Mick Jagger is the greatest perfomer alive but when he is on stage singing and dancing, he doesn't seem "to connect" with the public. I have a friend who is a stones fan and she always gets upset when the subject of Mick's attitude towards his audience comes up in a discussion.She likes Jagger's performance but she doesn't understand why he ignores his public. Personally I don't mind although I see her point especially when one compares Keith's and Ron's efforts to bond with the audience. I wonder why Mick is distant. Does that bother you?
Rock and Roll,
Mops

dude has been dealing with "the public" and screaming irrtae fans since what .....63?
by now I reckon he is well sick of it in spades

Michael is a highly intelligent,well read.traveled ,cultured,studied Knight.

How can such a sophisticated polished multimillionare/business man truly relate with a star struck moron who was dumb enough to pay 300 dollars for a seat in a hockey arena?

I suspect that if you are looking for a man of the people...you'll find it in the KEEFER
keith seems to be more of a reular guy and can hang with anyone any time
because he is more street and "beat" than michael is

my 2 ecnts

I wonder why Mick is distant

kinda hard to be intimate with an audience while performing on a stage as wide as a football pitch and probably set about just as far back from the first rows of the crowd

Quote
nanker's phelge

Michael is a highly intelligent,well read.traveled ,cultured,studied Knight.

How can such a sophisticated polished multimillionare/business man truly relate with a star struck moron who was dumb enough to pay 300 dollars for a seat in a hockey arena?

Brilliant. And so true. I think He laughs all the way to the bank about us idiots.

Mick's arrogance towards his audience is a big part of his charisma. He's not the meet & greet buddy-like rockstar. He has that aura and that is what makes him so special - and way cooler and interesting.

i used to think that too then as i started going to more and more shows (and been front row) i realized i was wrong. he's usually more subtle than keith and ronnie but i've gotten high-fives, a super-cool handshake where our hands slid down each others and the tips of our fingers snap, blown kisses back and forth, and other crazy stuff. i know i'm lucky but it helps if you're younger and female. i've seen him connect with a couple of other women too.

Early on encounters with screaming crazed clothes ripping teeny boppers, to gun toting fans in front of stage at altamont, to John Lennons death, have probably made Mick a bit leery of the public. Being a huge rock star is a magnet for crazies.

Mick goes out of his way to please his audience and entertain them, and yes, give them what they want to hear... try going to see bob dylan if you want to see someone who doesn't care about his audience...

jagger thinks we are all cash cows to be milked ,and he will buy us (the music)the lowest quality hay for feed and we will not be fed on a daily basis only fed enough to keep the authorties off jaggers back so as not to cost him money out of his greedy pockets.come to think of it brian jones had to have really done a number on jaggers head to make him this greedy and filled with so much contempt for his hardcore and very rabid audience.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-06-05 21:21 by The Greek.

one big meal-ticket for that clever capitalist



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-06-05 21:28 by Rollin' Stoner.

I've had the idea for a very long time now that life as a Rolling Stone isn't really what Mick Jagger wanted. He's always been ambitious and opportunistic, and I think he saw himself eventually moving into movies and/or other sorts of endeavors, and leaving music behind. But for whatever reasons, that never really happened for him, or he was never able to make that transition, and since the early 70's has basically been "stuck" having to earn a living as a rock star, and I don't think he's always thrilled with that. I'm not saying he doesn't enjoy the spoils that it has brought him, but I just don't get the impression that he's happy this has become his life's work. I came to this conclusion from reading/seeing various books, articles, interviews, etc. There seemed to be a time in the late 60's to early 70's when the world was at his feet and he had things he wanted to do other than be a musician and rock star. He was never able to do what he wanted like he wanted, and I don't think he is always very happy with how things have gone. I really get the feeling from the indifferent way he acts, and the things he says, his overall attitude basically, that turning the Stones into a huge business was not his first choice, he would have rather done what he's done in some other type of business or endeavor. Outside of the money of course, I'm sure he's thrilled with that.

Mick's (and generally The Stones' - cf Salt of the Earth) relationship to the Stones' audience is one the real paradoxes in rock n roll. Ill call it complicated and opaque. The man sometimes seems to be split so sharply into calculating professional and unparalled performer/musician/writer/singer it's almost creepy. If he had any pretenses (a la Bono, Bruce, etc) to populism they'd ring so false as to be unthinkable, yet after checking receipts, song/audience response-o-meters, etc he gets out there and creates - thru sheer will? Need? - astonishing intensity that sweeps you up, and a force that gathers power as shows near the 2 hour mark, rendering even the most familiar hits ('...o no not Honky Tonk/T. Dice/Satisfaction again...") burn brighter than seems possible after the 2000 th performance. Heck he complained about singing some of these in 1972!
I suppose this mystery is one aspect of Jagger's greatness as well as what will always keep a certain distance from his audience, who may be more likely to turn on him in moments like the Jerry divorce, 1999 ticket prices, etc. But all that makes the enduring power more paradoxical...I mean nobody feels like Mick is speaking 'to' (exactly) or 'for' them out there in the swirling faceless greys that are us. Aint it strange?

I dont think it's mere contempt on Mick's part either - that would have been transparant decades ago, and he works too damned hard...The distance is right there in his 'insincere' (multi-layered) vocal personae too, right from the early 60s - contrast Mick singing Otis or Covay with the originals. There's a self awareeness that he cant sing LIKE them, instead Mick's vocals register with yearning, irony, distance, and intelligence (etc etc) rather than emotional directness.

Quote
roundnround
Mick goes out of his way to please his audience and entertain them, and yes, give them what they want to hear... try going to see bob dylan if you want to see someone who doesn't care about his audience...

Its not always a good idea to interpret anything from the way an artist interacts (or doesnt) with his audience.
A friend of mine saw EC at one of his recent concerts in the UK and came away dischuffed because all he could say was "Thankyou" after each song.
I said that was probably a great deal more than Dylan, Van Morrison and many others would offer.
Do none of them care either?
Well, you can't say they are inarticulate-far from it. Perhaps they belong to the school of atists - jazz ones like Miles Davis come to mind, who just feels its too show biz to greet the audience, introduce each song, backing members etc and show some emotion (outside of their singing and /or playing of course.)
After all they can't be dong it just for the applause...and the money.....can they?

"Mick Jagger's attitude towards his audience"

a prototype for how to deal with the audience as an intellectual artist.

all the others are just plebs.

He goes very hard at what he does so well, no time for tea at three.

All Right Oklahoma City!!! Y'know, I was talkin' to Barack the other day an' he tol' me There's Nothin'anywhere will match the energy of a F**kin' Oak City Crowd!!! Was He right??? Awriiigh...Our first special guest, you know him, is Mr genesis p-orridge of Throbbing Gristle, Let's Hear it!!! Hamburger Lady, YEAH!

"How can such a sophisticated polished multimillionare/business man truly relate with a star struck moron who was dumb enough to pay 300 dollars for a seat in a hockey arena?"
I laughed so hard reading this I almost pissed in my pants.

Well the answer is you have to pretend. You have to pretend you're delighted to be in Bumfuktown when you'd rather be in NYC or L.A., you have to pretend you're eager to sing for 2 hours when you just wanna stay at the hotel etc etc.

That's called professionalism ;-)

Professionalism yes and no - mere pro is the current Fleetwood Mac "1975 eponymous & Rumours revisited" tour...

Last time I saw the Stones, I was way over by a far corner of the stage. When Mick came out there, I was the only one in my section standing up, clapping, and appearing to be having a good time. I was rewarded with about 15 seconds of Mick's undivided attention. You get what you give.

"Be on my side, I'll be on your side"

I miss the circa '66 era (cover of US Got Live) when Charlie would grace us all with his sexual charisma and introduce a song - sending the 14 year girls into erotic ecstasy (?)

I don't think Mick has ever been detached from the audience. I think he gets lots of energy from the fans and sends it back. He used to abuse crowds that were dead and sat in their seats, but that was fair game as far as I was concerned.

I think it's all part of his stage persona, the mysterious, aloof lead singer who happens to be the best frontman in rock history. I don't think he's like that at all offstage.

It's what sets him apart from Peter Noone.

Quote
mickschix
I think it's all part of his stage persona, the mysterious, aloof lead singer who happens to be the best frontman in rock history. I don't think he's like that at all offstage.

u would know lucky girl!

Doesn't bother me but he is certainly detached.

Bowie, McCartney, Townsend, Daltrey connect well with their audiences I think.

Mick is just more aloof and standoffish. If he was funny by nature he'd probably be better at it. But he doesn't exactly have a Billy Connolly thing going does he?

So far Elmo is the only one who has made sense.
And The Greek, you're so very wrong.

Quote
stonesrule
So far Elmo is the only one who has made sense.
And The Greek, you're so very wrong.

tHAT'S SCARY!

"No Anchovies, Please"

AW, you KNOW what I'm talking about JJ Flash!! Great memory!!

I'm waiting for a book to be co-written by Little Queenie and Mickschix that will put Marianne Faithfull in her place once and for all!