Live from the scene

Reports from the Rolling Stones show at Zilker Park

Monday, October 23, 2006

Stones sling into Zilker

9:20 p.m. - Rarities-packed show provides consistent entertainmentIn this day and age, your average Rolling Stones fans paya great deal of money to be entertained by one of the most consistent rock 'n' roll acts out on the road. They expect to hear the hits of their youth and maybe the occasional surprise.

The Stones managed to stun a Zilker Park crowd by playing a rarities-packed set in front of 42,000 (not a sell-out by most accounts), including the Waylon Jennings tune "Bob Wills is Still the King," which they had never played live.

Many fans who had seen previous concerts on the Bigger Bang tour were certain the Stones would open with "Jumpin' Jack Flash" or "Paint It Black." Instead, the veteran rockers, now celebrating their 44th year as a band, opened with a propulsive "You've Got Me Rockin'," which surely could be heard in 10-mile radius around the park.

They followed it with the mod-era chestnut "Let's Spend the Night Together."

Guitarist Ron Wood took most of the solos, with the iconic Keith Richards providing his singular rhythm. Decked out in a shiny red shirt and the world's tightest black pants, Sir Mick Jagger bounded around onstage, telling the crowd repeatedly how good they looked.

The set continued with an explosive version of "She's So Cold" and the still astonishing classic "Sway," played slightly faster than its normally narcotic tempo. Now and then, the rarities weren't so welcome, as with the completely uninteresting "Streets of Love." But the Stones made up for it with a Motown cover and the "Sticky Fingers"-vintage song "Bitch." --Joe Gross

Keeping the screen ugly-free

8:08 p.m. - Only the lovely allowed backstage during DVD shooting. Because it is being filmed for a DVD and they want everything to look good, security is tighter than usual at the Rolling Stones' Zilker Park concert. Even backstage, they are being extra controlling about where people can stand because they don't want random faces showing up in shots. Among the lucky with backstage passes -- Austin Mayor Will Wynn, beauty products empire-builders John Paul and Eloise Dejoria, GSD&M honcha Judy Trabulsi, fashion designer Zac Posen and, not surprisingly, members of the Jagger family. --Jean Scheidnes

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The Boys groove

7:17 p.m. - Los Lonely Boys fill Zilker Park with song. The sun setting directly into their eyes, San Angelo-bred Los Lonely Boys peeled off song after song of self-described "Texican rock 'n' roll." This essentially meant blues rock, often en español. Songs were crammed with solos and found the sweet spot between Stevie Ray Vaughan and Carlos Santana. The three Garza brothers have this power trio thing down cold, even if they were augmented by a keyboard player, whose runs sometimes added texture and sometimes felt superfluous. But from the opening tune "Heaven" onward, everyone of Henry Garza's Stratocaster solos was met with his brother Ringo's hard-swinging drumming and brother Jojo's intricate bass playing (though Jojo has yet to convince anyone that any bassist needs more than four strings). The Stones have always chosen their opening acts carefully, and when the Boys' rhythm section concentrated on grooves rather than fills or solos, their songs of love and loss felt more than appropriate for an cool Austin evening. -- Joe Gross

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Camping out in Zilker

7:04 p.m. - Not so much a rock concert as a night outdoors People are dressed less for a rock show than for night camping under the stars in Zilker Park. The standard is utilitarian. Of course many are sporting their Rolling Stones paraphernalia, both old and new. And I can't remember a time when I've seen more tie-dye, bandannas or men with ponytails. The fans I wonder about are the woefully overdressed, the women tip-toeing across the grass in high heels. Entry to the concert grounds was smooth and swift. But inside, the landgrab (to spread out blankets, etc.) intensified as the hours passed. A large crowd clung to a hillside, from which even the jumbotron looks puny. I guess they want to be on an incline, but what's the point? At the souvenir stands, the cheapest offering is a $5 poster. T-shirts start at $35. One style, in burnt orange, features the Rolling Stones logo with Longhorns insignia sprouting from the upper lip. -- Jean Scheidnes

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Weather doesn't move ACL organizers

6:35 p.m. - Even spirits uplifted by October cool can look forward to September heat next year. The incredible weather for the Stones concert has not swayed the organizers of the Austin City Limits Music Festival to move their huge event to October. ACL fest booker Charles Attal, who helped bring the Stones to Zilker, said next year's fest will be Sept. 14-16. "It's all routing," he said. "Typically ,bigger acts end their summer tours in September. Plus luck has a lot to do with it. If we got hit with a rainstorm today, we would have been (out of luck). -- Michael Corcoran

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McLagan remembers

6:01 p.m. - Ian McLagan and his Bump Band set up Stones. Ian McLagan and his Bump Band played a tight 40-minute set of organ-driven R&B and rock, not unlike the sorts of sets they've played many weeks at Lucky Lounge. After acknowledging the greatness of a Stones appearance in Austin, McLagan told the crowd, "They might be your favorite band, but they were my favorite band first." After all, McLagan and Stones guitarist Ron Wood did time in the Faces, England's ultimate bar band. While Wood did not join the Bump Band onstage, McLagan mentioned him now and then, mostly when he played one of Wood's old songs, "Cindy Incidentally," which McLagan noted was written by "a future Rolling Stone and a future cabaret artist," the latter an obvious reference to Rod Stewart. McLagan and the Bump Band's most recent album, "Spiritual Boy," is a tribute to the late Faces bassist Ronnie Lane. The band alternated between songs from that record and McLagan tunes such as "Got a Date with an Angel." The band sounded fit and warm, bolstered by guitarist Scrappy Jud Newcomb's bluesy solos and Mark Andes' propulsive bass playing. -- Joe Gross

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Keith Richards, funnyman

5:41 p.m. - Songwriter Bill Carter pegs Richards through Depp connection. Austin songwriter Bill Carter, hanging out backstage at the Stones concert, has been working as Johnny Depp's personal trainer on the set of the third "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie, which has just wrapped production in Los Angeles. Keith Richards, who plays his father in the film, had a trailer next to Depp's, so Carter hung out with him quite a bit. "He's really the funniest guy I ever met," Carter said of Richards. "Just a real sweetheart." Carter and wife Ruth Ellsworth, who live with the Depps for six to eight months out of the year, met Depp when he was in town filming "What's Eating Gilbert Grape." Carter said: "We've been tight ever since." -- Michael Corcoran

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A hero's welcome

5 p.m. - Stones arrive hours before set time. The Rolling Stones received a hero's welcome from fans on Barton Springs Road when the band arrived in a fleet of black SUVs just after 4 p.m. -- hours before its 7:45 p.m. set time. Stones Keith Richards and Ron Wood then hung out backstage with Austin's 93-year-old blues piano legend Pinetop Perkins. "You boys still rollin' those stones?" Perkins asked them. The duo said " 'ello" to Susan Antone, who reminded them that Hubert Sumlin and James Cotton would be playing Antone's club tonight. "Oh yeah, we'll be by," Richards said. Also paying respects was Stones bassist Darryl Jones, who said he had heard about Antone's for years. -- Michael Corcoran.

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Last-minute glitch

4:30 p.m. - Gates still closed after 4 p.m. Tense lines backed up outside the gates at Zilker Park when concert organizers decided to push back the opening from 3 to 4 p.m. Start-me-up act Ian McLagan and the Bump Band was bumped to 5 p.m. Clement weather helped keep the barbarians at the gates from rushing the field. -- Joe Gross

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Where to find the Stones after the show

4:15 p.m. - Continental Club and Antone's good bets. So, where's the aftershow party? Stones fans still buzzed and juiced after the show ends at 10 p.m. will most likely descend on Antone's on West Fifth Street or the Continental Club on South Congress Avenue.

Legendary blues club Antone's would be a likely hot spot no matter who was playing, but with guitarist Hubert Sumlin, the Keith to Howlin' Wolf's Mick, and Muddy Waters' old harmonica player James Cotton on the bill, this is the spot where fans are most likely to glimpse members of the band. Assured to be on hand is Stones sideman Blondie Chapman, who will play a "secret" set at the end of the night. If Jagger and Richards go out for a nightcap, this will be the place.

Over at the Continental, Stones opening act (and 1978 tour sideman) Ian McLagan will close out the night in raucous fashion. His former Faces mate Ron Wood jammed with McLagan in Houston after a show in December, and he's also expected to play tonight with Mac. Charlie Watts will probably pop his head in, see that it's a mad house and call it a night.

There is one other possibility for a Mick sighting tonight. If he's got the kids, he might want to escort them to Emo's, where Method Man and other various Wu-Tang bangers will hijack the punk club.

--Michael Corcoran

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Wayne Nagel's gotta go.

4 p.m. - Austin Stones fan will put up with standing, portable toilets. A huge Stones fan, who has flown to see the band in Minneapolis and Los Angeles on previous tours, Austinite Wayne Nagel said he had mixed feelings in late July when the Stones concert was announced for Zilker. "I'm glad they're playing Austin, but who wants to stand out in a field to see them? When you're a kid you'll put up with anything to see your favorite bands. But I'd like to be able to drive my car to a show, have an assigned seat and be able to use a real bathroom instead of a port-o-potty."

This all became moot when Ian McLagan and the Bump Band were booked as the Sunday Stones concert's opening act. Nagel, a former club booker, is McLagan's tour manager and will be working at the show and watching from backstage.

— Michael Corcoran