Given their 55 year career, you can only imagine the Rolling Stones’
vaults are overflowing with magical goodness. Most of the concerts released
on video that comprise the From The Vault are from the distant
past, but Sticky Fingers: Live At The Fonda Theatre 2015
is a more recent show. When you consider the small venue in the heart of
Hollywood and the set the Stones played, its significance cannot be underestimated.
As the opening show on the Zip Code tour, the intimate Fonda Theatre gave
the Stones the opportunity to limber up and play a no-frills show for a
small audience — something they’ve traditionally done in the
past.
Instead of promoting a new album on this tour, the band celebrated the
reissue of Sticky Fingers, so for the first and only time
they played the entire album live at the Fonda, giving fans a chance to
see rare performances of songs like “You Gotta Move,” “Sister
Morphine” and “Moonlight Mile,” on which Mick Jagger competently
plays the opening chords. Sure, it would have been even more special to
have Mick Taylor up for “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking,”
though no one can say the version at the Fonda failed to match expectations.
Random commentary from band members and associates are sprinkled in before
key songs, including insights to the Sticky Fingers cover, memories of recording
the album and other trivial matters that appeal to fact finders. The set
is book-ended by “Start Me Up” and “Jumpin’ Jack
Flash — two songs not on Sticky Fingers yet guaranteed
crowd pleasers each and every time. Though the real meat of the set is Sticky
Fingers, the DVD and Blu-ray are enhanced by three bonus tracks
— “All Down the Line,” “When The Whip Comes Down”
and “I Can’t Turn You Loose.” Stacked up against other
From The Vault titles, perhaps what makes Sticky Fingers: Live At
The Fonda Theatre 2015 stand out the most is that the Rolling Stones
are still a pretty damn good rock and roll band.
~ Shawn Perry
