I saw them in Charlottesville in 2005 and those 2 freaking guitars sounded DAMN good to me. I saw them in MSG on Jan 20 2006 and those same guitars were good but not DAMN good. Saw them in AC in 2006 and those guitars were FAIR to GOOD to DAMN good but all in spots depending on the song and who it was.

As a life-long fan I may notice "mistakes" or "problems" maybe the average fan/listener doesn't; I don't know. To me their sound has never been the same since Taylor left. It wasn't that it was bad just not the same. You have another point in time where their sound isn't the same. But the BAD word may be creeping in.

BUT the show is another thing, and the shows all had energy, force, ups/downs, presence, aura, you name it. These are two different things for those with an ear for their music and style. Of course out right crappy screw-ups are noticed by all, but I didn't see any out-right screw-ups with exception to the venue for the Charlottesville concert; another story.

Now in the area of acoustics I felt the following:

The sound in Charlottesville was superb from my point, An OUTDOOR venue.
The sound in MSG was good, not great. INDOOR venue.
The sound is AC was fair-good, a bit boomy. INDOOR venue.
The reports from IOW were good. OUTDOOR venue.

On the guitar sound scale I observed a decline, from 10/2006 to 11/2007.

The bottom line is they are what they are. Nothing will change that except them if they even can. We will all know when they are too bad to tour because people won't pay to hear them.

As far as the fears and concerns over them as a band or individuals, those are quite understandable. There is a lot more at play here than whether or not they can still play, the Boomers have a lot at stake emotionally with the 800 lb gorilla in the room called ageing. Myself included.

Great effort, Turd.

But please, all good people:

Please stop comparing Keith with the others.
He has his past.

Might be the last round, thou??
I'm glad I bought tix.

I save prayes every night from now on.

But I still believe its, at least partially, a mass-psychosis among the hardcorers.

Duane in Houston Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Brutally true, brutally honest. This whole tour is
> boring (it's been the same show since the 40 Licks
> tour...how many years is that?). They are no where
> NEAR the band they were 10 or 15 years ago. Hence
> I will not bother to sully my great memories with
> this embarrasing current situation.


You're missing the point of the post...and in the meantime reciting a laundry list of gripes against the band which overlooks the true concern: Keith. Boring, I don't think so. The sound on this tour...the guitars...I think has been a huge improvement therefore making a lot of the songs...a huge facelift. They were no where near the band from 10 years ago? Well no shit. Perhaps you should remember that there isn't one thing on earth that stays the same over the course of 10 years... Gimme a break.

Great post, Turd. Appreciated the efforts there to relay your feelings. Although, your post seemed more like Keith's obituary--there is one thing I will agree on: Keith has been different lately. And to be completely blunt....has been different ever since his fall. If I were on a jury to decide the reason for Keith's "odd" behavior as of late...I would lay his fall as the culprit.

My only explanation, that is purely my own, is something that I speculated for a while. Medically, I have no idea what's going on in head. I don't know how he feels...how he thinks...or his overall behavior off stage...but I will say that although he might feel fine...something has slowed him down. You know how sometimes people have a medical issue...they get treated through surgery or any other kind of method...they are recooperating for a couple weeks/months...and then you see them for the first time...and you say "Wow, he's really aged. Seems like the illness has aged him at least 10 years!" I personally think that is what has happened here.

Keith before the fall...you'd never guess he was 63. He didn't act like it. He acted maybe like a person in his mid-50's if anything... The fall has aged him...and brought him to reality...a 63 year old man. As much as I always wanted to convince myself that he was fine and nothing had changed...you can't help but notice that Keith lacks that quickness...that spry movement in his walk, his laugh, his smile, his guitar playing...everything, as of late.

It was after the 6 month break and entering this tour latest leg that it has progressively gotten worse. I'm not sure what he needs...a longer break? I fear that can only make things worse. I truely hope it's just the drinking..because then it could be fixed. Watching him talk to the crowd in the last few shows from youtube footage...it was worrying to watch. Slurring his words...and seeming completely out of it. You just wanna say, C'mon Keith..wake the F*ck up!"

There's no need to say our goodbyes to Keith...because he's proven us wrong in the past when were already ready to bury him. I do feel hopeless though, I wish I actually knew Keith..so I could pull him to the side..."Keith, what's wrong? Tell me, because I can't watch you this way."

......I always enjoy posts by turd....thanks for sharing bro'.....

With all due respect, this is a load of cheap, pretentious hyperbole. That some people would call this review poetic is besides me.

We all know by now that Keith can play great one night and look completely lost the next. But this has little to do with strokes, mental problems, senility, or the onset of Alzheimer's disease. He is probably just wasted. And it seems reasonable to me that a man in his 60s would not have the resources to play as well as he used to when he is drunk out of his mind. There is no need to dramatize or romaticize this. When he is sober enough, he still puts on a performance as good and energetic as ever. Have you seen video from the IOW show?

It's not time for Keith to "go home" yet. But it might be time for him to understand what his limits are and wait until the end of the show to get hammered.

Good post - too true. Sad

Well thats enough from me for one week.

Have a top weekend and hopefully keith will still be alive when I'm back in on monday!!!

Miserable bloomin lot...........

Sad story, but wait... Haven't I heard this somewhere before? Oh yeah! Now I remember...
It was back in 82. My first Stones concert. It was fantastic! The experience of my lifetime! At least it was until I saw them on the next tour... and the next... and the next... and...

What true musicians sometimes can do to a little audience in an intimate setting, these guys just did to 60k people in a stadium! Terrific!!!

One of my moments was The last time. Played in a way that forced something into my throat. I had to swallow and swallow and swallow, but it just wouldn't go back where it should be in a cool, calm and collected bag. So I looked at the lady next to me. I had already decided by her looks that she had it all well organized: suburban house, husband, two kids and a Volvo. Had she noticed?
She hadn't! I could tell because she no longer wore a makeup. It was all replaced by tears and a big smile and she just couldn't care less!

Ladies and gentlemen, the Rolling Stones!

We all had the greatest of time!

Until we came home and read the papers. Because there it was!:
The set list was wrong.
Their new songs were no good and should've been left out of the show.
Those oldies is not what you expect on a new tour.
Keith used to be better, probably ageing.
They had nothing new and exciting to offer, not at all in the forefront any more.
Actually a pretty dull concert, and not at all as interesting as groups like...(trying to remember some names, but it somehow don't come easy any more...)

So there you are, there's nothing new here.
Or maybe one thing:
It used to be the journalists that wrote all kind of shit while the fans just loved them. Now it seems like it's the other way around!

Can I trade my IORR shirt for a press card?

Well written and expressed Turd. The last time I saw the Stones was in Oakland in November 2005 and it was with a few exceptions, the worst show I have seen them do. Charlie was great as always but Keith, God bless him, was non existent and Ronnie was jaw droppingly bad but Mick Jagger carried the show. If there one person in the band that has barely lost a step in 40 + plus years then it is Mick Jagger. Keith was the light that drew me to the Stones and Mick was always secondary to me but not now. For him to do what he does when many others his age are out to pasture is truly amazing and inspiring. If there is anyone else more deserving of the mantle of greatest front man ever then it I'd like to know who it is! Keith will always be my favorite Stone and I love and am grateful for all the great music he has given but the fact of the matter is he can't play well anymore. If someone else thinks otherwise then they are of course welcome to.

Oi! Wasn't Nov. 2005 in San Francisco? And wasn't I with you! ;-)

I had to come out of hiding to say this:

The elegance of the words only masks the discontent that this poster obviously bears. It makes the contempt appear justified because it is well thought-out and articulate. But the only attempt I can make at trying to rationalize with IORR posters such as this is to say that the music must continue.

I'll relate a story I heard about Paul Newman. I'm an actor, and I consider Paul Newman to be one of the greats. He made a statement recently to the effect of saying that he was going to retire (albeit he is in his 80s), but the reason he quit was not his health, he's perfectly heatlhy for a man his age, or a desire to pursue other feats, but rather because he felt that he wasn't RELEVANT anymore.

Paul Newman had been made to feel as though he was not relevant anymore. Let that sink in for a few minutes.

A man who gave us such tremendous performances as in The Hustler, Hud, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, The Verdict, and many others, has decided to stop his passion because he feels that audiences simply do not care about him.

My response to someone when they have those types of sentiments is this: don't give a shit about what the others think. Long ago, you made a decision to pursue your passion with unmitigated intensity and pride. Damn those who don't find you relevant, and shame on you for giving into their brutish narrow-mindedness.

Now, back to Keith.

The Rolling Stones, come this July 12th, will have been a functioning rock band going strong for 45 years.

The Rolling Stones of 2007 are not The Rolling Stones of 1972, 1969, 1975, 1965, 1990, or anywhere in-between. They cannot be compared in any manner to those previous tours because they are DIFFERENT - NOT BETTER, NOT WORSE: DIFFERENT.

And I love that.

Imagine if our favorite artists never progressed or changed. Imagine if On The Waterfront was Brando's pinnacle acheievement, and the best he was able to do was pull off performances that only matched that energy. I know I sure wouldn't want to imagine that.

We find that our capabilities change - inversely and conversely. I find, at 21 years of age, that I'm capable of more than I was at 20. I didn't think it worked that way. I know the day will come when I have to face up to mortality and realize that i can't do those same things. So I adapt, and cater my sensibilities as a performer and the knowledge that I possess to my "new strengths."

Say what you will, but please, spare us derogatory or insensitive descriptions of what you perceive to be happening.

As an observer, Keith is adapting to whatever has transpired in his life. He is learning the new rules of the game, and he's slowly but surely getting there.

BUT...

He hasn't given up on the game. He hasn't said it's the end, because that's not in Keith's nature. It is not Keith to say "I can't." It is in all our natures to say, "I'll try with what I've got."

And if that's not your way of living life, then give your ticket to someone else. Because it is a reality that AFTER 45 YEARS, The Rolling Stones are STILL GOING STRONG.

Children born in the 2000s even are able to view them in concert. And that's such a wonderful thing. The fact that you go to a concert and see all these young faces is mesmerizing. I'd rather have 30,000 un-initiated, uninformed 7- year-olds who are open to experiencing The Stones for the first time than have 30,000 spoiled, skeptical fans who've seen them upwards of 10 times.

Let's face it - we're spoiled. We've had The Stones all our lives, and when they don't meet the expectations that we've set for them, we feel let down. You may not admit to that, but secretly that's the case with everyone who has had a steady, constant supply of something, and the next day it's not at the level it was as you remember it.

I've only seen the Stones ONCE.

I've now had to bail on TWO occassions to see them in the past year.

And this is my perspective.

And you know what helped me deal with the fact that I couldn't see them - it was knowing that THEY WILL TOUR AGAIN. They will never stop. They'll be on stools in their 80s, playing an all acoustic set of blues numbers, and it will be BEAUTIFUL. I will be IN MY 40s then, and will have lived 40 years with the Stones in my life.

Keith may not play like we remember him doing. He may seem lost, vacant, or whatever you want to say to describe him.

But damn it, give him the opportunity to continue. To let him make music. I'm disgusted by people who feel that because you're old and can't perform as you used to you must give up.

What I say to those people is find an old relative who still pursues a passion, a hobby, plays music, or does something that is a part of their soul. If you feel as though you can go up to them, look them in the eye, and say "throw in the towel, old-tymer," then they can keep saying these things about The Stones.

When you reach the age they have, it's about doing it because you love it, and at that age you shouldn't care what people think. I will not. And at 21, I already don't.

I do what I do because it makes me happy, not because I'm trying to prove to the world I can. We don't progress when we look to others for approval.

It's disheartening to see so many people who want them to stop playing because THEY find it embarassing.

We owe it to them to continue. They've been around long enough, have contributed to the human experience as we know it, and has shaped our world as we know it, and have been there at countless moments in our lives as the soundtrack to major events in our development.

I wouldn't want to live in a world without The Stones. There should be more people who play until they die. I know I will.

And ENJOY IT WHILE YOU CAN, because God forbid that it should end. And when it does, you'll regret saying the things you did, because you'll want it even more.

I wish that you were able to have the perspective. I honestly wish that.

Keith should keep playing. It's his life. You can't ask someone to stop that.

Just a thought.

It's a pleasure of reading your post, Turd. Those very first 30 seconds. Nobody can top those.

Wonderful writing style there. This ought to be published somewhere.

ablett Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "I write this with great sadness and regret. But
> Keef now is reminiscent of Muhammad Ali at the
> tragic tail end of his career...stepping in the
> ring with fighters he once would have dispatched
> in 45 seconds...and absorbing punishment for 12
> rounds...his once supernatural skills diminished
> beyond recognition...and his beauty just a
> vanished memory."
>
> Here we go again! I'm gonna buyin a truck load of
> Prozac and give them out to anyone in an IORR
> tshirt after the gigs.....


The point went right by you,or you're an Ostrich.

The IORR people don't need Prozac or any other drug.

To the contrary, the 'truckloads' of drink and drugs have taken its toll on the Stones guitar section.

Let's not deny it.

There's no joy,no schadenfreude, in saying that.

I pray for them, seriously, they have families after all -- and if it sobers them up, improves their health, the better for their guitar playing and us.

Peace.

jumpingjackfrash: ...."discontent?"....did we read the same post, frash?..... your unrealistically optimistic romp through fantasy land was fun, but not credible......party on

Please drop that Muhammad Ali comparison.
That is really low!

Baboon Bro Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Great effort, Turd.
>
> But please, all good people:
>
> Please stop comparing Keith with the others.
> He has his past.
>
> Might be the last round, thou??
> I'm glad I bought tix.
>
> I save prayes every night from now on.
>
> But I still believe its, at least partially, a
> mass-psychosis among the hardcorers.

Baboon, in all kindness, you never seen a Stones show in your life.
I hope for your sake you will see the band on an "ON" night.
Fact is the decline is there, and is most notable for those of us who have seen some shows through the years. I say this as a friend, I wish you would have seen them before, like in 82-95, when they visited Sweden, and within a timeframe for guys our age. No pun or whatsoever intended.

Vilhelm
Nordic Stones Vikings

mcparty Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Oi! Wasn't Nov. 2005 in San Francisco? And wasn't
> I with you! ;-)

D'oh! Your right! I was still waking up when I wrote that post!

Still conflicting opinions and no total homogenic reviewing,
seeing at a total of all shows.

I say this is fairly similar to the panic one year ago.

Edit.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2007-06-16 00:33 by Baboon Bro.

I spoke to real young people seeing them for the first time....how they had a hell ofa time!! There is no reason to stop.....the show i saw was rushed strange punky...yes mistakes...yes he sometimes was lost....but it sure was not bad!...maybe everything gonna be all right this morning!!!In Nimegen he lost it during Happy (the intro)...its well i cant say i dont like it!! Still there is something wrong....but they still can do it ...hell there aint no reason to stop...you guys in Frankfurt they kept you away up front..ahhh revolt!!Keith mr R&R...that aint easy!!

Jumpin'JackFrash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The elegance of the words only masks the
> discontent that this poster obviously bears. It
> makes the contempt appear justified because it is
> well thought-out and articulate.

How can you say that, and present it as a fact?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-06-15 22:16 by Erik_Snow.

Yeah, how the hell could all those people on Wight be so exhausted?!

And yeah, I'm glad I'm gonna see them... Hope all will be fine...
If there's 10% truth in all disaster postings (and alas, I believe it is),
there wont for sure be no more touring in this form...

A great review...remember Keith is very strong....and if he doesnt recover...all good things...must come to an...didnt he say something like...they told me to do this one''?...or anyway on with the show...like i always say'' a little sarcastic....and Ali well he is the champ ...a gent...also in his final fights...but sad yes that was sad.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-06-15 21:17 by rooster.

i thought paul newman retired because he had problems with his memory to lern roles. however.

i have to point out again that i am 100% with that review.

to keep on doing it and trying to progress all your live is of course the greatest thing if you are able to do so, even if you are handicapped.

what we saw was a keith richards not really knowing what he does, what he plays, what to do next, a very slowed down shadow of himself.

lets hope he was just drunk, because if not he will not progress anymore.

and yes that muhammed ali comparison is wrong because someone with the parkinson syndrom actually knows what he is doing, just appears strange to the public.

i am not sure if keith is as clear in head as muhammed ali is.

Baboon Bro Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Still conflicting opinions and no total homogenic
> reviewing,
> seeing at a total of all shows.
>
> I say this is fairly similar to the panic one year
> ago.
>
> But I might do as Ablett & withdraw. When people
> stop thinking
> and just act like a herd of sheep; I dont want to
> be in.

Most of the people who have written these reviews on IORR have actually been to concerts this year. It's easy to cut the "modern-Stones-bashers" from people who are concerned. ARe they sheeps becasue they didn't like what they did hear?
I'm concerned when reading IORR the last weeks, but hopefully Keith will improve, the IOW footage was very good, and the end of last years US tour was a lot better than the beginning.

Jumpin'JackFrash, nice post.

MAINSTREETEXILE'S response was funny.....

And even though Baboon Bro might not like it.....I think
the comparison to Muhammad Ali is fair to a certain degree.
Both were the BEST in their prime.....even while their
bodies & brains were being abused. Eventually it caught up
with both of them. That's where it ends.

On the other hand....Keith is (for the most part) a fully-functioning
senior citizen AND MORE! We can't expect his motor skills to be that
of a 30 year old GUITAR GENIUS anymore...but we can appreciate
the LEGEND that he is...and that he still can play circles around
a large percentage of the rock 'n' roll population.

Everything is relative.
Keith is human.

Should we be surprised?
I won't be surprised when Eric Clapton begins to falter.


IORR............but I like it!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-06-15 21:31 by sweet neo con.

edit.

Vilhelm
Nordic Stones Vikings



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-06-16 14:49 by mickijaggeroo.

....edited by comedy police.......not funny



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-06-18 20:14 by Lukester.

edit.

Vilhelm
Nordic Stones Vikings



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-06-16 14:49 by mickijaggeroo.