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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 1989)
Friday, November 10,1989 The Battalion Page 7 Astrodome shakes with old, new rock ’n roll rv U P * Legendary Stones dazzle Houston crowd By Chuck Squatriglia Of The Battalion Staff How do they do it? After 26 years together, the Roll ing Stones proved they are one of the best rock bands ever to step on a stage. Their performance Wednes day at the Houston Astrodome took more than 50,000 people on a trip down memory lane, but also man aged to prove that the band still has a lot of creative energy left. The Steel Wheels tour is no nostalgia show meant to take the fans for $30. The pre-concert hype promised a great performance, ana the band delivered. The Stones took the stage after massive explosions rocked the stage and guitarist Keith Richards strummed the opening chords to “Start Me Up,” leading the band into a 26 song set of material spanning their entire career. From the word go, Mick Jagger let it be known that, despite their age, the Rolling Stones can still provide one of the best shows around. Jag- ger’s dancing was excellent, mixing ballet, tap dancing and mime, and the other members turned in perfor mances of equal quality. Following “Start Me Up,” the Stones tore through “Bitch,” from Sticky Fingers, “Sad Sad Sad,” “Under Cover” and “Harlem Shuf- Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack Mick dagger WANTED: fie.” By performing these latter two songs, the band lent credibility to their Undercover and Dirty Work al bums, two albums which weren’t widely accepted by fans or critics. Then came the hits. The trip down memory lane started with “Tumblin’ Dice,” “Miss You,” and a beautiful rendition of “Ruby Tuesday,” which the audi ence sang enthusiastically and with a little nostalgia. Jagger followed the sing-a-long with an emotional performance of “Angie,” from 1973’s Goat’s Head Soup, and a rousing rendition of “Dead Flowers,” a tune Jagger jok ingly described as “a country-west ern song.” The band followed the sing-a- long with two recent hits, “Rock and a Hard Place” and “Mixed Emo tions,” but quickly returned to the oldies with “Honky Tonk Women.” This song provided one of the more comical moments of the show, as two 80 foot tall bar floozies were inflated at the ends of the stage. The concert dragged a bit through “Midnight Rambler,” a song that, normally, is a great tune. The band decided to jam in the mid dle of it, and turned it into one long mess. However, this faux pas was recti fied with “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” drawing one of the best responses of the night. Jag ger then left the stage to allow Rich ards to lead the band through “Can’t Be Seen,” from Steel Wheels, and “Happy,” from the superb Exile on Main Street album. The eerie opening guitar chords and cracking snare drum intro to “P- aint It Black” brought Jagger back into the spotlight and the crowd back to their feet after the relatively obscure “Happy” left them sitting down. “2,000 Light Years From Home” proved to be one the most versatile songs of the evening. Originally a psychedelic tune written in 1967, the themes of isolation and loneliness make it just as applicable to today’s society. Combined with an excellent light show, it made for an unforget table performance. At this point, the concert began its crescendo to the finish with “Sympa thy for the Devil” and an absolutley searing “Gimme Shelter.” Jagger teamed up with back-up vocalist Lisa Fischer for a duet that by itself was worth the ticket price. Fischer’s piercing high notes combined per fectly with Jagger’s mid-range to cre ate a volatile rendition. The crescendo continued with “It’s Only Rock and Roll,” which fea tured a video of footage from per formances by Elvis, Buddy Holly, Chubby Checker, Chuck Berry, The Beatles, Cream, Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne and, with tongue in cheek, a young Rolling Stones. The zenith came with “Brown Sugar” and “Satisfaction.” The sound of stomping feet and cheers brought the Stones out for a single encore, “Jumpin’Jack Flash,” which the Astrodome officials man aged to ruin when they turned on the house lights shortly after the song began. Still, it was a tremen dous ending to a tremendous show. Throughout the show, the entire band was in top form. Jagger’s voice and moves were incredible, espe cially when one considers his age — 45. Guitarists Keith Richards and Ron Wood traded riffs all night and seemed content to let Jagger take the spotlight. The rhythm section of bas sist Bill Wyman and drummer Char lie Watts remained at the back of the stage, laying down the foundation on which the show was built. fc Living Colour’s show proves ‘vivid,’ energetic By Todd Stone Of The Battalion Staff HOUSTON — Bam! Zowie! Smash! No, this isn’t a fight scene in a “Batman” TV episode. This is probably the best way to describe Living Colour’s opening perfor mance for the Rolling Stones Wednesday night at the Astrodome. In case you’ve been hibernating for the past week, the Rolling Stones began their Texas leg of the Steel Wheels tour in Houston. Before the legendary Stones (now they are “Bud Men,” since they are being sponsored by Budweiser) per formed, Living Colour displayed a its flaw was the absolutely horrible acoustics of the Astrodome. The band’s 500,000 watt PA system pro vides crystal clear sound, but the en closed space of the ’Dome distorted the sound, making the vocals diffi cult to understand. It was unfortu nate that an outdoor arena wasn’t utilized. All in all, the Stones provided their fans with a show that may be the best they’ll ever see. At this rate, the Rolling Stones just may be around for a'nother26 years. Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack Corey Glover hard-nosed and gripping talent for playing the kind of music that many Top 40 groups have forgotten how to play: hard, jntense rock ’n’ roll. Living Colour’s sound is a simple formula of fast-rocking guitar riffs and chord progressions, pulsing and often funky bass rhythms, strong vo cals and thunderous drumming. The group’s 1988 debut album “Vi vid” already has been certified Plati num. The group also uses its music to make statements about social issues such as racism and poverty. On stage. Living Colour was an imated and seemed to enjoy per forming. Lead vocalist Corey Glover took advantage of the spacious stage, running everywhere and stirring up audience excitement. His voice was strong but often garbled within the music mix. Lead guitarist Vernon Reid, blasted furious guitar leads that Keith Richards and Ron Wood couldn’t duplicate during their mo§t sober days. Muzz Skillings main tained a consistent bass groove on the six-string bass guitar and con tributed some snappy bass lines. Drummer Will Calhoun kept the rhythm tight and loud. His “bang it up at all costs” style was reminiscent of the late Led Zepplin drummer John Bonham. The performance of their hit “G- lamour Boys,” was a high point of the set, with a tight, energetic effort See Colour/Page 12 Stones buff tries to buy ticket with LSD HOUSTON (AP) — A Rolling Stones fan who wanted to go to the rock group’s concert ended up in jail after he allegedly tried to buy a ticket with LSD from a man who turned out to be a police officer. Instead of attending the Rolling Stones’ sold-out performance at the Astrodome on Wednesday, Thomas Milton Fagan was in jail on drug and assault charges. It started when Pasadena Police Sgt. James Zink placed a classified ad in a local newspaper Monday trying to sell two tickets to the concert. Zink got an unusual offer — 25 “hits” of LSD for one ticket. He agreed to make the trade later that day with the caller outside a restau- See LSD/Page 12 Texas A&M Blood Drive Nov. 1317 ucu Commons 10-8 MSC 10-6 SBISA 10-6 Med. Sci. Library 10-6 THE (SKI BLOOD CENTER at Wadley Another service of Alpha Phi Omega, Omega Phi Alpha, and Student Government Supported by