Just as the unintelligible mumbling of archaic guitarist Keith
Richards kept the audience in the dark, a sense of bewilderment
followed the entire Rolling Stones show at the Staples Center last
Thursday night.
Stranger things have happened on Halloween, but seeing the rock
band that spawned the infamous Altamont concert in 1969 now play on
a tour sponsored by E-Trade was frightening indeed. The 24th stop
on the Stones’ 45-show North American tour also saw perhaps
the largest congregation of drunken middle-age women ever
assembled, rounding out a night of pleasant and not-so-pleasant
surprises.
After opening act Sheryl Crow went through her top hits and paid
homage to the rock icons, fans were treated to almost an hour of
absolutely nothing. An obvious division formed among the fans
during the silence. One group grew agitated and restless. The other
group was too drunk to even realize what was going on.
However, when Richards, singer/knight Mick Jagger, guitarist Ron
Wood and drummer Charlie Watts finally emerged from the bowels of
the arena, the Stones proceeded to make noise of the ear-splitting
variety. A large man in a Hell’s Angels costume (at least, we
hope it was a costume) went berserk as Sir Mick and the others
exploded into the classic opener “Street Fighting
Man.”
Despite their advanced age and lessening relevance in the past
20 years, the Stones are still a top-notch live act. As the
template for everything rock ‘n’ roll, the Stones
continue to squeeze the sleaze out of the blues better than anyone
else.
Songs like “Start Me Up,” “Brown Sugar,”
and “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” served as
universal crowd pleasers. Yet it was “Tumbling Dice”
that carried the most soul. Fans were exposed to lesser hits
“Rocks Off” and “Honky Tonk Woman,” which
were equally inspired.
Unfortunately, after the rollicking “Jumpin’ Jack
Flash,” the Stones bid farewell to their fans and retired to
their hotels, leaving many disappointed. “Under My
Thumb,” the song that could have pushed every woman in the
audience toward madness, was absent, as were the dark masterpieces
“Paint It Black” and “Gimme Shelter.”
The omission of these classics paled in comparison to the
astonishing exclusion of “Sympathy For the Devil,” the
quintessential Halloween song. These questionable calls
collectively ruined an otherwise exciting concert. Trick or treat
indeed.