Hello Everyone. Long time lurker here. Was just thinking about the warm up shows the band play before each tour. Does anyone know how you’d get tickets to one of these shows and is anyone here lucky enough to have been to one?
Stay safe

1. Mostly it start with the general wish of the band to do a warm up show before a tour start.

2. The band doesn't wanna fly to the gig so it is always in the town/area of
the rehearsal-place.

Like 2002: July/August rehearsal in Old Masonic Temple Toronto and then Fri Aug.16 Warm Up Show in Palais Royale Ballroom, Toronto,
Like 2005:July Aug Rehearsals Toronto and Wed Aug 10 Warm Up Show Phoenix Concert Theatre Toronto
Like 2012: Oct/No Rehearsals Paris
Thu Oct 25 Club Show Le Trabendo, Paris
Mon Oct 29 Club Show Theatre Mogador, Paris
Like 2013: April 15 Rehearsals Los Angeles, April 27 Cluc Show Echoplex Los Angeles.
And - the last time of a club show before a tour: Fonda Theatre in May 2015.

Since then there hasn't been any pre-tour-club shows.

Hope there will be some in the future!

3. When the band rehearsing somewhere for a tour it is good to know a local guy who has connections to the club scene in rehearsal-town. Owners, managers, staff. They know all. And they know even if it is not their club selected. Club scene is a small tight family in each city. Showing the will to pay for a hint helps plus.

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caschimann
Since then there hasn't been any pre-tour-club shows.

In 2016, there was a private show in Vegas prior to the Desert Trip shows.

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erikjjf

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caschimann
Since then there hasn't been any pre-tour-club shows.

In 2016, there was a private show in Vegas prior to the Desert Trip shows.

And the Foxboro private show after Vegas.

I was going to mention the Belly Up show in San Diego in 2015, but just refreshed my memory by looking at the tour page, and it was actually a few nights after the opening show at Petco stadium.
Having been at the Petco opener, it was a thrill for sure, but some rust and cobwebs were evident throughout the performance. The Belly Up might have been tentatively pre-planned as a possibility,
so maybe they realized a second warmup show was needed after the shaky Petco show before continuing on with the tour....

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

there's difference between warm-up shows and private shows: Tickets for warm-up shows are usually available to the general public (although it's very hard to get them).
I've never been to a warm-up show, but tickets for the Fonda show went on sale online. I tried to see whether I was able to get a ticket (it was possible). But it was useless since I was in Germany…

I tried also online for the Fonda and I'm only 60 miles north - didn't happen and couldn't make it down there until the evening, so decided not to stress over it and stayed at home.
I'm reminded that part of what made the Licks tour extra special for many of us was there were multiple opportunities throughout the tour to see small club/theater shows (non-warmup of course),
and fortunately for me I was able to see attend several of them. As for the Belly Up show, I don't think it was private, but that wasn't considered a "warmup" anyways as they already started the tour.

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

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Hairball
I was going to mention the Belly Up show in San Diego in 2015, but just refreshed my memory by looking at the tour page, and it was actually a few nights after the opening show at Petco stadium.
Having been at the Petco opener, it was a thrill for sure, but some rust and cobwebs were evident throughout the performance. The Belly Up might have been tentatively pre-planned as a possibility,
so maybe they realized a second warm-up show was needed after the shaky Petco show before continuing on with the tour....

The club show at the Belly Up was not intended as a warm up gig for the tour as most of the pre-show club shows are. It was a private show paid for by some rich dude and for his invited guests only. Most of the other pre-tour club shows have been open to a couple of hundred lucky fans and press. Since the Echoplex show in 2013 there has not been any public club/theatre shows before or during a tour. I don't know why they stopped doing them. They were always fun.

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TornAndFried

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Hairball
I was going to mention the Belly Up show in San Diego in 2015, but just refreshed my memory by looking at the tour page, and it was actually a few nights after the opening show at Petco stadium.
Having been at the Petco opener, it was a thrill for sure, but some rust and cobwebs were evident throughout the performance. The Belly Up might have been tentatively pre-planned as a possibility,
so maybe they realized a second warm-up show was needed after the shaky Petco show before continuing on with the tour....

The club show at the Belly Up was not intended as a warm up gig for the tour as most of the pre-show club shows are. It was a private show paid for by some rich dude and for his invited guests only. Most of the other pre-tour club shows have been open to a couple of hundred lucky fans and press. Since the Echoplex show in 2013 there has not been any public club/theatre shows before or during a tour. I don't know why they stopped doing them. They were always fun.

Thanks for clarifying TornAndFried as I wasn't sure about the Belly Up being private or public, but wasn't the Fonda theater show in 2015 considered a warmup show?
Yes there was a unique Sticky Fingers theme, but it was also the very first show of the Zip Code tour, and pretty sure it was public. Whatever the case, were you able to ever attend any of them?

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

November 7, 1969 at Colorado State University in Fort Collins was considered by some to be a "warm up show", while others considered it to be the first show of the 1969 tour.

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Hairball

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TornAndFried

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Hairball
I was going to mention the Belly Up show in San Diego in 2015, but just refreshed my memory by looking at the tour page, and it was actually a few nights after the opening show at Petco stadium.
Having been at the Petco opener, it was a thrill for sure, but some rust and cobwebs were evident throughout the performance. The Belly Up might have been tentatively pre-planned as a possibility,
so maybe they realized a second warm-up show was needed after the shaky Petco show before continuing on with the tour....

The club show at the Belly Up was not intended as a warm up gig for the tour as most of the pre-show club shows are. It was a private show paid for by some rich dude and for his invited guests only. Most of the other pre-tour club shows have been open to a couple of hundred lucky fans and press. Since the Echoplex show in 2013 there has not been any public club/theatre shows before or during a tour. I don't know why they stopped doing them. They were always fun.

Thanks for clarifying TornAndFried as I wasn't sure about the Belly Up being private or public, but wasn't the Fonda theater show in 2015 considered a warmup show?
Yes there was a unique Sticky Fingers theme, but it was also the very first show of the Zip Code tour, and pretty sure it was public. Whatever the case, were you able to ever attend any of them?

Yes, you are correct. The Fonda Theatre show in LA in 2015 was indeed a warm-up for the ZIP Code Tour. However, unlike previous club gigs it was mostly invited guests. I haven't gotten to attend any of the previous warm-up shows. I live in New York and they haven't done any here, unfortunately.

I was lucky enough to go to the 2013 LA Echoplex show. Ended up in the VIP area by accident which was full of Hollywood types and many of the family members of the band.

Great thing about that show was Mick Taylor joining in. He was superb on Love in Vain. A night I will never forget.

They do private shows in order to pay for the rehearsals ahead of tours. The going price is 5-8 million US dollars.

The Fonda show was mainly a recording performance for the Sticky Fingers special. From memory, the only real warmup gigs since 2012 have been The Trabendo Paris France 2012 and Echoplex LA USA 2013.

When you tour every year (2012-2019), then you don't really need any warmup gig, to test news songs and setlists. However, after a longer break of 2-3 years, like now, I would not be surprised if they would do one, simply because they need some feedback on their current status.

Bjornulf

There were several rehearsals at RFK stadium prior to the Voodoo Lounge shows. We sat outside and listened to the shows while they rehearsed.

Commonly known as Thee Foreplay Shows .....



ROCKMAN

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bv
They do private shows in order to pay for the rehearsals ahead of tours. The going price is 5-8 million US dollars.

The Fonda show was mainly a recording performance for the Sticky Fingers special. From memory, the only real warmup gigs since 2012 have been The Trabendo Paris France 2012 and Echoplex LA USA 2013.

When you tour every year (2012-2019), then you don't really need any warmup gig, to test news songs and setlists. However, after a longer break of 2-3 years, like now, I would not be surprised if they would do one, simply because they need some feedback on their current status.

I'm sure that there are one or two people reading this who would be happy to help organise one for them. Just being helpful you understand!

--
Captain Corella
60 Years a Fan

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Rockman
Commonly known as Thee Foreplay Shows .....

In that case they should at least buy us a drink.

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Hairball

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TornAndFried

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Hairball
I was going to mention the Belly Up show in San Diego in 2015, but just refreshed my memory by looking at the tour page, and it was actually a few nights after the opening show at Petco stadium.
Having been at the Petco opener, it was a thrill for sure, but some rust and cobwebs were evident throughout the performance. The Belly Up might have been tentatively pre-planned as a possibility,
so maybe they realized a second warm-up show was needed after the shaky Petco show before continuing on with the tour....

The club show at the Belly Up was not intended as a warm up gig for the tour as most of the pre-show club shows are. It was a private show paid for by some rich dude and for his invited guests only. Most of the other pre-tour club shows have been open to a couple of hundred lucky fans and press. Since the Echoplex show in 2013 there has not been any public club/theatre shows before or during a tour. I don't know why they stopped doing them. They were always fun.

Thanks for clarifying TornAndFried as I wasn't sure about the Belly Up being private or public, but wasn't the Fonda theater show in 2015 considered a warmup show?
Yes there was a unique Sticky Fingers theme, but it was also the very first show of the Zip Code tour, and pretty sure it was public. Whatever the case, were you able to ever attend any of them?

A couple of Dutch Stones fan friends living in the USA at the time went to see the Fonda show. They were able to purchase the tickets in a "regular" way, simply by responding very quickly. I could have gone there too, but I had already decided to share my birthday with the Stones in Raleigh NC that year and popping over to the USA twice that year wasn't an option. I think the Fonda (complete Sticky Fingers + Bonus) show was planned so they could make a video recording to use later on DVD. I never forget the magnificent rendition (plus screen images) of Moonlight Mile in Raleigh!!!


I'm a GHOST living in a ghost town

In that case they should at least buy us a drink.

Better ta take a bunch of roses and a large packet of peanut M&N's ....



ROCKMAN

In that case they should at least buy us a drink.

Mick's been doing that for decades. Why did he stop? (The water buckets)

.... YEAH bring back the water buckets and rose petals .....



ROCKMAN

The Rolling Stones rehearsals in Toronto 2005 was a special experience. Like on the past tours, they had hired a school building as a rehearsals facility, closed for the summer, and they had separate private villas in the area, where the band members lived. I can not remember about Ronnie, but Keith and Mick had their own villas, rented out by the owners, at a good price, and with detailed contracts about this and that. Charlie was in the band hotel, just a few blocks from my Holiday Inn, where I lived for weeks¨that summer.

I was the only "foreigner" there, except for my deeply missed friend Sonoko from Japan. Everyone else was from Toronto and nearby. One day I got the inside info saying "Wednesday". From then on I had a faster heartbeat. I could not publish, I could not call friends, I had trusted info not to be shared with anyone. Wednesday August 10 was the just decided date for the warm up gig. These dates are decided almost on the fly, just a few days before they happen, very unlike the paid for corporate gigs.

Then, the most interesting part was on the Monday rehearsals. Michael Cohl, the tour manager, from Toronto himself, I believe, walked with us in the small crowd of 20 or so fans on one of the side entrances. He said "Come tomorrow". Just that. Several times. I knew what he was meaning about that, but I could not tell anyone. Those who came for the Tuesday rehearsals late afternoon, were given tickets to the warm up gig at The Phoenix, as far as I understand. Meanwhile, I had camped out at the queue in front of the Phoenix early afternoon, I simply could not trust anyone, I wanted to be in the queue for the gig the next day.

They say the location of The Phoenix is not in the best area of Toronto at nights. I was not alone. The queue was building up, and we were a few hundred by midnight, from memory. By morning they arrived with the "Phoenix" sign and we got out tickets. I spent my night in the Phoenix queue, talking to friends, hardly sleeping, a great memory with dreams about what is going to happen.

As we got our ticket and wristband in the morning, I went back to my Holiday Inn hotel, put on the alarm, and had some sleep. Then I was ready to see and hear those songs we had been listening from outside the building for weeks. For sure these warm up gigs are unforgettable. There is a lot more to tell, another time.

Bjornulf

Its a bit off subject, but thinking of warm up shows I think parallel about the gig after the warm up show: The Tour Opening Shows.
I always thought: I have to see the tour opener.
After that I am full and satisfied and not hungry anymore for any more tour gigs.
Let them play where and to whom they want afterwards: I have seen the 1st gig!
I belong to the ones who already seen it!
I am ahead of all other fans seeing them later!
How stupid I was!!
After my first Tour Opening Show in Fenway Park 2005 Bigger Bang-World Tour I found out quickly: the next following 2,3 gigs you are immune.
But then the medicine of the opener is gone and you're getting jealous, nervous and hungry again. And start to organize tickets. And try to see as much gigs you are able to attend.
As one IORR-buddy said here years ago: The greatest Rolling Stones Concert is always the next one you have ticktes for.

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caschimann
Its a bit off subject, but thinking of warm up shows I think parallel about the gig after the warm up show: The Tour Opening Shows.
I always thought: I have to see the tour opener.
After that I am full and satisfied and not hungry anymore for any more tour gigs.
Let them play where and to whom they want afterwards: I have seen the 1st gig!
I belong to the ones who already seen it!
I am ahead of all other fans seeing them later!
How stupid I was!!
After my first Tour Opening Show in Fenway Park 2005 Bigger Bang-World Tour I found out quickly: the next following 2,3 gigs you are immune.
But then the medicine of the opener is gone and you're getting jealous, nervous and hungry again. And start to organize tickets. And try to see as much gigs you are able to attend.
As one IORR-buddy said here years ago: The greatest Rolling Stones Concert is always the next one you have ticktes for.

well, I saw the opening shows for the first two legs of the No Filter tour (Hamburg 2017, Dublin 2018) and they were surely not their best shows. The basic thrill for me was that my LD tickets turned out to be pit tickets.
The setlist for Hamburg wasn't that surprising since I heard the soundcheck on the day before which featured all surprises. Thus the biggest surprise was the opener.

Like BV, I was at the 2005, Light the Fuse gig. I think I've typed this story on here before but I'll review it again since the question was asked.

I was involved in college radio at the time in London, Ontario (2 hours away). The station manager was friend and had lots of contacts in commercial radio so I asked him to put feelers out to his Toronto radio contacts in the hope of getting an early tip on the show. In 2002 I heard about the Palais Royale show too late and ended up seeing Bob Dylan at the CNE (just up the road from the Palais) that same night.

Anywho, usually these gigs are a pretty well-guarded secret. I don't think this one was so much. I ended up getting a call from my friend about when and where the gig was happening, quickly called a friend and make the two hour drive to Toronto. On the way there it was clear word was out as it was all over the radio so I wasn't feeling great about getting in. By the time we got to The Phoenix, the cue was lengthy. We did a rough head count, estimated the capacity of the venue and decided to get in the line. This was mid-afternoon and tickets were going on sale the next morning at 8 or 9.

The line up was a party as people played Stones music on both speakers and guitars. We ended up getting too much vodka and had the unfortunate experience of getting quite drunk AND sobering up (without sleep) while waiting. That part of the experience I would not repeat. We had to talk a pizza company into delivering to us as we had no address to give them.

The line started moving later than expected as people got their wrist bands and departed to get some sleep. As we were finally approaching the front of the line we saw a venue staff member walk out with a stack of those letters to slide into the sign that was advertising the show. My eyesight was better then and I surmised that those letters spelled SOLD OUT! I started to get nervous and we took a bit of an inside track on the right side of the line to get us to the front just a tad sooner.

We ended up getting the 3rd and 4th last tickets available to the general public and the guy who slapped the wrist bands on us told us to get away in a hurry as there were soon going to be a lot of angry people. So we hopped in a cab and went to get some sleep ourselves.

The show was magic. Energy like I've rarely felt in a crowd. We parked ourselves right in front of the sound board for an hour and a half of heaven.

Thanks for all the info guys. And thanks for sharing your stories. Bjornulf, I hope you post your story sometime, would be a great read. Down again, really enjoyed reading your account, very cool.
Maybe a warm up for the rescheduled dates then. Time will tell.