Sympathy For The Devil (Incomplete)



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I imagine BV is awash right now with emotion and just plain exhausted. I wrote this review before the sad events of the last week about the Singapore show, as evidenced by my last line about "off to Perth." It was the first I have tried to review for IORR. I am posting it here in case it has been lost in the email world, or BV takes some time to recover. I am posting it now because with all the current sadness and doubts, hopefully it is a bit uplifting to read something positive. A class act that did a class show



It is hard for me this time to separate the show from just the whole experience I had in Singapore. The Sistec company handling the tickets should just be flogged. That said, from sources, at last minute, I ended up with two tickets, not one , and the best was from a fan who read my posts on IORR.

The Marina Bay Sands itself is incredible. I have stayed at Hyatts and Hiltons, the Four Seasons and Sheratons, in Paris and London and everywhere else, no place has ever given me better service, and no place challenges the fantastic architecture here. That brings us to the room itself, The Grand Ball Room of the Mariana Bay Sands. Wide, but not very deep the run way ran almost to the back of the room. The stage was smaller than any I have seen the Stones use outside of a theater show. The ceiling was low, and either the Stones have kicked up their mixing desk a notch, or acoustics here were superb, or even both, because the sound was incredible. It was nice after hearing the weave for so many years to be able to tell in the audience who was playing which note when, The only disappointment was the up front standing areas, exactly as marked on the maps. They were side of the stage views and by the time I arrived I would have been far back in the crowded little area seeing little, so I used my seat in on stage right and felt I had a much better view ( Thanks so much Kevin if you are reading this!)

The show itself was just amazing. I was at the two O2 shows and the two Hyde Parks, the beginning and end of the 50 and Counting tour.At those shows I was impressed with a seasoned professional show by performers that had something to prove. They proved it. Even though it is basically the same show, last night was different. BV has said that the show was a little off after Macauu and Shanghai. I cannot see how, last night I saw a living working rock band. Mick actually went out into the audience! There was a different vocal arrangement on SFTD that worked and was somehow more ominous for its difference. Rambler had all the expected flourishes by MT, but then near the end Ron steps up and for every note of vibrato drenched blues solo that MT had offered, Ron played a raunchy powerful rock solo that shows he takes a back seat to no one. If anyone deserves to play guitar with Keith Richards, it is he. In fact , Ron was everywhere last night when he needed to be . Mick several times could be overheard, microphone down, commenting in how hot the band and the night were.They were in the zone, and they knew it!

I am jaded. I was ready to be entertained. I have seen enough shows during the years that often I find myself at shows thinking its as much a habit as anything else; the Stones tour, I follow, hooking up with Beast, Manofwealthandtaste, Paulywauly, and all the other regulars. Not so last night. Last night I saw a band that seemed more alive and on fire ( trite I know by tour name, but true)than I have seen in years. The regulars were there, many of them were not. But It does not matter, I saw the Stones

I am off for Perth

The fact that my 'Latvija' scarf decorated the stage in Singapore (see bv's pic on page 9 of this thread) made it to a quiz show on Latvian TV last night:



Question: In March at their concert in Singapore a scarf with the writing Latvija decorated the stage of a band founded in 1962. What's the name of the band?

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latvianinexile
The fact that my 'Latvija' scarf decorated the stage in Singapore (see bv's pic on page 9 of this thread) made it to a quiz show on Latvian TV last night:

Question: In March at their concert in Singapore a scarf with the writing Latvija decorated the stage of a band founded in 1962. What's the name of the band?

...Please tell me they knew the answer...?!

Quote
RoughJusticeOnYa

Quote
latvianinexile
The fact that my 'Latvija' scarf decorated the stage in Singapore (see bv's pic on page 9 of this thread) made it to a quiz show on Latvian TV last night:

Question: In March at their concert in Singapore a scarf with the writing Latvija decorated the stage of a band founded in 1962. What's the name of the band?

...Please tell me they knew the answer...?!

In fact they did know the answer! Programme can be watched here:
[ltv.lsm.lv]

I saw you there, Exile, but didn't have chance to say 'hello'. last time I met up with you was in Shanghai ages ago, with Berndt and a few others.