In what has become something of a tradition for “the world’s greatest rock ’n’ roll band,” the Rolling Stones previewed their latest major North American tour with a surprise theater gig in Los Angeles last night. If it weren’t enough to catch one of the biggest acts in the world do their thing in such an intimate venue, however, the band went the extra “Moonlight Mile” and performed their entire Sticky Fingers record live for the first time ever.
Playing to a star-studded crowd that included the likes of Jack Nicholson, Joe Pesci, Bruce Willis, Patricia Arquette, and, weirdly enough, One Direction heartthrob Harry Styles, the Stones kicked off the show with a well-worn rendition of “Start Me Up” before digging into their acclaimed 1971 release. Some songs, like “Sister Morphine” and “I Got the Blues,” have rarely made it into the band’s set list in their last few outings, while they hadn’t performed slide blues number “You Gotta Move” live in nearly four decades. The already special show was made even more so with the addition of the B.B. King classic “Rock Me Baby” as a tribute to the blues icon, who died just last week.
There’s no telling for certain whether the band plans to repeat their Sticky Fingers performance along each stop of their Zip Code tour, which kicks off in San Diego on May 24. But with a new reissue set to promote, the wind certainly seems to be blowing in that direction.