Rolling Stones in Urmston – 50th Anniversary – Review – 29 November 2013

You could be forgiven for wanting to stay indoors on a damp and dismal Friday in November but to those who braved the cold there were delights in store at a very special night of rock and roll held in Urmston last Friday at Flixton Academy of Performing Arts.  Fifty years to the day since the town had played host to an embryonic Rolling Stones it was time for the years to be rolled back and The Stones revisited bestowing their very own style of rock and blues on the party.  The entire evening was one of pure delight and of the same high standard that the organisers had attained with their Beatles anniversary in the summer.  

First on stage were local Stretford band The Vincents who also had opened the summer festivities.  Serving up a rich and gooey slice of musical cake they rattled through all the hits of the era with more than accomplished style; You Really Got Me and Louie Louie being for me the standouts from their own time touring in the 1960s.  

Next was local girl Tara O’Neill continuing the theme with three songs that epitomise the female vocalist canon of the 60s; Be My Baby, Son of a Preacher Man and Cilla Black’s You’re My World.  Clearly this young star in the firmament has a voice that invites comparison with current singers such as Adele and Emile Sandé and it is only to be hoped that this is the start of a glittering career despite her tender years.

Then came the main event; tribute act The Stones.  Bounding onto the stage to Start Me Up there then followed not one but two sets spanning the earliest Rolling Stones tracks that would undoubtedly have been played at the original gig such as Come On but also bang up to date with Doom and Gloom from last year’s albums whilst of course including all the tried and tested anthems of the Rolling Stones; Brown Sugar, Jumping Jack Flash, I Wanna Be Your Man, Satisfaction – the list is endless.  It’s all too easy for tribute bands or even the originals to stand on a stage and rattle through the catalogue but not this one.  Audience interaction was an integral part of the show and only served to further the party atmosphere along with the fact that the band themselves delivered a note and pitch perfect facsimile of a great rock and roll band.  I don’t think even the real Mick talks to the audience that much…..  

Everything was there; the energy, the drive, the moment.  This band must come highly recommended and it’s a testament to the high production values of the organisers that this was the band booked.    It might not have had the same “wow” factor as the Beatles in the summer for sheer size of event but it certainly did for the quality and experience.

So what next for Something Good Productions?  Who knows but I wouldn’t put away those dancing shoes just yet.