In the late 1960s, I won the London Records single of The Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash" at one of my older cousins' Bar Mitzvah parties, in the first of many dance contests I would win in my youth. I liked the song and played it often on my record player, but I didn't become a Stones fan until almost 10 years later, when I couldn't get Some Girls off my stereo. At that time, I reacquainted myself with Mick, Keith and the boys' back catalog and have grown to admire them ever since.
However, I had never been to a Stones concert. That changed Sept. 10, 2002, when The Rolling Stones played at the United Center, in the first of a three-night concert stay in Chicago ( the other two concerts to be performed at Comiskey Park and The Aragon Ballroom ) . "Street Fighting Man" kicked off the set, which played like a greatest-hits compilation ( just in time for the release of the double-disc Forty Licks collection ) . Jagger, dressed in a red leather jacket, white shirt and tight, dark slacks, bounced around the stage, doing his trademark dance steps and stage strutting.
The giant video screen behind the band was filled with a pair of red lips leaving red kiss prints during "It's Only Rock 'N Roll." Doffing the white shirt, Jagger, who must have the metabolism of a greyhound, revealed a sleeveless black sequined T-shirt. The next song, "If You Can't Rock Me," was also drawn from the same album as the previous number, and Jagger and Keith Richards rocked the audience with a friendly embrace after the song.
Jagger strapped on a guitar, as if it was another piece of clothing, and introduced the crowd to "Don't Stop," a new song. The camera on the end of Ronnie Wood's guitar gave a roller coaster effect to the images on the giant video screen. The brass section, including trombone, trumpet and saxophones, got the chance to shine on the bluesy "On Down The Line."
Perhaps in honor of being in Chicago, "Stray Cat Blues," another blues song, followed. Jagger's facial expressions, magnified on the giant screen, were something to behold. In fact, the Stones might want to rethink the giant screens as they show every nook, cranny, crinkle and crease on the time-worn faces of Jagger, Richards and Wood. Only Watts, who has grown into his face, can get away with the extreme close-ups. A series of songs from Some Girls ( "Faraway Eyes," with Wood on pedal steel, "Shattered," and "When The Whip Comes Down," featuring Studio 54 graphics on the video ) were all well received.
Jagger put the runway, separating the large part of the T-shaped stage from the base, to good use during "Tumbling Dice," working it like a fashion model. Richards, wearing his headband and hair ornaments, took the lead on "The Worst" and "Happy." Making nearly as many costume changes as Cher, Jagger returned to sing "I Can't Turn You Loose" ( Otis Redding ) in a gray fedora and studded white trenchcoat.
While Wood and Richards appeared to be enjoying themselves immensely, Jagger encouraged the Chicago audience to "sing louder than Boston" ( the site of the first three nights of the tour ) when singing along to "Miss You." Jagger blew a mean harmonica on "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" from Sticky Fingers. The animated graphic for "Honky Tonk Woman" featured a topless woman wearing a g-string and thigh-high boots piercing the famous Rolling Stones tongue logo and then riding it like a mechanical bull. Jagger's dancing reached a fever pitch during "Satisfaction." For the next songs, which included the Muddy Waters blues classic "Mannish Boy," "You Got Me Rocking" and "Brown Sugar," Jagger, Richards, Wood, Watts and keyboard player Chuck Leavell headed for the smaller stage at the foot of the runway, which put them nearly in the center of the stadium.
The encore, which consisted of "Sympathy For The Devil," "Jumpin' Jack Flash," and yet another costume change for Jagger, was enhanced by cannons that shot red confetti into the air. I may not have gotten the 40 licks that I was anticipating, but the 22 numbers that I did get suited me, and the fervent fans, just fine.
