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Hairball
Imagine...ticket prices on average were only about $30.00 give or take.

As someone who only started going to concerts in 1997, this blows my mind.

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Hairball
Imagine...ticket prices on average were only about $30.00 give or take.

I've got all my old Stones tickets.

Wembley 1990 was £22.50

VL 1995 Sheffield & Wembley £25

BtB 1999 Edinburgh & Wembley £30

After that, Licks and ... $$$$$£££££

The Urban Jungle Tour was the first time I saw the band live (Rotterdam, Paris, Berlin), it was just great to see these legends.
In Berlin they used the Steel Wheels stage... that was a cool surprise for my 3rd show that summer.

It's all very subjective and of course there's been a reflection of that in the comments so far. One person's diamond is another's trash. That said, my opinion of the Steel Wheels "North American Tour 1989" is that it was a well done, quality production, if perhaps a little slick, in hindsight. Perhaps this is colored by the fact that '89 was the year of my first show. It was a very exciting time of discovery, as I didn't know much about them going into the concert. I think I only had "Still Life" and "Steel Wheels" (both on cassette) going into that show, and by the spring of '90 I had pretty much every everything they ever released. I look back on that time very sentimentally, so I'm very excited for the official release of "Terrifying" (Atlantic City) which took place about three weeks after my first concert. As a side note I remember the night of the pay-per-view, recording it on VHS while also recording it off the radio broadcast. I must have watched that show 50 times by now.

At the time, I wasn't yet aware of the feuds and the drama surrounding the solo albums in the mid to late 80's, though I bet those things may have colored the opinions for some people who did know about those things. It makes me think about now and their current touring and how my experiences since '89 may have affected my views. I'm very excited to see them this summer, but I'm thirty years older and I wonder if the standards I now hold them to keep me from experiencing the sheer joy of a Stones show like I used to. Maybe someone seeing them in '89 who first saw them in '69 felt a similar way as I do now. That said, I'd like to think that some 15 year old out there is seeing them for the first time on this No Filter Tour, with maybe only a couple albums (digital downloads?) to their knowledge, and by next spring will own the whole Stones discography.

It's Only Rock and Roll, but I like it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-03-24 04:19 by floodonthepage.

Steel Wheels was one of my favorite later day tours. I saw both of the shows the Stones performed in Syracuse in 1989, and even though music at the Dome sounds to me like a roller rink bouncing off the walls, I thought the Stones were very tight musically. I for one, liked the fact that their songs sounded like off the record, especially Gimme Shelter (with female background vocals), Sympathy for the Devil, etc. My only complaint was that they didn't pull out other strong tunes from Steels Wheels such as Terrifying or Almost Hear you Sigh (which they eventually threw in later on in the tour).

The Stones played ten shows at Tokyo Dome in spring 1990. I bought tickets for eight of them. Tickets were expensive (JPY10,000 or about $70 at the time), and at the age of 29, I really couldn't afford it, but no mortgage, no car, no kids yet, so I just closed my eyes and bought. Even crazier, Paul McCartney had scheduled six shows at Tokyo Dome right after the Stones finished, and I bought tickets for all of those.

The Dome was about 10 minutes on the subway from my office, so every other day for about a month, I would leave work early and head to Tokyo Dome to see the Stones or McCartney. The atmosphere was unreal - because of drug issues, neither the Stones nor McCartney had played in Japan since 1966. There was a large nostalgia vibe, but it wasn't overwhelming (remember, the Stones were still in their mid-forties at that point, younger than bands like Radiohead and Red Hot Chili Peppers are today), and the show was great.

It was heaven; the greatest month of my life. I remember being depressed when it all ended.

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stanlove
Much better live than he 1981 tour. They were on fire in 1989.

And they had inflatable dolls on HTW!
That made the 1989 tour superior! <sarc>

Sorry to say this is when they became and Act and put on a co-ordinated Show, a rock Gig it was not....more vegas than spinal tap.

Mind you the Sticky Fingers live in 2015 was old school seat of the
pants stuff, maybe for different reasons, and maybe that was due to
overdubs by Sir Mick and his team of session men.

Same opinion as the Urban Jungle tour, BRILLIANT, especially Keith, Ronnie not so much.
I saw the Urban Jungle show first, then Keith cut his finger, the cancelled gig on the Urban Jungle show at Wembley meant we got the Steel Wheels set on the re-scheduled show , as i say by the time we got that show Keith was on fire like never before, he just went out front and hammered it non stop all night, even Mick struggled to keep pace at that time. Best 25 pounds I've ever spent.

Fantastic, Saw about 20 shows

saw them on the steel wheels tour in October of 81 at the astrodome tix were $18.00 great show with zz top and the fab. thunderbirds jimmy Vaughn was still with them

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dgodkin
saw them on the steel wheels tour in October of 81 at the astrodome tix were $18.00 great show with zz top and the fab. thunderbirds jimmy Vaughn was still with them

That was the previous tour. Steel Wheels was 1989

Great tour even if the shows were a bit too polished and predictable. I was fortunate to see opening night in Philly and got to hear the abbreviated version of Shattered.
Great set list and good long show with reasonable ticket prices. It was about the music not the spectacle that the band seems more concerned with now.

Voodoo Lounge was better, better mixing with guitars higher in the mix, better album to tour behind and a more diverse set list.
Steel wheels got the ball rolling again at least.

I saw them twice on that tour in Toronto. The first show outdoors at the CNE, then in December at SkyDome with Living Colour as openers for both shows.

Best setlist I've probably ever seen. "One Hit To The Body", "2000 LYFH", "Undercover of the Night", "Play With Fire", Little Red Rooster"...

The CNE show had 27 songs. Can you imagine that? NO most of you can't.

Stone Temple Pilots opened for the 1994 show at I attended at the CNE. I drove up with a bunch of friends and insisted on getting there because I wanted to see STP.

Here is a brief clip of their smokin' early rare performance:

video: [www.youtube.com]



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2019-03-22 07:46 by The Sicilian.

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rockdoc8885
Great tour even if the shows were a bit too polished and predictable. I was fortunate to see opening night in Philly and got to hear the abbreviated version of Shattered.
Great set list and good long show with reasonable ticket prices. It was about the music not the spectacle that the band seems more concerned with now.

Voodoo Lounge was better, better mixing with guitars higher in the mix, better album to tour behind and a more diverse set list.
Steel wheels got the ball rolling again at least.

Uh, you really CAN'T get more of a spectacle than the Steel Wheels stage.

The Stones haven't had an over-the-top stage configuration since A Bigger Bang, so I disagree with your premise.

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babyblue
London 7/7/90 was a great show.
The merchandise was very nice designs. Can they equal them on this current tour?

Have they since?

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The Sicilian
I saw them twice on that tour in Toronto. The first show outdoors at the CNE with The Stone Temple Pilots opening with an acoustic set, then in December at SkyDome with Living Colour opening.

Best setlist I've probably ever seen. "One Hit To The Body", "2000 LYFH", "Undercover of the Night", "Play With Fire", Little Red Rooster"...

The CNE show had 27 songs. Can you imagine that? NO most of you can't.

I didn’t even know Stone temple pilots were around back then.

And yeah, 27 songs is a lot!

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rockdoc8885
Great tour even if the shows were a bit too polished and predictable. I was fortunate to see opening night in Philly and got to hear the abbreviated version of Shattered.
Great set list and good long show with reasonable ticket prices. It was about the music not the spectacle that the band seems more concerned with now.

Voodoo Lounge was better, better mixing with guitars higher in the mix, better album to tour behind and a more diverse set list.
Steel wheels got the ball rolling again at least.

It was barely abbreviated - they had almost finished it when the power went out right after "All my friends they come around" OUT.

Too bad they felt that as some stupid omen because it sounded great.

[www.youtube.com]

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GasLightStreet

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rockdoc8885
Great tour even if the shows were a bit too polished and predictable. I was fortunate to see opening night in Philly and got to hear the abbreviated version of Shattered.
Great set list and good long show with reasonable ticket prices. It was about the music not the spectacle that the band seems more concerned with now.

Voodoo Lounge was better, better mixing with guitars higher in the mix, better album to tour behind and a more diverse set list.
Steel wheels got the ball rolling again at least.

It was barely abbreviated - they had almost finished it when the power went out right after "All my friends they come around" OUT.

Too bad they felt that as some stupid omen because it sounded great.

[www.youtube.com]

That's about 100 times more energetic than the way they play it in recent years - these days Mick can barely sing it without running out of breath, the tempo is slowed down, and the guitars...erm....

Shattered - Manchester 05 06 2018

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

I saw one of the Alpine Valley shows. As folks said, it was a tight show, a spectacle, great to see them, musically excellent, and very professional.

It was also the start of the Vegas era, and didn’t touch the power or danger of shows I saw in ‘72 and ‘75.

It was better and fresher (and had more songs) than most of the shows I’ve seen since, though I did really like the Stripped and Mick Taylor shows.

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24FPS
I saw them two nights, opening, and closing at Los Angeles, October '89. They were creaky and old the first night, magnificent the last. I thought it was like a royal crowning, especially when they played Ruby Tuesday. 2000 Light Years From Home was mindblowing. When they played Midnight Rambler the last night they seemed to lock into this golden circle of guitars and bass and just grooved. I believe now that we were seeing the end of the spectacular Rolling Stones. 'Slipping Away' is the coda for the greatest band of all time. They should have quit after the '90 run of the tour. In a sense they did, since it's been almost all retro since. Steel Wheels was the end of their artistic period. The best songs they released after that were the bonus cuts from the original rhythm section.

I also just remembered that the 25x5 documentary video ends with footage of the band just finishing a show during this tour, pyrotechnics going off, Stones leaving the venue... I think the footage is slightly slo-mo and Slipping Away is playing as soundtrack. It really is a great scene in that video. Now I must try and find my copy of 25x5!

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Hairball

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GasLightStreet

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rockdoc8885
Great tour even if the shows were a bit too polished and predictable. I was fortunate to see opening night in Philly and got to hear the abbreviated version of Shattered.
Great set list and good long show with reasonable ticket prices. It was about the music not the spectacle that the band seems more concerned with now.

Voodoo Lounge was better, better mixing with guitars higher in the mix, better album to tour behind and a more diverse set list.
Steel wheels got the ball rolling again at least.

It was barely abbreviated - they had almost finished it when the power went out right after "All my friends they come around" OUT.

Too bad they felt that as some stupid omen because it sounded great.

[www.youtube.com]

That's about 100 times more energetic than the way they play it in recent years - these days Mick can barely sing it without running out of breath, the tempo is slowed down, and the guitars...erm....

Shattered - Manchester 05 06 2018

When did Ronnie quit playing the bridge solo? It was awful in the SHINE A LIGHT movie and album. The way they did it in 1994 is the best for me - Charlie swings the bridge while Ronnie does fantastic Ronnie guitaring.

[www.youtube.com]

I enjoyed the Urban Jungle gig at Wembley Stadium; my first Stones concert by the way. However, Voodoo Lounge in 95 was my favourite, as I got right up close and really enjoyed it. I think Voodoo is a better album than Steel Wheels.

However, nothing is on a patch of the 2018 Twickenham gig, as it was Gold Circle, and, quite possibly, the last time in the UK, maybe the last time I don't know ??

I'll openly admit that my view of the SW/UJ tour is coloured by the extraordinary circumstances that played in my favour.

Before August 1989 I'd never been to the USA (at the time I lived in the UK). I'd been told about the album & tour early in the year and once it was announced I'd been publishing the tour dates on Usenet in rec.music.misc (I think). I had absolutely no expectation of seeing it.

One month before opening night an opportunity arose through work for me to get to the USA. At the time the opening was due to be in Buffalo - but it changed by mid-month to Philly - which was where I was going to be at the exact same time.

So, seeing the opening night - sitting in the row immediately behind Shirley, Jo Wood, and Patti, with Theodora and Alex in the row in front of them, and coping with the events when Shattered shattered was quite an experience. I saw the first three nights - 2 in Philly, and then Toronto (an old friend lived in Rochester and we set off from there).

Not knowing what was coming, when SFTD started and Jagger was up the high tower, lit from behind, was beyond amazing. Whooo! Whooo!

I saw two shows in Munich (sitting behind one of the main German soccer players in a cumfy box seat) , and then saw two in London - one of which was the postponed show following Keith's injury which was where some bits of IMAX was filmed. So I saw the first and last shows.

The music seemed exciting - I particularly like(d) Continental Drift. (Remember, the tour opened the day before the album was released.)

My rose coloured glasses mean that I reckon, for me, it was gigantic fun.

--
Captain Corella
60 Years a Fan

It is definitely the album that has not stood the test of time. It is like Gas:LightStreet wrote; after the SW tour, and maybe after "Highwire", the album completely fell off my radar and player. I made myself like it as a big return, but I think I knew it was not all that good.
I only ever really liked "Mixed Emotions", "Continental Drift", "Slipping Away" and "Hearts 4 Sale". But more importantly - I actively dis-liked several songs (RAAHP, Blinded by Love).
Also there was another one of those 80's type songs that Jagger started writing again and again: "Terrifying". That type song he has done over and over since.

First Stones's show, great memories.

Still consider the Continental Drift / Start Me up intro, the best ever opening for a Stones' show.

Agree that stiff arrangements and "professional" approach don't suit the Stones well and somehow killed the magic of the 78 and 81/82 shows.

Yet, what is "magic" for me is "sloppy" for others.

Me too, some time after the release of Flashpoint, I lost interest for recordings of that tour (and for the SW album alltogether).

That said last summer I felt an urge to go back to the 89/90 stones, and got to say that I felt again the excitement of those days and I found myself surprisingly liking the SW album a lot!

C

It was so professional. Would the Stones be able to play a Steel Wheels set again nowadays?

That's what they have been doing ever since. The only difference is that they have thrown out most post '81 songs and reduced their album output to a minimum.

I went to see The Stones at the Parc des Princes in Paris (Urban Jungle) with my friends, it was a warm day and police was doing security, I enjoyed the French crowd and the Stones opened with Continental Drift-Start Me Up-Sad Sad Sad-Tumbling Dice-Rock and a Hard Place and other classics,Terrifying could have lasted an hour for me, when we left the stadium , Harleys were roaring off in the dark, a sausage stand was on fire, prostitutes were walking near Bois de Boulogne and we got lost along the racetrack, it was a great night out!

To get that vibe again the Dallas Texas boot is the best, the guitars are in your face.

I have a love/hate relationship with the Steel Wheels tour. Most of the 80s were painful for me as a Stones fan. I mean, I would get physically ill to my stomach thinking about the idea that I may never see them live again, and knowing full well that the Stones could blow the doors off the crap on the radio at the time.

Finally some hope in late 88, early 89 when it became clear that something was finally happening. 89 was the longest year of my life waiting for the press conference, the album, and the tour. I was certain that it would be the same Stones I saw in 81.

When the album dropped, I pretty much played it exclusively until I wore out the tape. I knew the album inside out. But if I was honest with myself, I realize that I only like the album because it was the Stones. In all honesty, the album is extremely weak, thin, vanilla. No edge. No grit. Not the Stones as I came to love them. Have not played the album since 89, and haven't had a single urge to do so. But still we had the tour coming, and surely my boys would be back to how I knew them.

Opening night of the tour, I stayed glued to my TV just hoping some national news source would cover the event. Surely enough, CNN did a quick segment about it, and showed a clip of Start Me Up. To my dismay, all I heard was Chuck's keyboards, and all I saw was my gritty gutter-rats all wearing these cheesy 80s outfits, and perfect 80s blown dry hair. Saw them twice later on in Oakland, and all the while, still talked myself into loving the tour because, and only because, it was the Stones. They were too rehearsed, too contrived, too clean, too polished.

It wasn't until late in the Voodoo Lounge tour when I realized just how much I disliked Steel Wheels. It's always been my opinion that the Stones did not become a "band" again until well into the VL tour, and I attribute that to the Stripped sessions and club shows. That is when they removed much, not all, of their self-imposed safety nets and they let it fly a little more. Changing up the setlist, playing with a little more swagger, letting Keith lead more (versus Chuck).

And from there, only got better and better.

So for me, I am thankful for the Steel Wheels tour because it brought the boys back out on the road. But it clearly took a few years to find their mojo again.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-03-22 19:28 by Kennedy.