More tours or not ??
Honestly I don't really care.

What I would like is following : not coming back from a Stones show thinking "this is the tour too much, they are the shadow of what they used to be"

I would like to have a souvenir of a band at its peak, not a declining band touring only for money, and being a source of sarcasm and laughter.
Being pathetic on stage is NOT an option for them, I think Mick will be smart enough to know when it would be time to stop.
I hope his ego and his pride will be stronger than the envy of additional cash.
The Stones have to be remembered as the best rock band that ever hit a stage.

Therefore, if this is the last tour, I'm happy with it.
If Mick Jagger wants to do solo tours afterwards, I'll be among the 1st ones to get a ticket. Same for Keith, same for any of them.

[doctorstonesblog.blogspot.com]

Doc, nothing to add. You are purely right. Everyone can love the Stones and admit that's the end. Better for the band.

Let there be rock

Doc Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> More tours or not ??
> Honestly I don't really care.
>
> What I would like is following : not coming back
> from a Stones show thinking "this is the tour too
> much, they are the shadow of what they used to
> be"
>
> I would like to have a souvenir of a band at its
> peak, not a declining band touring only for money,
> and being a source of sarcasm and laughter.
> Being pathetic on stage is NOT an option for them,
> I think Mick will be smart enough to know when it
> would be time to stop.
> I hope his ego and his pride will be stronger than
> the envy of additional cash.
> The Stones have to be remembered as the best rock
> band that ever hit a stage.
>
> Therefore, if this is the last tour, I'm happy
> with it.
> If Mick Jagger wants to do solo tours afterwards,
> I'll be among the 1st ones to get a ticket. Same
> for Keith, same for any of them.


I'd agree with all of that. I still enjoy them on this tour, but the thought of the Stones touring in years to come when theyre REALLY past it and a subject of ridicule and derision is something I've no wish to see. The fact that some fans on here have actually said they'd still be excited about going to see them even if they were in wheelchairs is something I find incomprehensible. Christ almighty, how desperate are some people? Theyve been around for our entire lives, and that makes it harder for us more than the fans of any other band to accept a finish to all of this, but there will come a time when we simply do have to accept it and let go. I hope they can keep playing great shows and entertaining us after 2007, but if they choose to end it, then so be it, it's been an incredible ride.

This "2012/50th anniversary" nonsense amuses me. Its just a number and means nothing. They dont have to keep going to reach some nice round anniversary as if they have to prove something.

Totally agree Gazza.

Doc, roby, Gazza and Spud - agree with you all. How much more can we expect. On checking the archives I notice that they played the night I was born (and I'm 44) which strikes me as amazing. I know many will disagree but I think this might be the time to go - at least as a big stadium band. Like me, I bet a number of people my age find the stadium thing - and all that goes with it - a bit much now. They have given me so much pleasure, so much excitement, a musical benchmark - what more could I possibly ask for? Not only some great memories but also music that will last all my days.

totally disagree...some people make incredible continuing contributions to art & literature with incredible lucidity and perspective on and on into their 80's...
wheelchair has wheels, otherwise it's a chair...a lot of people perform on stool, like when ron plays lap, and everything's great...charlie sits down all thru every gig, the lazy @#$%&...bald old cancer survivor...
OR...maybe he's a great drummer doing a pretty amazing job...

i think the stones would be a whole lot LESS embarassing without silly ass costumes and fireworks and a football team on stage in a circus...okay, it's fun...twenty five years of fans get that vision of rock and roll, good enough...

...they strip it down, like a lot of banquet...they can go and on...you'd go see jagger, still in GREAT, fascinating voice, imo...or keith solo...but not the 'stones' according to someone's 'vision' of what they're supposed to be like...i'd rather they hang together and play together naturally IF that's their inclination...i'd rather encourage and support that...

mick and keith in their 80's, sitting down, singing together would be fascinating to me...doc watson is still on the road in his 80's and he can play better than anybody you know...
...if i had to play the same song 9 zillion times to 43993328 zillion faceless crowds, i'd be stunned thunderstruck dumbed down and so would you...

they could have more than a card up their sleeves, even unbeknowns to them themsleves, they could have a whole deck as a matter of fact...
the more things calm down with the pizazz and splutter, the more interesting it is to me...rock on old boys...

what a relief when they stop trying to look young and ron stops wearing barbie belts that a 12 year old girl would wear...when keith dosen't have to be embarassed for losing his hair, when it's not endlessly discussed...where a bunch of old guys who loved the blues, became a pop phenom, retained that for ridiculous long epoch after epoch...and continued to hit sticks on a box, stamp some old feet from their chairs, strum a few open chords, and continue their long important, and essential natural expression into the folk/blues tradition from whence they sprung...
most people here would pass right by robert johnson if he was busking in the street without a pr company...as long as they make music, i will listen to it...
looking forward to changes of the eventorama stunned showhorse in a circle era...
thankfully, some ONE person, got that tape recorder and booked a hotel room and cut those johnson tracks...enough of chuck and darryl and bernard and blondie and endless competent but somewhat vomitous support cast in a stage show...
i believe in the stones...sho nuff...doo doot doo dooo...wannggg wannggg wanngg wannggg.g.. well mah little red rooster....dit dun dit danggg... too laazzzyyy, (cough cough, laugh laugh,) to crow today...and the crowd smiles...not because it's a firework freak show, but cause those guys got soul. rock on.

Beelyboy ,its good to read this,thanx

Beelyboy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> totally disagree...some people make incredible
> continuing contributions to art & literature with
> incredible lucidity and perspective on and on into
> their 80's...
> wheelchair has wheels, otherwise it's a chair...a
> lot of people perform on stool, like when ron
> plays lap, and everything's great...charlie sits
> down all thru every gig, the lazy @#$%&...bald old
> cancer survivor...
> OR...maybe he's a great drummer doing a pretty
> amazing job...
>
> i think the stones would be a whole lot LESS
> embarassing without silly ass costumes and
> fireworks and a football team on stage in a
> circus...okay, it's fun...twenty five years of
> fans get that vision of rock and roll, good
> enough...
>
> ...they strip it down, like a lot of
> banquet...they can go and on...you'd go see
> jagger, still in GREAT, fascinating voice,
> imo...or keith solo...but not the 'stones'
> according to someone's 'vision' of what they're
> supposed to be like...i'd rather they hang
> together and play together naturally IF that's
> their inclination...i'd rather encourage and
> support that...
>
> mick and keith in their 80's, sitting down,
> singing together would be fascinating to me...doc
> watson is still on the road in his 80's and he can
> play better than anybody you know...
> ...if i had to play the same song 9 zillion times
> to 43993328 zillion faceless crowds, i'd be
> stunned thunderstruck dumbed down and so would
> you...
>
> they could have more than a card up their sleeves,
> even unbeknowns to them themsleves, they could
> have a whole deck as a matter of fact...
> the more things calm down with the pizazz and
> splutter, the more interesting it is to me...rock
> on old boys...
>
> what a relief when they stop trying to look young
> and ron stops wearing barbie belts that a 12 year
> old girl would wear...when keith dosen't have to
> be embarassed for losing his hair, when it's not
> endlessly discussed...where a bunch of old guys
> who loved the blues, became a pop phenom, retained
> that for ridiculous long epoch after epoch...and
> continued to hit sticks on a box, stamp some old
> feet from their chairs, strum a few open chords,
> and continue their long important, and essential
> natural expression into the folk/blues tradition
> from whence they sprung...
> most people here would pass right by robert
> johnson if he was busking in the street without a
> pr company...as long as they make music, i will
> listen to it...
> looking forward to changes of the eventorama
> stunned showhorse in a circle era...
> thankfully, some ONE person, got that tape
> recorder and booked a hotel room and cut those
> johnson tracks...enough of chuck and darryl and
> bernard and blondie and endless competent but
> somewhat vomitous support cast in a stage show...
> i believe in the stones...sho nuff...doo doot doo
> dooo...wannggg wannggg wanngg wannggg.g.. well mah
> little red rooster....dit dun dit danggg... too
> laazzzyyy, (cough cough, laugh laugh,) to crow
> today...and the crowd smiles...not because it's a
> firework freak show, but cause those guys got
> soul. rock on.


Thats all very well, Beely, but the issue is CAN the Stones willingly step away from the circus surrounding a big-scale tour and perform in a more low-key, dignified manner befitting their age at that stage in their career? I'm not so sure that they can or want to. This vision many of us (myself included) would love of them returning full circle towards the end of their careers to sitting down playing blues to appreciative audiences in clubs and rediscovering their roots is wishful thinking IMO. They're too far into the trappings that go hand in hand with what a big business a Stones tour is in 2007 to make such an about turn in the way they operate. Ten or twenty years ago I would have envisioned such a scenario as a possibility. I'm less convinced about it now.

yeh i know what you mean...good points on target as usual from you Gazza.
u never know...they are people like other people at the end of the day...
rock is deep in 'em, as is the blues...every day is a new day for every single person...and we don't know, they don't know...what they'll feel like doin'...

"they're too far into the trappings that go hand in with..."

that sentence from you really resonated with me particularly..
maybe we can make it comfortable, "OK" and lovingly encouraging for them to get the eff old like everybody else does (if they're lucky)...and still be acceptable and appreciated, in some small way as crazyass core fans mebbed we can put that out there...

i wouldn't debate you on the relative likeliness of this...i respect you and appreciate your last two sentences...but we just don't know, they don't know... no one could...i just hold this little metaphysical woo woo love space open in the universe sayin'...get old, get bald, wear glasses, who cares...get together and see what happens...

...not gonna be all that much fun sitting on a quarter billion dollars in a chair 'waiting to get cancer' (as charlie has put it in recent interviews)...

they should be encouraged to know, apart from the big numbers and press hysteria and tabloid cruelty, that people love 'em and want to hear 'em do the deep stuff from their souls...i don't know if that leaves someone with age...sometimes it does i guess...sometimes gets even more deep and precious?
i wouddn't bet against you here, but who knows?

Rock'n'roller Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Doc, roby, Gazza and Spud - agree with you all.
> How much more can we expect. On checking the
> archives I notice that they played the night I was
> born (and I'm 44) which strikes me as amazing. I
> know many will disagree but I think this might be
> the time to go - at least as a big stadium band.
> Like me, I bet a number of people my age find the
> stadium thing - and all that goes with it - a bit
> much now. They have given me so much pleasure, so
> much excitement, a musical benchmark - what more
> could I possibly ask for? Not only some great
> memories but also music that will last all my
> days.


I absolutely agree as well. It's "only" a rock'n'roll....the GREATEST. But there's a life without the Stones.
Sometimes when I read this forum, I get the feeling that many people get their whole indentity being Stones-fans and fear the day the boys call it a day.
I havn't been to hundreds of Stones-shows as many of you have...but I've been there for all tours for the past 25 years and I've been happy everytime they've returned, because it has pleased me, that they still could deliver.
Someday they won't be able to do that anymore...I just hope that they choose to pack it in before they reach that day. I would hate to see still playing the game after they've started to decline seriously.
So if this really is "the last time" it'll be fine with me. If they return in say 3 years time and still are able to deliver, I'll be thrilled...otherwise...NO.

NO!!!!!

I've seen and heared a lot of musicans older than the stones and most *delivered*,but i went there for the music not the show.There is absolutly no need to stop,mayby they should look for another audience ?

Beelyboy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>i wouldn't debate you on the relative likeliness of this...i respect you and appreciate your last two sentences...but we just don't know, they don't know... no one could...i just hold this little metaphysical woo woo love space open in the universe sayin'...get old, get bald, wear glasses, who cares...get together and see what happens...

As long as theyre physically and mentally up to it, thats fine by me. I just find it hard to believe that they'll be able to walk away from the 'circus' and go back to somewhere closer to this more altruistic, almost missionary-like approach to their music that they had in 1962-63.

Just finished watching DVD 4 of The Biggest Bang...the documentary. I was taken aback by how cool the tour really was, up to that point at least. Band with lots of energy, still many great crowds...sure, it was from a marketing point of view, but still, ya can't argue with Rio, Buenes Aires...and I still think the Charlottesville, Virginia and especially the Atlantic City shows I saw were about the best I've seen starting back in '81.

I'm all for the downsizing/back to basics idea, but could see them doing a large tour again, and I really wouldn't care if they did say 6-7 locations for 5 night gigs either (in North America that means Toronto, NYC, Vegas, LA, AC, Chicago).

Obviously ALL things must end, but I'm really not gonna root for the end of this band...they MUST find a way to go on just a bit longer!

As far as l am concerned if they had any dignity left, this would be it. The cash cow has dried up, look at sales in europe playing to half empty places.

"No dope smoking no beer sold after 12 o'clock"

... they had a nice run,, but its been over for a while now.

Rock till ya drop..boys...I agree they still have the glimmer of creativity..Bigger Bang DVD..you bet..these guys are still good...keep playing and song writing...nothing fits into a neat box...and the stones never have..thank god!

The big question will be: How big will be the demand for the Rolling Stones on a next tour? And how easy will it be to find attractive sponsorships? With the finish of the european leg of the bigger bang tour the Rollling Stones will have a span of 45 years of Rock and Roll history. No other band has covered such a time period and stayed even succesfull.
If they would like to do good for themselves and the fans I am still the oppinion that they should make short cut tours and multiple concert days in very few cities.

And now the end is near, and so we
face the final curtain.
Our fans we'll say it clear, we'll
state our case of which we're certain.
We've been around so long, so many
shows along the highways.
And more much more than this we did
it our way.

Regrets, we've had a few, a few bad
shows, high ticket prices.
We did what we had to do and overcame
all of our vices.
We planned each global tour, each meet
and greet along the biways.
And more much more than this we did it
our way.

Yes there were times, I'm sure you knew,
when we blew a solo or two.
But through it all when there was doubt
we ate it up and spit it out.
We faced it all and we stood tall and
did it our way.

We've loved, we've laughed and cried.
We've had our spats, our share of fighting.
And now as tears subside we find it all
so exciting.
To think we did all that and may we say not
in a shy way.
Oh no, oh no not us we did it our way.

For what is a band? What has it got.
If not itself then it has not.
To stay the course when things get tough
and stick it out when times get rough.
The record shows, we took the blows and
did it our way.

Yes it was our way.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2007-07-06 09:57 by FrankM.

They are a shadow of what they were now

Oh please. If you want to live your life like a drama queen then do so but try to get some kind of grip on reality. A shadow of what they were? Ludicrous.

i agree with Gazza - as long as theyre physically and mentally up to it, thats fine by me. the stones live - that´s for me always a performance full of energy (in the first place due to Mick), and if Mick couldn´t any more move like he still does right now, it would be time to quit - at least the kind of tour they are doing now. But in the same time it would be great if they recorded one more record, maybe someting "bluesy", which suits their age (though i doubt it that they will do it....)

Hey Frank wake up and smell the coffee

No it won't be the last time. When Keith says it is the last time then believe
it. All of that is all publicity. Yeah they are up in age and all but NO it won't be the last time. As Mick said the Stones will always be around. When Keith stops then I think we have to say it is finished but for now I think we need to enjoy the Stones while they are still here with us.


drummer_dude

We need to keep in mind that we're dealing with Mick Jagger here. There's no way the man is going to let "age" slow him down. There's no way he's going to let Paul McCartney tour while Mick's "retired." No way. The man wants to win, and I don't blame him. They are the best band in the world and he's not going to stop until he actually wants to stop.
I'm happy with what they want to do. If they want to stop, I want them to. If they want to still play (because obviously they still can, very well I might add) I want them to. It should be up to them. The Bigger Bang tour is the highest grossing tour of all time, of course there is still demand. Maybe the European fans are upset (rightfully so) but here in America you have to dash to get a seat. I saw them 3 times here in the States (at different points of the tour too) and I was never able to buy tickets through regular mediums.
Also, I read that people were commenting on Ronnie not being able to do it. I highly disagree. Ronnie can still play very, very well, and he still looks good to me. I wish he would cut back on smoking, but give the guy credit. He's finally sober, so don't give up on him now. I can see Ronnie playing with the Stones til the very end, and Ronnie playing with the Faces.

Well what about a tour like stripped? I think thta would get alot more repsect and would be a little more honest and sincere. They could stillr ock out on a softer level, look at how good Street Figthing man turned out. It would be cool if they did one more last album of all new songs with a similar production as the studio tracks as stripped. Kinda aBeggers feel, i'm not saying all slow numbers or all accustic just that similar feel.

Marked for life, you seem to like like pretty beat up, a great song. Now to the topic: I hate to say it, but the state the guitarplayers are in, makes me wonder
if there is any sense in further stonestours. Maybe there will be single shows in the future, but I do not see lots of chances for a further tour.

jumpinjackgreg Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> We need to keep in mind that we're dealing with
> Mick Jagger here. There's no way the man is going
> to let "age" slow him down. There's no way he's
> going to let Paul McCartney tour while Mick's
> "retired." No way. The man wants to win, and I
> don't blame him. They are the best band in the
> world and he's not going to stop until he actually
> wants to stop.

Whether "Mick Jagger" can still do it in years to come and whether "The Rolling Stones" are able to are two different things.

>but here in America you have to dash to get a seat.

that certainly wasnt the case for most shows on the fall leg.

Marked for life, you seem to like like pretty beat up.....

Oh yes one of my faves. I put it in the relm of Slave and Hey Negrita, a really infectious and fun groove. Love those types of songs. I love Underocver, the album as well, really underated, last loose and lusty stones album. Not to say i don't like or love others afterwards just the last of a certain era.

I really hope this will be the last time they tour stadiums. If they care bout music and fun any more than they should tour smaller venues now and then. I´m really impressed bout prince these days how he gives away his new album for free in a newspaper. He does it just for the fun and plays for 31 pounds for a ticket. So enjoy your life ( or what is left) and stop caring bout money. It`s all for the fun to make music. ( Excuse my english!!)