IMO the Stones decision playing mostly a best-of set, with almost ignoring the new songs of ABB is based on the mentality of the average US fan.
As Rockfans are usualy kind of conservative songwise( as Mick does always say) the US fan is even more conservative.
They prefer the classic warehorses to anything new.
If Mick is announcing a new song....lots of fans are going for a beer or a pee.
So in the US, fans get what they want...finaly

The character of the average european fan should be kind of different.
I think they would love hearing the new tunes more than their US fellows.
That...and the fact that the european leg is at the end of the tour, makes me hope that the Stones will put about 6-7 songs of ABB, when playing in europe.
This album is crying to be played live.

CuonABBtour
salar

no true. If you take look at the Licks tour, The Stones played more rare songs comparing to Europe.

Heart of Stone
Parachute Woman
She Smiled sweetly
Don't look back

bartman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> no true. If you take look at the Licks tour, The
> Stones played more rare songs comparing to
> Europe.
>
> Heart of Stone
> Parachute Woman
> She Smiled sweetly
> Don't look back
>
> "I got news for you. We're still a bunch of tough
> bastards. String us up and we still won't die"

You did not get my point, batrman...
Licks was concepted as a BEST of tour setlistwise as it was kind of the 40thannivesary celebrations.
But this tour is "advertised" as kind of promotion tour for ABB album.
Said that it seems somehow strange that they are so defense with puting the new tunes on livestage......my hope: time will tell...and bring us more of the new tunes finaly.

that's one theory, salar. another is just they have just gotten plain lazy.

Yes but these songs were only played in the club shows which is not where the average fan is. Also not one of those 4 songs was played more then 4 times the whole tour. Like I have said on here before as much as I would like to here some more rare or new stuff as oposed to the big hits it plain and clear when you see them in a big stadium especially in the US why they play the big hits night after night its because the crowd loves it and the response is so great.

The sets at stadiums/arenas in the US during 2002-03 (I couldn't get into any club or theatre shows) were quite varied in terms of the band's own catalog & choice of covers. The current tour is more like the previous tours setlist-wise; in Boston they did 4 from ABB & 1 unrecorded cover, & I assumed more from ABB would be added after it was released. Perhaps lack of airplay has influenced their thinking, but I do hope they add a couple more (and Back Of My Hand was a highlight both times, & should imo have priority status).

What is this Euro/ US distinction some people are trying to make? I don't see it.

I saw the Chicago trilogy in '02 as well as San Siro (MIlan) and I've been flipping between various other Euro dates from '03 and don't see anything in the larger shows to suggest that the Euro dates were really all that different from the American ones. OOC was played in Milan, but the Stones skipped Milan for B2B's earlier tours.

Hence, I don't think the "average US fan" argument holds much water; the shows just aren't that different from either side of the pond (for me) to make that argument work.

Granted, I'm just going back to Licks, but can someone tell me what I'm missing?