Keith Urban jams with The Stones

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Stones delight fans with LA gig

Mick Jagger is readying for an anniversary tour with the Stones. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

FOR one night only, the Rolling Stones were an up-and-coming band again.

The legendary group rocked a small club in Los Angeles on Saturday night for a minuscule crowd compared to the thousands set to see them launch their 50 and Counting anniversary tour a week later on May 3 at the Staples Center.

The band kicked off Saturday's hush-hush 90-minute concert at the Echoplex in the hip Echo Park neighborhood with "You Got Me Rocking" before catapulting into a mix of new and old material, as well as their bluesy covers of classics from Otis Redding ("That's How Strong My Love Is"), Chuck Berry ("Little Queenie") and The Temptations ("Just My Imagination").

"Welcome to Echo Park, a neighborhood that's always coming up - and I'm glad you're here to welcome an up-and-coming band," lead singer Mick Jagger joked after the second song of the evening, "Respectable."

Despite clocking in several decades as a band, Jagger, drummer Charlie Watts and guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood showed no signs of slowing down on Saturday.

Jagger, who ditched a black-and-white track jacket emblazoned with the band's logo after the first few songs, worked the crowd into a singalong frenzy with "Miss You," complete with a harmonica solo from the strutting frontman.

Tickets to the Echoplex concert were sold earlier in the day for $20 ($A19.45) each - a fraction of what tickets to the tour cost.

Music fans line up to watch The Rolling Stones perform at Echoplex in Los Angeles. Picture: Getty Images/Kevin Mazur

Hundreds of fans lined up outside the El Rey Theatre across town for a chance to attend the spontaneous show.

Buyers were limited to one ticket, and they were required to pay with cash, show a government-issued ID, wear a wristband with their name on it and be photographed. Their names were verified at the venue, which has a capacity of about 700.

Cameras and smartphones weren't allowed inside the Echoplex, which usually plays host to hipster bands and mash-up dance parties. The lack of personal recording devices made the Stones' performance feel even more exclusive and old school, freeing concertgoers' hands of the gizmos that have become commonplace at concerts nowadays and further bonding the crowd, many of whom built up camaraderie during the confusing ticket lottery earlier in the day.

Toward the end of the show, the band was joined by former Stones guitarist Mick Taylor for their version of Robert Johnson's "Love in Vain," as well as "Midnight Rambler."

The band, which was backed by Darryll Jones on bass, Chuck Leavell on keys, Bobby Keys on sax and Bernard Fowler and Lisa Fischer as backup singers, encored with the hits "Brown Sugar" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash."

"(This is) the first show of the tour, probably the best one," Jagger said at the end of the set.

Bruce Willis, Gwen Stefani and Skrillex were among the famous faces in the sold-out crowd.

Rumours of the surprise show spread across social networks last week after the band teased the appearance on their Twitter accounts. The dance-pop band New Build, which was originally scheduled to play the Echoplex on Saturday, was first to leak details about the performance.

"Our gig got shifted b/c the Rolling Stones are playing Echoplex," the band tweeted Friday. They joked that they were looking forward to "having it out" with the Stones.

The Rolling Stones performed a few dates together in London, New York City and Newark, New Jersey, last winter but didn't announce a tour until this month. They will play 17 dates in the United States but may add more down the line. The lowest price for tickets to the show at the Staples Center, which has a capacity of about 20,000, is $250.

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Stones may visit Australia on tour

Mick Jagger live in concert in London on November 29, 2012. Source: AFP

THE Rolling Stones could still visit Australia on their upcoming tour - with the rockers saying more shows may yet be added.

"Normally when you announce a tour like this, you announce part of it, you leave it to be, you see what happens, you might do a date here and another date there. You don't want to be completely hand fast, so you do leave some dates in between," Mick Jagger said in an interview Thursday. "So we'll see what happens."

The Stones announced this week that they'll kick off their 50 and Counting tour in Los Angeles; the date will be announced later. The second show is in Oakland, Calif., on May 5. They'll also visit Las Vegas, Toronto, Chicago and Boston, and wrap in Philadelphia on June 18.

On Friday, the band said second shows have been added in Toronto and Chicago.

The announcement came months after the foursome performed a sold-out, five-city stint in New York, New Jersey and London.

Jagger called those shows a test.

"We just said, 'Let's do these five shows before Christmas and see how it goes and see if we enjoy it, see if the audience seems to have a good time, and if that works, then we'll try to see if we'll do more,'" he said. "We still wanted to keep it kind of limited. We didn't want to have that yawning (tour) of hundreds of shows lined up for the next 18 months. I just thought it would be good if we booked a small tour, and then, you know, if we want to do more, we'll do more."

The Stones have at least three days in between tour stops, a sign that more shows may be added. Or the time could be used for rest.

"I think it's a little bit of both," Keith Richards said in a separate interview Thursday. "The band wants to pace themselves, but at the same time ... I guess what's been announced is the bare-bones and we will play it by ear from there."

The Stones' last global tour kicked off in 2005 and wrapped in 2007.

Jagger, 69, said he's getting older - and performing can be tough.

"I just have to train a lot and keep really fit. I want to do these moves, but I can't do them because if I did, I'd probably screw up," he said, laughing. "You just got to do what's within your capabilities. I don't want it to look wrong, so I'm going to stay within my boundaries."

The Stones' recent tour featured special guests such as Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga, and there could be more surprises onstage.

"I have a feeling there's more openness about playing it the same way," Richards said. "I can't name names or make promises, but that area of the show is open."

The veteran band, which also includes Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood, will headline the Glastonbury Festival on June 29 and will perform at London's Hyde Park on July 6. Former bandmate Mick Taylor, a member of the Stones from 1969 through 1974, will be a special guest throughout the tour.

"I realised how much, not just (how I) myself have missed it, but I could tell from the other guys. They don't say so, but I can tell," Richards said of performing together. "It's what we're good at."

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Rolling Stones bypass Australia

Bypassing Oz: Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones at the 02 Arena in 2012. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images

THE Rolling Stones have announced dates for their 50th anniversary world tour - and have bypassed Australia.

The tour starts in Los Angeles in May and will tour the US through until June.

The Stones will also play the Glastonbury Festival in the UK on June 29, before a show in London's Hyde Park on July 6.

The Hyde Park show will see Melbourne band the Temper Trap open for the Stones on a bill that also includes the Vaccines and Gary Clark Jnr.

The gig marks 44 years since the Stones played a pivotal show in Hyde Park in 1969, two days after the death of founding member Brian Jones. The Hyde Park show was also the first gig for guitarist Mick Taylor.

Taylor abruptly cancelled his Australian tour, due to start next week, citing illness. However Taylor, who was in the band until 1974, has been announced as a special guest on the Stones' new tour.

Australian fans hoping for a tour will be disappointed - the Stones played shows in the UK and US as recently as late last year.

But the band may announce further dates - including possible Australian shows - after their UK and US performances.

In a statement, frontman Mick Jagger said the extra dates were added so the band could continue to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

"We did a few shows in London and New York last year... and had such a good time that we thought... let's do some more," Jagger said.

"It's a good show. Lots of the classic stuff everyone wants to hear... with a few little gems tucked in here and there. The stage is shaped like lips and goes off into the venue so I get to run around in the crowd. It's great fun to be able to get that close to the audience."

Last year at the launch of their documentary Crossfire Hurricane Jagger said the band had plans to tour Australia.

Their last visit here was 2006.
 

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Rolling Stones to play Glastonbury

The Rolling Stones will play the UK's massive Glastonbury Festival in June. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

THE Rolling Stones will be taking the stage again this summer at one of Britain's leading music festivals.

The Stones' appearance at the 2013 Glastonbury Festival - set to take place from June 28 to June 30 - was revealed Wednesday in a line-up posted on the festival's website.

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and The Stones recently held a series of concerts to celebrate their 50th year together and there have been rumours of more activity.

Australians Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and Xavier Rudd are also in this year's Glastonbury line-up.

Before those shows, the Stones hadn't performed in concert together since 2007.

They confirmed their June 29 Glastonbury appearance in a post on their official website.

Mumford & Sons and Elvis Costello also are on the lineup for the festival, held on a farm in southwestern England.

The lineup also includes: Public Enemy, Tyler, the Creator, Cat Power, Phoenix, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Hives, Portishead, Vampire Weekend, Arctic Monkeys, Kenny Rogers, Alabama Shakes, Nas, Sinead O'Connor, Lucinda Williams, Evan Dando and Glen Hansard, along with hundreds of other acts.

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