Rolling Stones light up the stage in Newark; Mick Taylor, John Mayer are guests
Mick Taylor and Mick Jagger at the Rolling Stones' concert in Newark, New Jersey, on December 13, 2012
The Rolling Stones did another memorable 50th anniversary performance on December 13, 2012, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
The band (lead singer Mick Jagger, guitarist Keith Richards, drummer Charlie Watts and guitarist Ronnie Wood) took the stage for the fourth show in a series of five arena concerts that the Stones are doing in 2012, in celebration of their 50th anniversary. Mick Taylor (who was the Rolling Stones' lead guitarist from 1969 to 1974) and John Mayer were special guest performers who joined the Stones on stage for select songs. The participation of Taylor and Mayer had been announced in advance.
As previously reported, the Rolling Stones have 50th anniversary concerts at the O2 Arena in London on November 25 and November 29, 2012; at the Barclay Center in New York City on December 8, 2012; and at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Kersey, on December 13 and December 15, 2012. The December 15 show will be a pay-per-view TV special titled "One More Shot," and it is part of a deal that the Rolling Stones made with Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment to distribute the special, which will be televised live in the United States at 9 p.m. Eastern Time.
Taylor, Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga have been announced as the guests for the December 15 concert in Newark. And, of course, there will probably be at least one "surprise guest."
Taylor and former Rolling Stones bass player Bill Wyman had performed at the O2 Arena concerts in London on November 25 and November 29. However, Wyman is not expected to join the Rolling Stones for their 50th anniversary concerts in the United States because he has a fear of flying, and he has not performed in the U.S. since 2001.
The Rolling Stones were also part of the lineup of the 12-12-12 concert, an all-star event to benefit victims of Hurricane Sandy. That concert took place on December 12, 2012, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The Rolling Stones' 50th anniversary concert series, titled "The Stones: 50 and Counting," is expected to continue with more shows in other cities in 2013, but nothing has been announced yet.
Nowadays, with so many concertgoers filming the shows and uploading the footage on the Internet, people who weren't at the concert can see for themselves what the show was like. So although I was at this concert, I won't give a lengthy, song-by-song review, because footage from the concert can easily can be found on the Internet.
However, I will sat this: I've been to many Rolling Stones concerts over the years, but this one was a special treat for me since this was the first Rolling Stones concert that I've been to that reunited the band with Taylor. (I wasn't at the 50th anniversary concerts in London or the 1981 Rolling Stones concert in Kansas City, Missouri, that featured a reunion with Taylor on stage.) Many people (including Rolling Stones drummer Watts) believe that the Taylor era of the Stones is when they made their best music. At this particular concert, Taylor was in fine form, especially in his solos on "Midnight Rambler." Taylor reunited with the Rolling Stones was definitely one of the highlights of the evening and something that I will definitely treasure for having the privileged of seeing it in person.
The song that had the most people singing along at this concert was "Honky Tonk Women," followed closely by "Sympathy for Devil" (mostly the "woo-hoo" part of the chorus), "Brown Sugar" and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." There were film cameras at the show, so this footage may end up on a Rolling Stones home video.
The performance of "Paint It Black" was an absolute standout. The Rolling Stones are doing a slower arrangement of the song at these 50th anniversary concerts, and this slower tempo makes the song sound even more deliciously brooding than the original tempo. The accompanying light show with the song enhances the mood of the song.
Guest artist Mayer was very good when he joined the Stones on "Respectable" (Mayer played guitar and did not sing), but he was definitely overshadowed later that night by Taylor.
The Rolling Stones have scaled back on the huge stage props that they used to have at their stadium shows in the 1980s and 1990s. They could still have a lot of distractions and gimmicks at these 50th anniversary concerts, but the Stones wisely chose to keep the concerts focused on the band and the music. (In other words, don't expect to see massive inflatables at these concerts.) The videos and lighting displays during these 50th anniversary (with the "GRRR!" gorilla Gregory a recurring character in the videos) are dependable but not mind-blowing. Before the Stones hit the stage, a group of drummers in Gregory gorilla masks do a percussion march in front of the stage.
There were no departures from the stage personas that Rolling Stones have displayed in concert over the years: Jagger's perpetually youthful physicality on stage makes him one of music's most enduring icons; his performance style is a combination of hip sways and calisthenics. Richards personifies "rock'n'roll," and he often plays guitar with one hand. Wood is the mischievous grinning "little brother" of the band. And Watts is like that cool, wise jazz musician who keeps the other band members in line.
New Jersey was one of the states hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. Before Richards launched into performing "Before They Make Me Run" (one of the small percentage of Rolling Stones songs that have Richards on lead vocals), Richards told the crowd: "New Jersey, you've had a rough time. We all admire the way you've stuck with it. Keep on truckin'."
Jagger kept the on-stage chatter to a minimum, but he thanked the fans more than once for all the support over the years.'
Here is the set list from the Rolling Stones concert on December 13, 2012, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey:
Get Off of My Cloud
The Last Time
It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll
Paint It Black
Gimme Shelter
Respectable (with John Mayer)
Wild Horses
Around And Around (fans' request)
Doom and Gloom
One More Shot
Miss You
Honky Tonk Women
Before They Make Me Run
Happy
Midnight Rambler (with Mick Taylor)
Start Me Up
Tumbling Dice
Brown Sugar
Sympathy for the Devil
ENCORE
You Can’t Always Get What You Want (with the Choirs of Trinity Wall Street)
Jumpin’ Jack Flash
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
