When a theatre company tours, do you expect them to change the script every evening in order to diversify the show? No. Same with a revue. I think it's absurd to expect the Stones to do different setlists everynight. They have set their "2005-2006 review" and that's it. It's already quite something that they modify it when playing many times in one city, which they don't HAVE to do; you guys bought many tickets to the same event, shall mean that you feel happy with seeing it twice.

Now it is true that the way tunes are played is very similar since 1997 or so, even 1989 for some of them. That's another thing. It's a bit like a musical that is shown again for years and years, fundamentally unchanged. Now I don't have a problem with that either.

I like to go back to Rome every so many years and see these great sites again, while surely they have not changed. What's the big deal with seeing the same thing twice if that thing's great?

The problem only occurs for those who have bootlegs of every shows and are frutrated of having acquired 25 times the same record. Well if you had 25 DVDs of one Hamlet rendition by one troup they'd also be fairly similar - it's only that you did the wrong move.

Go see the 2005 Stones, and see them as many times as you want, knowing that you're the one deciding to go see the SAME show TWICE, with minor changes and the time and place difference. It's absurd to expect any more differences. The Stones have put up ONE touring act, not a zillion different local acts.

it isn't absurd for many other tour acts...why should the Stones be held to a different standard?

since when have the Stones been like a 'theatre company' or 'revue' ?

an absurd comparison - but not as absurd as comparing them to an ancient monument that hasnt changed in hundreds of years

by that yardstick, they shouldnt have changed their show since about 1965. I bet we'd all love THAT!

Be aware that the Stones started changing the setlets slightly in 1989/90. Over the years they did change more and more in the set lists when it finally came to the Lickstour where we had the 3 shows in a city set which was outrageous. That's why we are so spoiled.
For this Tour I was really surprised to hear many different songs in 7 concerts in a row. However they super hits remain and have to remain for all those fans which see them only once and only have the money and/or possibility to see them only once.
It's a fact that if you see things to often you get spoiled and frustrated. No matter if it's the Stones or other things in your life.

They usually played the exact same set every night for the entire tour. Just watch the warmup acts and you will notice they play the same set and even do the same gimmicks exact every night. I guess it is the nature of any performer. They like to do what they are best at. If you are good at football and somebody want you to perform you don't play ping pong. So the Stones are not a ping pong band they play what we like best - or what they like best. And luckily they have started to change the set lists and adding different songs over time as they have realized they have some very loyal fans following them not just one show but several shows not just per tour but every tour.

Bjornulf

Independent of what is usual in the theatre or rock business - imagine someone asks Mick
Jagger later: "So, what have you done in the 90s/00s?" "I sang Satisfaction for about
351 times ... Ok, it was boring, but we thought we should be crowd-pleasing." "Because you
ran out of money?" "Not really. But our new album sold only 2 million copies, so we
thought that no one liked it." "And what did you play other than Satisfaction?" "Tumbling
Dice, for instance." "Tumbling Dice? Isn't that off Exile, an album that disappointed
so many?" "That changed over the years." "But in 1973, you were reluctant to
play Exile-songs then, right?" "No, we just played them. We were young and naive."
"But then some influential critic of a newspaper complained that you ... " "... that I would
want to prove that I am still able to sing Brown Sugar. Yes, that motivated some changes.
But there were those songs we just had to play. Like You Can't Always Get What You Want."
"That has been part of your touring contracts?" Etc.