A Stone’s throw away in Macau

MANILA, Philippines - They used to call them the Shaggy Dogs of the British Invasion, the un- regenerate rebels who basked in the sordid darkness of drugs, sex, booze as opposed to the clean-cut image of The Beatles rising from the Cavern Club of Liverpool in the ’60s.

But for over 50 years, nobody can deny The Rolling Stones their place in rock history as one of the greatest bands and probably, the most raucous live act ever. It’s amazing that Mick Jagger, now 70 with seven children from four women and four grandchildren, is still gyrat- ing, sexually-suggestive and full of energy on stage — the same way he was when the former London School of Econom- ics student broke the barriers of convention in the band’s first gig at the Marquee Club in London in 1962.

Since the Stones’ emer- gence, they’ve sold over 250 million albums. They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004, in recogni- tion of their con- tributions to the industry with 29 studio, 18 live and countless compila- tion albums. Only Jagger and guitar- ist Keith Richards remain from the original cast of 1962. Drummer Charlie Watts came on board a year later.

The Stones’ first single, a Chuck Berry cover of Come On, featured Jagger, Richards, Watts, Bill Wyman on bass and Brian Jones on slide guitar. This was the line-up that introduced the world to the scruffy Stones, the anti-thesis to The Beatles, with their hard-driving music that was rooted in rhythm-and-blues.

In 1969, Jones died of a drug over- dose and was replaced by Mick Taylor who left in 1974 to be subbed by Ronnie Wood, formerly of the Faces. Wyman made his exit in 1993 and his spot was taken over by Darryl Jones. In 1982, the Stones augmented their music section by bringing over Bobby Keys on sax and Chuck Leavell on keyboards.

Surprisingly, the Stones never made it to the Philippines despite touring the far corners of the globe for five decades. So when word got out that the band would perform in Macau in the fifth leg of a 14-gig Asia- Pacific tour, Filipino aficionados didn’t hesitate to book tickets. After all, they’d only be a few “Stones” away from home and it was convenient to fly to the former Portuguese crown colony directly from Manila.

The Stones’ tour was dubbed 14 On Fire and started out in Abu Dhabi last Feb. 21. Then, they performed at the Tokyo Dome for three nights on Feb. 26, March 4 and 6 before an average of 50,000 fans. Next stop was the Cotai Arena last March 9. Then it was off to Shanghai, Singapore, Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Victoria, Brisbane and Auckland. (The gigs in Australia and New Zealand eventually got cancelled after the sudden death of Jagger’s girlfriend L’Wren Scott, and are reportedly rescheduled for later this year.)

To prepare for 14 On Fire, the Stones got together in Paris to rehearse some 65 songs from Feb. 3 to 14. Jagger assembled a stage band composed of Richards, Watts, Wood, Jones, Keys, Leavell, back-up vocalists Lisa Fischer and Ber- nard Fowler (both fixtures since 1989), Tim Ries on alto sax and the returning Taylor.

For the Macau show, organizers put up a doughnut stage. In the middle of the circular platform was an open space called the “Tongue Pit” for VIP ticket holders to witness the concert standing up, dancing and singing their lungs out with a 360-degree view. VIP tickets went for the equivalent of P90,000 each. The backdrop was bare bones with only a large center screen to show close-ups of the performers and videos of Stones history. There were two other screen moni- tors on both sides of the stage.

Among the Filipinos in the audience were Sen. Bongbong Marcos, Borgy Manotoc and Geor- gina Wilson, Buddy and Ruby Roa, Joey de Leon and Eileen Macapagal, Ruby Rodriguez, Aiza Seguerra, Bert de Leon, Dr. Benjie and Peachy Alimurung and Andre Kahn. Celebrities in the audience included actor Stephen Baldwin, Chi- nese movie star Zhang Ziyi, Chinese rocker Wang Feng and local musician Kenny Bee. The Cotai Arena was filled to near capacity and the crowd was estimated to be over 10,000.

Very VIP (VVIP) ticket holders were treated to a pre-cocktail party at the Milan Ballroom located right by the Cotai Arena from 6:30 to 8 p.m. They were also given a loot bag with a concert poster, T-shirt, cap, VIP ID and the Stones’ latest album Sweet Summer Sun, a double CD and single DVD set.

The performance began at 8:40 p.m., 40 min- utes late probably to wait for customers to fill up the stadium. And when the lights went out to project a blaze of bursting sunlight on the center screen monitor, the fans knew it was time to rock and roll. Jagger bounced in wearing a red jacket and black shirt. Richards wore a glitzy head- band. The Stones started off with Jumping Jack Flash then Jagger tore off his coat and belted out You Got Me Rockin’. Wood and Richards alternat- ed on the lead guitar with the stoic Watts keeping beat on the drums like a coxswain in a dragon boat. As the ultimate frontman, Jagger pranced, strutted, twisted and moved around the circular stage like a divo teasing an enraptured audience. He engaged the crowd in a smattering of Mandarin and welcomed fans from all over to enjoy the night.

Close-ups on the large video monitor showed deep lines on Jagger’s face. The lines were even deeper in Richards’ face. But the signs of age hardly slowed down the Stones’ pace. Jagger’s voice was still pristine. When the Stones slid into It’s Only Rock and Roll (But I Like It), the crowd went wild. It was more of the same with Tumbling Dice before Jagger donned a sequined jacket to sing the mild Wild Horses accompanying himself on guitar. Next was Doom and Gloom, another foot-stomper. Then, Jagger announced the win- ning song of a social media contest the Stones ran in Macau for fans to choose a favorite number — Get Off Of My Cloud.

The intensity level went up a notch with Honky Tonk Woman as Jagger went around the circular stage to connect with the roaring crowd. After eight songs, Jagger took a rest to introduce the band. One by one, they were called out until the last man Richards took a bow — the cue for the guitarist

to relieve Jagger on lead vocals. Richards croaked through two songs Slipping Away and Before They Make Me Run in what had to be the lowlight of the show. Taylor was brought onto the stage to play guitar while Richards exercised his vocal chords with a throaty earful. “Good to be here, good to be anywhere,” said Richards as if to express relief that at their age, there’s still work to do.

Taylor stayed on to combine with Jagger on Midnight Rambler, which rambled for over 10 minutes. What ensued was a jamming battle featuring Taylor’s guitar and Jagger’s harmon- ica. Then, Jagger strapped a guitar back on for Miss You with the audience fueling the refrain. Paint It Black came next with Taylor on electric sitar and Jagger reminding ’60s fans that his hip-swaying, head-turning, hand-waving and butt-pouting days were far from over. Fischer joined Jagger on Gimme Shelter and she, too, went up and down the circular stage to sing at the top of her lungs. Gathering momentum, the Stones moved to Start Me Up followed by Sympathy For The Devil and Brown Sugar.

With the crowd worked up to a frenzy, Jag- ger said thank you and goodbye but everyone knew the night wasn’t over. The Stones returned on stage to a thunderous applause and did You Can’t Always Get What You Want backed by two 13-strong units from the Chung Chi Choir of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Jagger reap- peared in a yellow jacket and a black hat. Finally, the show ended with the iconic anthem (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.

When the Stones toured Shanghai, they altered their set list with five new songs Happy, All Down The Line, Dead Flowers, Ruby Tuesday and Street Fighting Man to replace Honky Tonk Woman, Wild Horses, You Got Me Rocking, Before They Make Me Run and Brown Sugar. No matter what they sing, the Stones will guarantee a show that’s as memo- rable as their history as rock’s most enduring live band.