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| Mathijs |
Hendrik Mulder and me arrived about 15.30 at the Astoria where we recieved no. 109 and 110 from Stonesdoug. I then noticed Pierre setting up equipment, and we had a very sensible chat. Hendrik and me decided to visit some guitar shops in Denmark street (well, I took Hendrik allong with me, thanks for being patient!), and returned to the line. English queues are the best in the world: everybody is polite and patient, all willing to help eachother. At about seven the doors opened, and there was no hassle, no pushing, no nothing. Excellent! We took our spot about 6 meter from the stage on a small riser of about 30 cm. This gave us an excellent view over the stage. We all expected a lot from this show, and of course we were eagerly waiting for Mick Taylor as a guest. All signs were good: he stayed at the London Hotel, he would be present at the Astoria and Ronnie's spare amp was turned on.
The show started with JJF, and the sound wasn't good. Keith was WAY too loud, the bass was booming all over the place, Jagger's voice was low, and Ronnie was completely absent. Things improved with LWM, and this was one of the best renditions I heard so far. It just really rocked. But, having seen the disaster at the Olympia and the top notch performance in Vredenburg, Hand of Fate got me a bit worried. Again, nobody really seem to know what to do. Keith messed up the bridges, Ronnie's solo was out of tune and it just never really went anywhere. For No Expectations Keith was too loud and Ronnie messy. The next couple of songs were, unfortunately to say, decent at best. To me, the band just never really seem to get in to it. The energy level was low, the crowd enticipation was low, Keith made lots of mistakes with chord changes, and it just didn't feel right to me. It felt a bit like the Stones were performing in a large stadium instead of a club (in their hometown!). On to the introduction, because something clearly happened hear. Jagger went to Leavell, and started to really complain about something. Leavell "massaged" Jaggers back for a bit, and nodded in a somewhat fatherly way. Jagger then appeared to be a bit pissed, and from this point really started to rush. The entire band was announced in one minute (Lisa! Bernard! Charlie!) and he even forgot Chuck. Nearness is a true beauty, BTMMR was messy, and when Jagger returned, he just wanted to go home. All songs were rushed by, all played too fast. Jagger hardly sang anymore, sometimes even lip-synching on Bernards voice. He clearly wanted to get over with it. We saw one song of the set being scratched out, and before we knew it, we were into the hot rocks section and the Stones were gone. No Mick Taylor. On our way out, we saw the song they ommited: Rock Me Baby.....My guess is that in Rock Me baby Jagger is on his own, and with HTW he can get help by Lisa and Bernard. Taylor left the Astoria after 30 minutes from the front exit, and left walking with some friends.
All in all, this show could have been a historical high light. But in reality it was a bit of a let down to me. It was a stadium show in a club, and unfortunately, Jagger lost his voice. But it really start to make me think. If the guitarist are unable to remember the chords of half the songs, and if the singer is not able to sing any longer than half an hour anymore, shouldn't you then stop........well, they probably go on forever. And they should.
Mathijs |
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| stonedinaustralia |
well mathjis - thanks for that
even from this far away it all sounds a little disappointing - as you say it should have been an historic show
i find it really hard to fathom that after 40 years in the business and almost a year on the road they (read keith)are still struggling to remember how their own songs go...
somehow, i get this sinking feeling that they really don't care anymore - 'tho it seems mick has really tried to keep his end up (so to speak)
my take on it is the realtionship between mick and keith has almost completely disintergrated and as mick and keith go; so goes the band
but i guess it is their band and their legacy and they can do what they want with it - keith seems to be following in the footstepds of his hero chuck b. - goodnight badnight - so what - there's always another night and there's been plenty to precede it
"this is the way the world ends...not with a bang but a wimper..."
we are the hollow men,ronnie
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| Boomy |
It seems like many people have mixed feelings about the show. Some reviews I am reading say "Mick did not lose his voice" and that the Stones were on all night.
I wasn't their, so I really don't know what to believe. I hope they played a good show, but sometimes I realize that people would never say one bad thing about the Stones. |
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| caro |
thanks for the review, Mathijs!
Just a question : when Taylor left, was that 30 minutes after the beginning, or after the end of the show? And if he left during the show, was that after Mick went to talk to Chuck?
As for Mick not being able to sing for more than 1/2 hour, it's probably still because of the flu; even if he has recovered, it will probably take a little longer until he can 'mistreat' his voice again as he usually does on a gig.
[Edited by caro] |
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| dealer squealing |
Mathijs wrote "Keith was WAY too loud,"  I thought it was Chuck but now Keith is too loud |
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| riffhard64 |
Did anyone tape this show???? |
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| Mother baby |
quote:
Boomy wrote:
but sometimes I realize that people would never say one bad thing about the Stones.
Not if they don't want a pie in the face.
( pie as in pastry not the RO definition)
[Edited by Mother baby] |
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| Doxa |
What is interesting in this great review is that the songs were said to be played "too fast". That's news 'cause I have have heard so many reports that claim the opposite; that they play their numbers like Jumpin' Jack Flash or Honky Tonk Women too SLOW (a typical sign of lazyness). It looks they have serious problem with hitting the right speed.
Doxa |
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| Jumacfly |
Doxa i ve noticed this on HTW, on the 2003 us boots the song is very slow, and it seems the boys play this one faster in europe...remember the steel wheels tour, HTw version was sharp and fast... |
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| jb |
Too loud and fast-that's sounds like a good thing to me....However, can someone explain what cataclysmic event occurred to preclude the great MT from playing. |
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| Joey |
" Too loud and fast-that's sounds like a good thing to me....However, can someone explain what cataclysmic event occurred to preclude the great MT from playing. "
Arby's was packed last evening .
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| Nellcote |
Again, I say the word "great" is so overused in America.
Ted Williams, the last man to hit over .400 in baseball
exemplifies "great". He played on some very bad baseball teams.
To say that Mick Taylor is great is an stretch.
While he was with The Stones, he was 1/5 responsible for some of their greatest songs. He himself is not great, as his individual accomplishments would not qualify as "great"
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| jb |
PLEASE NELLCOTE-MICK TAYLOR WAS SINGLE-HANDEDLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE GREATEST CONCERTS IN STONES HISTORY....HE IS GREAT-THE ALBUMS THEY RECORDED WITH HIM WERE THEIR GREATEST-THIS IS NO COINCIDENCE..... |
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| Joey |
" Ted Williams, the last man to hit over .400 in baseball
exemplifies "great".
I disagree .............................
Most Americans don't care about " Ted Williams " ..................... Whether or not
he hit .400 did not affect everyone's lives .
Great Men alter irrevocably the population for better or for worse ................Some Examples :
Ronald Reagan
Ho Chi Minh
Bill Clinton
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Martin Luther King
Bobby Kennedy
Abraham Lincoln
My Momma
SKEE !
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| jb |
Bill Clinton was the greatest president since FDR....yet many dislike him. The same is true for Mick Taylor.... |
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| Joey |
" Bill Clinton was the greatest president since FDR....yet many dislike him. The same is true for Mick Taylor.... "
I would like to bite and kiss you .
" Rough Boys Ronnie "
JACIMBO !
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| Nellcote |
Sorry Mr. 5K post, I stand by my statement.
Great could be for life, you strive to maintain it, if you loose it, depending upon how you lost it, you may be called
"one time great"
Mr. Taylor was never singularly great.
And for you Jackie-san, true baseball fans recognize how great Ted Williams was, not the joke his trollop son has made him. Even the perpetually imbibed Harry Carey realized this. The fact that you mention Ho Chi Minh in your list may deserve to have several "Mao Slaps" to bring you back from the Dark Side....
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| Joey |
" The fact that you mention Ho Chi Minh in your list may deserve to have several "Mao Slaps" to bring you back from the Dark Side.... "
Any man that has an entire city named after him deserves to be called great .
Oh , and there is not one nation on this orb who would even dare go in there and try to take over and change that name .
" MAO !!!! " ....Slap !!! " MAO !!!! " .......Slap Slap !!!! .........." MAO !!!! "
" Christopher Walken Me Ronnie "
JACKY !
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| telecaster |
jb please keep in mind MT quit The Stones on the eve of a huge tour. Thankfully, the Stones recovered from this act
of cowardace and went on to play on of the greatest tours in rock history
If Ted Williams was so great why wasn't he great enough to write a great will that would prevent his head being removed from his body? |
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| Joey |
" If Ted Williams was so great why wasn't he great enough to write a great will that would prevent his head being removed from his body? "
I once found a headless body in a Topless bar .
" Bite Me Ronnie "
JERCEE !
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| justforyou |
quote:
JB stated: However, can someone explain what cataclysmic event occurred to preclude the great MT from playing
Yeah, of course, the boys were reading the board and noticed how people were bitching about MT only playing on Rock Me Baby, so in full respect they canned the thought... |
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| Nellcote |
I never said Ted knew how to handle his personal affairs.
BTW, Ted did have a will, it was a Flordian Judge who decided that an oil stained note, with a signature which has been challenged twice in court, took precedence over the will.
This decision is likely is the result of the judge's prolonged exposure to sunlight in the State Of Florida, which tends to have a peculiar effect on most Floridians.
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| telecaster |
quote:
Nellcote wrote:
I never said Ted knew how to handle his personal affairs.
BTW, Ted did have a will, it was a Flordian Judge who decided that an oil stained note, with a signature which has been challenged twice in court, took precedence over the will.
This decision is likely is the result of the judge's prolonged exposure to sunlight in the State Of Florida, which tends to have a peculiar effect on most Floridians.
was jb involved in this legal action in any way? |
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| Joey |
" was jb involved in this legal action in any way? "
Tele .................
After the Cubs lost I wet the bed last evening .
J.
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| lonecrapshooter |
The Yankees are "Great". The Red Sox are not, but Ted Williams was. |
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| Sir Stonesalot |
I agree with Nelly. The term "great" is too casually used in the USA for it to actually MEAN anything.
How was that latte?
It was GREAT!
Boy it feels GREAT to piss this 6 pack outta my bladder!
Eat Frosted Flakes..they're Grrrrrrrrrreat!
Was it good for you?
No, it was GREAT!
See where I'm going with this?
Ted Williams was a great ball player. Wayne Gretzky was a great hockey player. Dr. J was a basketball great. Alexander the Great was a great conquerer. Jimi Hendrix was a great guitar player.
Mick Taylor is quite good. He is NOT great.
You know what else is great....when people lose a bet, and then actually pay up. THAT is great.
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| KeithRichards210 |
quote:
dealer squealing wrote:
Mathijs wrote "Keith was WAY too loud," I thought it was Chuck but now Keith is too loud
Keith CAN'T play too loud for me. Chuck, on the other hand.. |
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| macawber |
i don't a thing about these fucking baseball players you guys are talking about but i do know about rock and roll.
if you played guitar on sticky fingers and exile on main street you are a GREAT GUITAR PLAYER.
not good,not o.k., but i-played-on-the-best-rock-albums-ever-GREAT. |
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| Hand of Fate |
Well Mathijs and I must have been at different shows! I have seen every club show on the european leg bar Paris and I thought it was a great show. I feel that some people are overly critical and should just go and enjoy it. I thought the band was on fire last night and according to my source who works for the band MT was never going to play and was at the hotel as a guest and thats where the guest buses left from. In the London Evening standard today the reviewer said it was the best show he'd ever been to and proves that the Stones are still the greatest live band in the world and i'd have to agree with him, alright it wasn't the best show ever but it was a great show. All this Chucks to loud or the bass is to loud, chill out, have some beers and a spliff and dance your ass off and i'm sure you'll enjoy it! |
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| jb |
macawber, you must post more-i like your logic!!!! |
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