bad to the stone

Lord help me, in setting the video for Buffy last night, I happened to catch 3 minutes of the Rolling Stones, filmed at some recent gig (probably plugging their new DVD), on TOTP2. I couldn't tell you what song they were playing. Let's be charitable and say it was one I didn't know.

Jagger was doing his vowel movements - didn't understand a single word. Also seemed to be badly mixed or underperformed, because I really couldn't hear what he was singing.

And then it struck me. In the same manner as the urban myth (?) about them not miking up Brian Jones' instrument(s) in the last year or so, the sound engineers at a Stones gig have to tweak things so that only the vaguely competent members of the band can be heard.

Because I couldn't hear Keef and Ronnie's guitars either. Basically, you could hear the bassist, Charlie, and whoever was laying the keys.

Keith Richards has very bad posture, doesn't he? I mean, he doesn't hold the guitar like he knows how to play it. That man does not look cool with a guitar. He holds it like he's trying to look cool with it, but doesn't know what it is.

Bad memories of the Wembley concert in 1982. I still want my money back.