Hey folks. Capone in Chicago here. You can make as many jokes as you'd like about their age, their history, their substance abuse, their wrinkles, but after seeing The Rolling Stones IMAX concert documentary Shine A Light, you cannot make fun of the way they put on a show. Sure, when they stand next to each other to take their final bow, they resemble Mt. Rushmore carved in leather. Who cares? The fogies prowl and shimmy across the stage with more energy and personality than any other musicians of any age. And while you might think that the only thing seeing the band members' faces projected on an IMAX screen could accomplish is magnifying their deep and long wrinkles, what you really notice is how happy they are to be alive and entertaining the audience (which included the Clintons) at New York's fairly intimate Beacon Theatre. Having Martin Scorsese (director of the finest concert film of all time, The Last Waltz) behind the camera and a series of fine guest appearances from the likes of Jack White, Buddy Guy, and Christiana Aguilera is just icing. Scorsese does pull a few tried and true tricks out of his directing bag. Much as he did with his classic film about The Band's final show, he allows the camera to linger when other directors might be tempted to edit more furiously. He also isn't afraid to let his cameras wander the stage even when the temptation to spend 90 percent of the time on Mick Jagger's live-wire performance. Scorsese captures priceless private moments, especially knowing glances between guitarists Keith Richards and Ron Wood. They'll catch each other's eye, smile, sometimes crack up; sometimes they bump into each other with brotherly affection. And when the pair go it alone with Richards on vocals for "You Got the Silver," they are almost giddy. Watching Richards can be a full-time job. He's like an oversized tarantula with black eyes and eight arms, each played an undeniable riff. And when he smiles, he becomes 30 years younger. At one point early in the show, we even catch drummer Charlie Watts sigh with quiet exhaustion after a particularly satisfying romp through "Shattered." But let's face it people come to a Stones show to see if Jagger has lost his natural energy and athleticism. Not only hasn't he, but even his voice seems relatively unaffected by the decades. Jack White (from The White Stripes) is so clearly impressed with Jagger's singing that he lowers he usually high voice to sound like him as the two perform "Loving Cup." While Aguilera's voice is flawless and she and Mick bump and grind through "Live With Me," the band clearly has the most in common and the most respect for Buddy Guy remarkably strong and borderline evil version of the blues standard "Champagne and Reefer." After opening the show with a few expected classics ("Jumpin' Jack Flash", "She Was Hot", "Some Girls"), it was nice to see the band try a few less road-tested number, including the lovely stripped down version of "As Tears Go By," as well as "Faraway Eyes" and the Temptations cover "Just My Imagination." Scorsese also inserts some archival interview footage of the band (although strangely enough neither Brian Jones, Mick Taylor, or Bill Wyman show up to any extent throughout the film, and while the material isn't really necessary or relevant, it does provide a few laughs, especially when a staggeringly young Jagger tells one reporter two years into the Stones' career that he believes the band has one more year's worth of life as a band. The version of "Sympathy for the Devil" in Shine A Light is definitive. During the song, Jagger twists and contorts himself like a man possessed (appropriately enough). He dances so fast, in fact, he becomes an ageless blur on the massive screen. He doesn't just sing, he turns his performances into an acting exercise, part go-go dance, part catwalk strut. He finds ways of connecting with each audience member with a point or a knowing glare or a pelvic thrust; and his timing is never off. Shine A Light is glorious song after glorious song performed by the greatest rock band the world has ever seen on the only size screen that deserves their brute force. Casual fans and die-hards alike are going to eat this baby up. Capone capone@aintitcool.com
