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Seeing Rolling Stones show in Charlottesville starts him up Date published: 10/11/2005 By ROB HEDELT CHARLOTTESVILLE--Even Yes, I've heard they put on And, yes, they've got a hit catalogue few bands in the world can match. But Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, past their prime and still setting the stage on fire? I somehow doubted it. It took me about 30 seconds at the University of Virginia's Scott Stadium to eat those words and have my respect for both the Stones and the power of rock 'n' roll reinvigorated. It's hard to explain what it is about these graying musicians and their show that makes seeing them as incendiary as the pyrotechnics they set off at times to punctuate their performance. You could say it's the raw edge to their music, and the way they mix minimalist musical parts to create a rich, layered and truly gut-wrenching sound. Or you could talk about the energy they exude onstage, the dancing, the prancing and the nonstop action that had listeners up and moving from the get-go. You could even mention the use--the judicious use, thank you very much--of the video streams, the color screens and the stage that motored from one end of the stadium to the other. But what really explains the Stones' appeal, the thing that sets them apart from those who try to ape their stage presence, is the way they mix all of those with just the right amount of those rock show ingredients. Simply put, and I'm as surprised as anyone to say it, in a world filled with pretenders, they are still the real deal in rock 'n' roll. Something about the way Jagger cranks it up from the opening chord and never stops, a true natural phenomenon. Something in the way Richards mixes his gravel-grinding chords and his rock star poses that make him the picture you'll have of guitar star from now on.
1. Be respectful. No personal attacks.
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