chipped in with a couple of vocal numbers. To our pleasant surprise, he rendered the magical Slippin’ Away, which included a delightful riff, before pumping up the tempo on Happy.

    The popular numbers were reserved for the end. Vocalist Lisa Fischer was astounding on Gimme Shelter. After the super-hits Street Fighting Man and (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, the Stones did an encore with Jumpin’ Jack Flash.

    For both the diehard Stones fan and the new listener, it was a treat. Though one missed tracks like 19th Nervous Breakdown, Wild Horses, Ruby Tuesday, Mother’s Little Helper, The Last Time, Time Waits For No-One and even the new Richards rendition Losing My Touch, the set-list was representative of all that the Stones stood for.

    Throughout, Jagger showed how far ahead he is in terms of sheer showmanship and stage attitude.

    Besides a regular change of shirts and vests, he regularly grabbed the crowd’s attention by saying things like ‘Kasa kaay Mumbai’ and ‘For everyone in the expensive seats, we shall serve champagne soon’.

    The concert also proved that as long as one has the will to play, age doesn’t matter.

    Keep rolling, Stones. Your fans shall keep rocking with you.

    ‘Shock and awe’ was invented by Mick Jagger, not President Bush. It was an electrifying experience.
    Alyque Padamsee
    Theatre personality

    This was mega-ism in simplicity. I think all the Stones have been blessed with enormous talent. It was an outstanding performance.
    Somesh Kumar
    Singer

    It was geriatric rock at its best; these guys are truly energetic.
    Farhad Wadia
    Music producer

    Jagger was outstanding, no doubt. But what great musicians played with him. Richards, Wood and Watts were all amazing.
    Vishal Dadlani
    Pentagram vocalist




    The song list

    * Brown Sugar
    * It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll
    * Start Me Up
    * Don’t Stop
    * All Down The Line
    * Angie
    * You Can’t Always Get What You Want
    * Monkey Man
    * Miss You
    * Tumbling Dice
    * Slippin’ Away
    * Happy
    * Sympathy For The Devil
    * Midnight Rambler
    * Gimme Shelter
    * You Got Me Rocking
    * Honky Tonk Women
    * Street Fighting Man
    * (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
    * Jumpin’ Jack Flash


  3. #3

    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    In the Lair of the Village Idiot's Apprenctice
    Posts
    3,385