Wrinkled and lined but still rolling on!
View(s):Earlier this year, my niece who lives in Australia asked me what I was doing in November. After a moment’s thought I said, “Nothing”.
Mick Jagger and his men: Left behind a fully satisfied crowd, having lived up to their reputation as the best rock band in the world
“Great,” she said. “Because I’ve just bought you a ticket to see the Rolling Stones.” So that is how I ended up on a warm and cloudy November afternoon sitting in a vineyard in the Hunter Valley, a three-hour drive from Sydney, waiting for four ageing rockers to entertain me.
In the hours it took for the ‘14 on Fire’ concert to begin, the crowd of 20,000 trickled in, a bewildering disparate array of old hippies, baby boomers and trendy young things, although overwhelmingly Caucasian – Asians and blacks were thin on the ground. Many sported T-shirts of concerts gone by while others were dressed in retro 70s outfits or in merchandise from the latest tour.
As dusk deepened, the anticipation arose and finally they burst on to the vast stage in clouds of smoke, four wrinkled and lined old men – Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie 
Wood and Charlie Watts — who belie their 70-plus years with energy and verve. Their first performance was in 1962, when I was barely out of my nappies. Little did anyone dream that more than 50 years on, they would still be mesmerising audiences with their powerful live performances.
Jumping Jack Flash starts off the show followed by Let’s Spend The Night Together, It’s Only Rock And Roll and Tumbling Dice, then a few slower numbers. Once they get into classics such as Honky Tonk Women, the crowd is on its feet, dancing right along.
Jagger introduces the band members who include saxophonists, keyboard players and vocalists and takes a break while Keith Richards does a few slow songs.
On his return, Jagger brings on guitarist Mick Taylor for Midnight Rambler and goes on to sing and play Miss You. He is later joined by Lisa Fischer, a back-up singer with a powerful, soaring voice.
Suddenly Jagger disappears, the stage is awash with red light and red flares shoot up from either side of it. When he comes back, Jagger is wearing a long red cape to perform Sympathy For The Devil as cartoon images of women flash on the giant screens on either side. (“Not very politically correct,” mutters my niece).
The crowd: Disparate array of old hippies, baby boomers and trendy young things
After a few more numbers the concert seems to finish as the band leaves the stage but there has to be more. A choir begins to sing You Can’t Always Get What You Want, as the band returns, adding an almost spiritual feel to the song.
The grand finale, of course, is Satisfaction, which sends the crowd into a frenzy of stamping and swaying as Jagger struts his way across the stage, gesturing and skipping.Then they are gone for good in a burst of fireworks, leaving behind a fully satisfied crowd, having lived up to their reputation as the best rock band in the world. It may be only rock and roll but it is a winner all the way.
-Another ageing rocker