Rolling Stones last night

stickyfiddle

Hadn't seen them before, and they're getting on a bit, so I thought I should finally go to their show when it came to Abu Dhabi. They were excellent. It's obvious that Keef's arthritis means it's harder to play the twiddly bits but he's just about getting away with it for now at least. 

Most importantly the guitars on show were awesome. Telecasters everywhere, LP Jrs and Specials, but the best sounding guitars by far were Ron's LP (probably an R9 rather than an old one), bizarrely enough an ESP (I think!) double-humbucker Tele with B-bender and Keef's black ES-355. I'm not a big fan of RW's playing usually, but his solo at the end of You Can't Always Get What You Want was absolutely fantastic- up there with the best Les Paul sounds I've heard. 

not_the_dj

Great stuff. Good to hear they can still put on a good show, but I do wonder how long they can keep going.

HAL9000

I recently watched their latest Hyde Park concert on DVD. I know what you mean about Keef - definitely more economical with his playing these days. I've always been a fan of Ronnie Wood's playing - he's always sympathetic to the song rather than being particularly showy (same goes for Keef, but not in quite the same way). And of course they've created lots of memorable and instantly recognisable songs, and are great entertainers.

bertie

one of the few bands where going to see them and listening to their albums  are equally rewarding.

Saw them at Wembly 1990,  when they were still 'active'      -    were "lucky" enough to be in the middle, about 10 back from the front - outstanding show, you couldnt help but get caught up in it.

BenSirAmos

bertie said:

Saw them at Wembly 1990,  

Me too. Not a bad show - but I remember how it all went flat on songs when Jagger wasn't singing.

chrisj1602

I went to Hyde Park, great show.

freakboy1610

I was at Wembley in 1990 too. I thought they rocked for a bunch of old guys but they were around the same age then that I am now! I went on the day that there was an England football match on and there was a huge cheer when we scored. I think we lost in the end. It is interesting that Ronnie Wood was the sloppy player in those days but now he holds it all together much more.

bertie

freakboy1610 said:

I was at Wembley in 1990 too. I thought they rocked for a bunch of old guys but they were around the same age then that I am now! I went on the day that there was an England football match on and there was a huge cheer when we scored. I think we lost in the end. 

thats the one, v Germany  - we lost on penalties, for a change

Gun were the support band,  late coming on, and were IMHO, rubbish

HAL9000

freakboy1610 said:

It is interesting that Ronnie Wood was the sloppy player in those days but now he holds it all together much more.

I nearly mentioned that in my earlier post. There have always been moments listening to Ronnie Wood when it all sounds like it's going to fall apart in a very bad way but somehow it never does. I suspect he's actually much more in control than he sounds.

NPP

Wood was a very tight rhythm player with Rod Stewart, there are some good live clips on Youtube (as you all will know), he can really get your foot stomping and other bits swaying