The paleolithic* rockers,
the Rolling Stones played at my
neighbor's place last night and, for
old, old men, they seemed to put on a spirited show of crappy tunes. Having
never liked the Stones to begin with, I was free from the forebarence that
nostalgia sometimes produces in listening to bands from one's youth. Several
times last week, the night was interrupted by Stones practicing at Fenway Park.
Please believe me when I say that they sucked hard during rehersals. And they
were playing their standards. I guess thirty years isn't enough
time to explore the nuances of Jumping Jack Flash (n.b. it's a gas, gas, gas).
However, with the addition of pyrotechnics, a warm-up act of the Black Eyed
Peas and beer, the geriatric group managed to put on a coherent and lively
show. However, there was little life or meaning in this band's readings of
their own songs. You could have just as easily replaced the band with a
bombbox. One standout number was a cover of the Ray Charles "The Right Time,"
complete with a horn section. Even that, I fear, was still a bit watered
down. The evening ended with a five
song encore that included the perfected Jumpin' Jack Flash and, again, more
fireworks.
I'd like to point out the vast number of limos, stretched sedans and
elongated SUVs that graced the streets of my neighborhood last night. It's
not just the band that's aged, but their fans. Fatted on years of yuppy life,
reaping the glory of wise 401K investiments, these sated empty nesters
rolled in the park, tarted up like French whores, to get a faint whiff from
that distant land of their youth that will only get progressively further
away from them. On the upside, they were less troublesome than the average
baseball crowd, so that had that going for them.
In short, the Stones appeal has always eluded me. Certainly, there is no
siren in their song, so I suppose their draw must of the personality of Mr.
Jagger. Still, I do have to credit the energy that these ancients emitted
last night. That's no mean feat.
Note: "Paleolithic" means "old stone," which
you have to admit is applicable here.