Charlie's Good Tonight Dec 11, 2009 (14 years ago) The Bridge Hotel Rozelle, New South Wales, Australia
Australian Alternative Rock
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Charlie's Good Tonight - Bridge Hotel Rozelle, 11 December, 2009
A special gig to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the famed Rolling Stones in Concert album swings into Sydney.
The dark and drab Bridge Hotel band room was temporarily transformed back to November, 1969 and Madison Square Garden for the night by Tim Rogers and his hand-picked band The Monkey Men. The Rolling Stones album in question - Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! - was a landmark work, widely considered one of the finer live albums ever released. The band were approaching their peak creatively, having just released Let it Bleed - the first in what is considered their triumvirate of classic records - and were chomping at the bit to tour, having been off the road for almost two years. I say all this as way of introduction, as the album was performed so dutifully and faithful to the original - in both set list and sound - tonight felt just like a scaled down version of actually being there.
The 'Stones made a great go of selling American blues music back to America, and tonight in the first bracket of songs: 'Jumpin' Jack Flash', Chuck Berry's 'Carol', 'Stray Cat Blues', 'Love in Vain' and 'Under My Thumb' they sold the blues back to the Bridge Hotel.
The musicians, including Tim's fellow You Am I guitar-slinger Davey Lane, former Snout frontman Ross McClennan on bass and Ian Kinnear doing his best Charlie Watts impression - obviously have a high regard for the record, and were playing the songs almost note perfect. Almost too much so, in fact - some sections saw them using every ounce of their concentration just to replicate the right notes, which detracted from the performance and visual side of things a shade; at some points you craved a bit of spontaneity or improvisation.
Tim Rogers made a believably bawdy Mick Jagger, affecting his hyperactive strut, wiry skinniness and overt sexuality to a tee.
Things really got cracking after a rollicking 'Midnight Rambler' segued into 'Sympathy For the Devil' and didn't let up - 'Honky Tonk Woman', met 'Street Fighting Man' before one last hit of 'Satisfaction', preceding a ripping encore of 'Gimme Shelter' and 'Brown Sugar'. While Charlie was good that famed night, but they were all good on this one.
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