Rolling Stones begin rehearsals in L.A. as fans speculate about 'surprise' show
On April 16, 2013, the Rolling Stones began rehearsals in Los Angeles for their 2013 tour. The Daily Mail published paparazzi photos of the Stones arriving at the rehearsal studio.
Rolling Stones backup singer Bernard Fowler tweeted this message on April 17, 2013: "The great Waddy Wachtel stopped by rehearsals yesterday." He tweeted a photo of himself and Wachtel with the message.
Meanwhile, fans all over the Internet have been speculating when and where in the Los Angeles area that the Rolling Stones will have a "surprise" nightclub show.
The Rolling Stones have a tradition of doing at least one "surprise warm-up" show at a large nightclub or small theater before they do a new tour. The "surprise warm-up" show usually takes place in or near the city where the Stones rehearse for a tour. Nightclubs in Paris, Toronto and New Haven, Conn., are just some of the places that have experienced these "surprise warm-up" shows from the Stones.
As previously reported, the Rolling Stones' 2013 tour has announced several concerts at arenas in the U.S. and Canada and three massive outdoor concerts in England. There has been speculation that the Rolling Stones will do concerts in other countries in 2013, but nothing has been announced yet. (Click here for the latest tour information, as of April 17, 2013.)
In an April 2013 interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards said that the Rolling Stones will likely do one or two club shows in 2013: "I think we’ll probably do one or two during this next round. The Stones always feel that if you can do it in a club, OK, you can do it anywhere. When you’re face to face with the audience, it’s a testing ground where everybody feels, OK, now you just expand the club. It’s necessary to do a few club gigs for us."
The Rolling Stones' 2013 tour begins May 2 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The "surprise warm-up" show could possibly be at the El Rey Theatre (which holds about 770 people), since it's owned by AEG Live, the promoter for the tour. However, until an unofficial announcement is made, everything is speculation about when and where the "surprise warm-up"show will be. The El Rey has the following dates free on its April 2013 calendar: April 26, April 28, April 29, and April 30.
The Rolling Stones' "surprise warm-up" shows usually follow this pattern:
- The official announcement about the show happens on the day of the show. Before the Internet existed, it would usually be announced on the radio, but now the Stones have been announcing their shows on their official Internet outlets, such as their website, Facebook page and Twitter account.
- The show takes place at a venue that has a capacity of 700 to 1,000 people.
- Tickets for the show must be purchased in person at the venue.
- There is usually a limit to how many tickets someone can buy for the show (usually two to four tickets per person), in order to prevent ticket brokers from dominating the ticket purchases.
- The ticket prices are in the range of what the venue would charge for a relatively unknown artist. If the Rolling Stones do a "surprise warm-up" show in Los Angeles, then the ticket price should be in the range of $10 to $30 per person, and all tickets are usually sold for the same price.
Here are songs that the Rolling Stones rehearsed on April 17, 2013:
Get Off My Cloud
The Last Time
Its Only Rock N' Roll
Paint It Black
Wild Horses
Dead Flowers
Sway
Can't You Hear Me Knocking
Worried About You
Miss You
Midnight Rambler
Start Me Up Brown
Sugar
Jumpin' Jack Flash
Street Fighting Man
Fool to Cry
Memory Motel
I Heard It Through the Grapevine
