A half-century into their career, the Rolling Stones gear up for 50 and Counting, kicking off May 2 in Los Angeles.
"He's just coming into his stride," Keith Richards cracks. Famous for flippantly deflecting barbs about the band's advancing years, the guitarist, 69, finally does concede that "we have to pace ourselves a bit."
"Of course age comes into play," he says. "But if you've got a frontman like Mick Jagger, and he's raring to go, let's go."
And so the Stones are hitting the road again, opening in Los Angeles on May 2, roughly 50 years after they recorded their first single, Chuck Berry's Come On.
A half-century into the band's career, "everybody felt fine" after a surprise club show Oct. 25 in Paris, Jagger says. At 69, the singer remains a sinewy, agile rock 'n' roll marvel. He's intensified his workouts to prepare for the tour.
"It's really boring," he says. "Honestly, for athletics, it must be hell. They're doing 10 times what I'm doing. I like going out and having a good time but you can't do much while you're preparing for a show. I'm quite serious about it. You have to be physically fit, mentally alert, vocally strong. It's dull and repetitious. The only thing I enjoy is the dance rehearsal. I rent a dance studio and loon around in it."
"It was a nice feeling, but I wouldn't say it was nostalgia," Jagger says. "I don't know if you can get nostalgic playing in an arena. You don't get sidetracked when you've got a lot to do. I felt a bit fuzzy when we did The O2 (arena in London). The audience was very warm and we got a good response. I was really grateful that people still like us. It was nice to be up there."
Richards isn't prone to wistful flashbacks until fans and media create a stir. The anniversary, pegged to the band's first gig July 12, 1962, at London's Marquee Club, "meant an awful lot to a lot of people," he says. "We kind of avoid zeros."
The upcoming trek won't stretch to A Bigger Bang's record-setting dimensions, Richards says, but "once this thing starts rolling, it's impossible to stop. They're adding gigs as I speak. It all depends on how the boys feel about it."
Jagger adds, "We've got lots of other possibilities in the rest of the world, but we haven't booked anything. And we don't really have a big stadium stage at the moment. We could get one."
The band opted for arenas this time "so for once we're not subjected to nature's wonders," Richards says. "The band feels we can do a better show indoors in a controlled environment. That's not always true. The ambiance of outdoor shows and that sense of chance — what's God going to throw at you, wind, rain or sleet — adds to a certain connection with the audience that you don't necessarily get indoors."
The set list, likely to mirror the hit-heavy roster played at the recent shows, won't take shape until rehearsals get underway. Jagger's desire to pluck rarities from the catalog competes with a respect for fan wish lists.
"I worry a lot," he says. "You see that post, 'I hope they do Wild Horses,' and then we do some obscure ballad, perhaps not brilliantly. Then you see, 'It was really good, that obscure ballad, but actually I wanted them to do Wild Horses.' We have so many ballads and we only do a couple in a show. I do think we'll do one or two obscurities."
Aside from GRRR! tracks Doom and Gloom and One More Shot, the Stones have no new tunes to roll out. Fans probably won't object.
"It would be nice to have a new album, but people don't like the new album when you play it on stage," Jagger says with a laugh. "They glumly look at you. 'OK, it will be over in a minute.' It's not a good excuse, but it's the truth and has to be said."
Richards considers the tour a creative catalyst.
"The time to record a band is once they've been on the road a while so they're hot," he says. "We'll think about that while we're doing this. The world needs more Stones records. So do I."
He's excited about honing his chops with a variety of tour guests, particularly former Stones guitarist Mick Taylor. Ex-bassist Bill Wyman, annoyed that he was invited to play only two songs in London, declined to join any U.S. dates.
"He's a stubborn old bugger," Richards says.
Tickets range from $85 to north of $600, prompting SF Weekly to denounce the band for "cold-hearted money-grubbing."
In negotiating the tour, the band "insisted in coming down some" in price, Richards says, dismissing media carping. "If we can sell out Hyde Park in four minutes, it's obviously not a big deal to the punters. I'm not concerned with it."
Jagger says, "There's a price for every pocket," and points out that the $85 tickets, more than 1,000 per show, include prime seats in the Tongue Pit, a corral of open space at the front of the stage.
The Stones "have always worked for top dollar, and there's always been a high end of fans willing to pay," says Anthony DeCurtis, Rolling Stone contributing editor. Steep prices tend to draw moneyed Boomers, "but I do know younger people who went last time and were knocked out. There's a sense that the Stones are still able to do it, and that's part of the pull. I saw them in December, and they were blasting. They're playing as hard as they ever have. It's a completely brilliant show."
Fans also want to witness history.
"You do reach a point where it's going to be impossible to do this," DeCurtis says. "In terms of the giants, the Stones are still out there. To go see them, you're really touching the flame. "
50 and Counting suggests a continuation, not a farewell. Recent frictions between Richards and Jagger have been set aside, though sugary harmonies seldom waft from this camp.
"It's all skullduggery and backroom infighting, nothing's changed," Richards says. "It wouldn't be the Stones otherwise, would it? Obviously, we wouldn't be working together if there wasn't a smooth relationship. Brothers fight like cats and dogs and then everything's smooth. It's smooth right now.
"As long as the boys want to play and I've got two legs, I'll play with them. I'll play on one leg, actually."
