The Rolling Stones' Some Girls
Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto
April 17, 2008
by Live Music Head
I remember hearing Joe's Garage overhead
as we assembled together at the front
of the Phoenix Concert Theatre stage.
But Classic Albums Live was presenting
Some Girls by the Rolling Stones
for their 5th year anniversary show,
and before I knew it they were off to a great start!
As the band started into Miss You
my first thought was wow,
it's like they dropped the needle on the record.
Jerome Godboo was playing harp and
"Whatsa matter with you boy!", we all sang.
Braxton Hicks blasted the sax and
Craig Martin played guitar for the Whip.
I was hoping for "she doesn't fucking know!"
but of course we got the studio version of
Just My Imagination, note for note.
At one point,
James Gray played guitar and keyboards at the same time,
and I loved the drum bashes at the end of Lies.
Faraway Eyes, my favourite song from the record,
was delivered vocally by standing tall with hands clasped in front.
But from the area of the pedal steel,
the feedback blast was a real headwrecker.
Respectable was another highlight,
and the bass was groovy throughout.
"How would you rate Keith Richards as a rock star 1-10?"was overheard in the conversation of our group.
"10 of course, but John Lennon is also a real rock star."
"No. To me the Beatles are not rock stars."Before They Make Me Run...
"Keith is the epitome".
Beast of Burden gets a fancy light show
and suddenly all the men around me
are commenting on the backup singers.
Yes, the ladies do have sexy cleavage,
but I wish I could hear their voices better.
Shattered!
I loved the "shadoobie" read, hilarious!
And the hand clapping.
The floor was shaking beneath me
when the microphone was removed from the stand,
hand-held...
"up, up up!"
"tough, tough, tough!"
And it rocked, really rocked.
The special feature of the anniversary show was Merry Clayton,
the voice from the original Gimme Shelter recording,
who was brought in from L.A. for this performance.
Clayton seemed pleased to be up there
and she's still a powerhouse of vocals,
but her big song was in a lower key.
The overall sound was disappointing
and the distortion at certain points was ear-piercing and hurt.
I impressed myself when I recognized Dylan
after only a line or two,
but how odd to hear The Times They Are a-Changin' at this show.
Clayton as a survivor of her era
and as a singer gets all my respect,
but then I couldn't see Merry anymore as she sank down low.
Honky Tonk Woman
Tumbling Dice
and Happy Birthday CAL
was all a little too over the top for this girl,
but Can't You Hear Me Knockin' was a knock-out
for the percussion, horn blasts, and the drums!
As was the Loving Cup duet with Karen Leblanc.
Craig Martin really showcased his harp playing as well,
as Midnight Rambler was awesome.
But I really wish I hadn't read the outros list before the show.
Playing an album in its entirety takes
enough away from spontaneity.
It would have been more fun to be surprised by
100 Years Ago and Heartbreaker.
Over all, the sound problems were all over the map
and seemed to go from bad to worse.
I may not know much about sound and all its complexities,
but nevertheless,
I won't be including this show with the best of CAL.
Instead, I look forward to the next one.
http://www.classicalbumslive.com/
