Rain Does Not Dare Fall On The Rolling Stones (Concert Review)

You know how you walk into a Michaels or your local craft store and there are those projects that say the appropriate age for a person to do it is 9 to 99? Well that is how I felt the Rolling Stones concert Saturday night (20 June 2015) at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was. There were fans that were at their 100th Rolling Stones concert or fans that were at their 1st Rolling Stones concert. I was surprised by the variety in age of the fans, and I liked that.

Hours before the show concert goers set up radios and speakers at their tail gates and had a variety of Rolling Stones songs playing. It could have been Sticky Fingers or the local radio station that was playing Stones songs all day. The rain did not stop anyone to have a good time before the concert. Some where hanging out meeting other Rolling Stones fans were others were playing their favorite tailgate games to get hyped for the concert. The forecast was not looking good for that night and a flood warning came across everyone's phone giving the Rolling Stones fans a little worry if the the concert was still going to happen that night. 

AWOLNATION took the stage as the special guest for the Rolling Stones when the rain was still hanging around. Right at nine o'clock the rain stopped and a rainbow appeared over Heinz Field with the Rolling Stones concert being the pot of gold at the end. (Now that I know that I am going to follow a rainbow to the end every time I see one!) 

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, and Ronnie Wood played to a sold out show to around 55,000 fans that put on their best tongue and lips shirt or their best rock 'n roll attire. My favorite Rolling Stones outfit I saw that night was a gentleman that had a button down short sleeve shirt with the cover of The Rolling Stones album, Some Girls. We all packed that stadium to do one thing, and that was to enjoy the Rolling Stones on their 15 date North American tour titled, Zip Code, that was announced earlier this year.

Filling the Pittsburgh air the first chord of "Jumping Jack Flash" made the energy explode in the stadium, and that energy did not lessen one bit the whole night. Mick used the whole stage dancing and getting the crowed involved in each song. Keith and Ronnie were playing their guitar with passion and intensity. The smirks that would show from these two during the song you could tell they still enjoys performing as much as they did when they were younger. Charlie was sat at his drum set wearing the oh so fancy black and gold stripped socks and being the main rhythm for the songs and playing the drums like champion. You could tell that all four of the guys put all their passion in playing their instruments and singing and putting a wonderful show on for the fans. Mick, Keith, Charlie, and Ronnie show on stage that they are not just performing for 50+ and 40 years for a job but because they enjoy it and still want to be a band and experience everything that has to come with being a band. Joining The Rolling Stones on stage was the amazing Lisa Fischer who belted out the vocals with Mick on "Gimme Shelter", Bernard Fowler (backing vocals), Matt Clifford (keyboard and horns), Tim Ries (alto saxophone), Karl Denson (tenor saxophone), Darryl Jones (bass guitar), and Chuck Leavell (keys). On the song "You Can't Always Get What You Want" The Rolling Stones were joined on stage by the Penn State University Choir. 

The Rolling Stones first played in Pittsburgh in 1964 at the West View Park Danceland to about 300 "heckling" Pittsburgers, as Mick said it was worded in the newspaper he had read. Saturday night was the first night that The Rolling Stones played in Heinz Field. "We all were brought up on those beans." Mick said. The last time they played in Pittsburgh was in 2005 at PNC Park.  Mick Jagger brought out his Pittsburgh lingo saying "How yinz guys doing?" after one of the songs, and Keith Richards said after his two songs "That is rock ‘n’ roll! Thank you very much! Gold rings on ya". Perhaps a shout out to the 5 Super Bowl rings that the Steelers have? I think so! 

Mick Jagger gave us a little history lesson about Pittsburgh telling the crowd that the Big Mac was invented in Pittsburgh and so were pull tabs. He went on to say that Pittsburgh is home of Andy Warhol the creator of the album art for Stick Fingers, an album that they rereleased this month and was originally released in 1971 (Read my blog post about Sticky Fingers if you want to know more about this album). 

Setlist

1.   Jumpin' Jack Flash 

2.   It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It) 

3.   All Down the Line 

4.   Tumbling Dice 

5.   Doom and Gloom 

6.   Bitch 

7.   Moonlight Mile 

8.   Paint It Black (by request)

9.   Honky Tonk Women (followed by band introductions)

10. Before They Make Me Run (Keith Richards on lead vocals)

11. Happy (Keith Richards on lead vocals)

12.  Midnight Rambler 

13.  Miss You 

14. Gimme Shelter 

15. Start Me Up 

16. Sympathy for the Devil 

17. Brown Sugar

Encore:

18. You Can't Always Get What You Want (with The Penn State University Concert Choir)
19 (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction 

I went into this concert with high expectations from The Rolling Stones 1. because I know they had years and years of doing this and 2. because I watched their Hyde Park concert on DVD a lot to get ready for the concert in Pittsburgh. Let's just say I was not disappointed one bit! The atmosphere in Heinz Field with all The Rolling Stones fans singing along; shredding their air guitar and air drums with Ronnie, Keith, and Charlie; and showing their best Mick Jagger moves made it an amazing night! Like I said before Mick, Keith, Charlie, and Ronnie "Spaghetti Loops" Wood show passion and love for the music and the fans when they perform on stage and that puts the icing on the cake for a great night. I thought all the songs they performed were all phenomenal and it was really hard to choose two that were my favorite, but I would have to say that "Doom and Gloom" and "Midnight Rambler" were my favorite if I was forced to choose. If I got the chance again I would go see The Rolling Stones in concert time and time again.

Have you seen The Rolling Stones in concert or have a vivid memory that involved The Rolling Stones? What is your favorite concert that you went too? How about you share your experience? 

Slide What?

Slide guitar is used in a variety types of music from blues to rock to country to pop. The method of slide guitar is using an object that is placed on one of your fingers on the hand that is playing on the frets of the guitar called the slide. Then the slide is used to slide along the strings to created a smooth transition between pitch and allowing expressive vibrato. 

No matter if you hear people say they are going to play the "slide guitar" or the "bottleneck guitar" they are both the same thing. It is called bottleneck guitar because guitarists would make slides out of beer bottle or wine bottlenecks in the earlier days and they are still made of bottlenecks to this day. Slides can be made out of different material like glass, brass, or anything you can get your hands on. There is even some guitarist that use drumsticks or a hollowed bone as their slide. The different material that you use will produce different sound. A brass slide will produce a more brighter sound where as a glass slide will produce a more of a mellow sound. Also, the thickness of the slide will determine how easy it is to play with a slide. A thick slide will move slide across the strings more easily, where as a thin slide will need to be pressed on the strings more to produce a sound. However, you don't want a slide that is too heavy because it will take more that one finger to steady the slide.

The slide is usually a tube that fits snug around a finger. There is no right finger to place the slide on but the pinky finger,like how Muddy Waters plays, is usually the most common because you still have three other fingers to fret the notes. Me personally I play with the slide on my middle finger because that is the most comfortable. It is just all your preference in which finger you choose to wear it on.  

Slide guitar became the staple in the Blues.Willy Brown, Son House, Johnny Shines and Robert Johnson all played slide on acoustics, but by the 1940's slide guitar was becoming popular on electric guitar by Hound Dog Taylor, Robert Nighthawk, Muddy Waters, and Elmore James. This open the door for a new way to be playing slide in music which would later evolve into rock 'n roll. 

As rock 'n roll was taking off around world a lot of guitarist took up the slide to add a flare to their songs. The Rolling Stones' (You thought I could go a whole blog post and not mention the Rolling Stones did you?) guitarists Brian Jones, Mick Taylor, and Ronnie Wood all played/plays the slide on The Rolling Stones albums and live. When playing slide the guitar is usually tuned to an open tuning like Open G or Open E. However, Mick Taylor is notably for playing the slide in standard tuning, which is more challenging than playing the slide in open tuning. Some of The Rolling Stones songs that contain a slide that I personally like and recommend getting your ears acquainted with them are "No Expectations" from Beggars Banquet, "You Got the Silver" from Let It Bleed,  and "Jigsaw Puzzle" also from Beggars Banquet. 

Whether you choose to listen the artist that played slides or try your hand at playing the slide you will love the sound that comes from the guitar. 

Can of Fingers: A Post About a Rolling Stones Album

On April 23, 1971 the iconic art work done by Andy Warhol emerged into the world as a part of Sticky Fingers by the Rolling Stones. The album art shows a up close and personal shot of a man's zipper area of his pants. There is even a functional zipper and a belt cut out that shows the tighty whities of the man who is on the cover of this Rolling Stones album. There is an alternative album art that was released in Spain, which had a can of fingers, because the original album art was censored. Sticky Fingers is the ninth UK album and the eleventh US album that the Rolling Stones released. However, this album was the first album that was released under their newly formed record label titled Rolling Stones Records. Mick Jagger (Lead Vocals, Guitar), Keith Richards (Guitar, Vocals), Mick Taylor (Guitar), Bill Wyman (Bass Guitar), and Charlie Watts (Drums) are the members of the Rollings Stones that appear on Sticky Fingers.

Sticky Fingers is also the first full appearance on a Rolling Stones album by guitarist, Mick Taylor. Taylor took the place of the late Brian Jones in 1969, and he would stay with the band until 1974. In these five years Mick Taylor toured with the band, and also recorded more albums with the band like Exile On Main St where he was credited with co-writer of the song "Ventilator Blues". 

Considered one of the BEST Rolling Stones album they have ever released, Sticky Fingers, was granted triple platinum certification in the United States. It includes songs like "Brown Sugar", "Wild Horses", "Can't You Hear Me Knocking", and my personal favorite off the album "Moonlight Mile". 

It was late at night and Mick Jagger and Mick Taylor were together with their guitars and that is when "Moonlight Mile" was write. Jagger plays the lead acoustic guitar rift in the song, and Taylor supports that with a reworked guitar piece that was perviously written by Keith Richards ("Japanese Thing"). Taylor also suggested that there be strings added into that songs that is played by Paul Buckmaster. Also, the Rolling Stones usual trumpeter plays piano on "Moonlight Mile", Jim Price. Mick Jagger thought it was easier to write this song with Mick Taylor (Keith Richards was not present). However, when it was time to put it onto Sticky Fingers Taylor was not credited as a co-writer of this song that he said he was promised too. Even though people say this song is about drugs and the rock n roll life Mick Jagger recalls it meaning something different. Jagger said the inspiration for this song was his loneliness, being out on tour, and elation of returning home while the Rolling Stones were on a European Tour in the summer of 1970. Keith Richards and Mick Jagger consider "Moonlight Mile" as one of the most under appreciated of all the Rolling Stone songs. 

Sticky Fingers was reissue on June 9, 2015 with the original track list and unheard/rare songs. The album art is still of the one that Andy Warhol designed for the original in 1970. The reissue coincides with the Rolling Stones North American tour, Zip Code Tour. It also includes reworks of songs that were on the original track list and a couple of live songs by the Rolling Stones. The reissue vinyl format still includes a functional zipper on the cover.

Track Listing of Sticky Fingers (original issue)  

1. Brown Sugar 

2. Sway

3. Wild Horses

4. Can't You Hear Me Knocking 

5. You Gotta Move

6. Bitch 

7. I Got the Blues 

8. Sister Morphine

9. Dead Flowers 

10. Moonlight Mile

*All pictures were taken from The Rolling Stones' Facebook Page.*

Where to find...

The Rolling Stones: 

Twitter: @RollingStones

Facebook: www.facebook.com/therollingstones

Instagram: therollingstones

Website: www.therollingstones.com 

Me:

Twitter: @ATodero 

The Non-Rolling Stones Side of My Record Collection (Part 2)

Hello there! You want to take a look into my record collection again? You are in luck! Here are five  records in my collection that you haven't seen in any other of my blog posts. Enjoy reading a little about each record and what my favorite songs are off that record! 

1. Simon and Garfunkel: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme

Who doesn't love a record that is named after the common herbs used in the kitchen? I discovered Simon and Garfunkel's music through my Mom, and the first song I heard from them was Mrs. Robinson, which was released two years after this album. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme was the third studio album by this American music duo. It was released on October 10,1966 on the Columbia Record Label. My favorite song this album is Homeward Bound. 

2. The Who: TOMMY 

"Listen to TOMMY with a candle burning and you will see your entire future." The 2000 film Almost Famous says. Does this work? I do not know. Why won't you have a go a tell me what happens. I knew of The Who but did not give any of their music a listen until my brother gave me this record because he had two and a half copies in his collection. The Who was a British band that started around the same time as The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and The Faces. I like to call this the "The" era because it seemed like every Rock and Roll band tagged "The" in front of their band name. TOMMY was the fourth studio album released by The Who on May 23, 1969 on the record label called Track. My favorite songs off of this album are Amazing Journey and Welcome.  

3. James Taylor: JT 

JT is James Taylor eighth studio album, which was released in June 1977. James Taylor did a cover of "Handy Man" by Jimmy Jones, which charted number six on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in the 1978 Grammy Awards. This record was nominated for Album of the Year but fell short to Fleatwood Mac's Rumours. JT is James Taylor's biggest selling record in his career. My favorite songs off this album are Your Smiling Face and Terra Nova.  

4. Ed Sheeran: + 

Released on September 9, 2011 was the debut studio album for this British singer-songwriter. Before + was released Ed Sheeran independently released five EP's that he would sell out of his rucksack while he was sleeping on friend's couches looking for gigs to play after he dropped out of school at the age of 16. It sold over 42,000 copies within the first week of being release in the United States, which is the highest for a debut album by a British artist since Susan Boyle's I Dreamed a Dream in 2009. The A Team is the well known single that came off of this album. I have a weakness for colored vinyl and clear vinyl so with + being a orange clear vinyl made me very satisfied when I got this record! It is one of my favorite features of this record. My favorite songs on + are You Need Me, I Don't Need You and Give Me Love. Also the hidden track after Give Me Love called Parting Glass, which is a Scottish and Irish traditional song covered by Ed Sheeran. 

5. Muddy Waters: Folk Singer 

I discovered Muddy Waters and started listening to him because of The Rolling Stones. It was when Keith Richards said he saw Mick Jagger carrying Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records at the train station and that is what started The Rolling Stones. So I thought "hmm maybe I should take a listen to Muddy" and this was the first record I bought of his. This is the fourth studio album released by this amazing Blues artist in April 1964,and is the only all-acoustic album released by Muddy. This album did not chart in any country but was praised by listeners for the high sound quality. However, in 2003 this Muddy Waters album was ranked number 280 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. My favorite songs off of this album are Long Distance and Cold Weather Blues.