Keep On Moving: Exile at The Razor – Rolling Stones at Gillette Stadium, Foxboro on July 7 I first saw the Rolling Stones in fall 1989 on their Steel Wheels tour. At the time, being an adolescent punk rocker, I didn’t give a shit about “corporate rock” like the Stones. My dad, who loves the Stones, had tickets for the show at the old Foxboro Stadium. Someone had cancelled last minute so he had an extra ticket for the show and asked me to go. I weighed for a second like any moronic teenager whether to continue skateboarding or see the Rolling Stones. The deciding factor was that I liked their new single “Mixed Emotions” and even a jaded teenage punk had to respect Keith Richards. I loved the show and ever since the Stones have been my second favorite band of all time. The Stones were considered old and washed up in 1989, so surely 30 years later they might as well be the Egyptian pharaohs, right? Here is the thing with the Stones: They may wrinkle but they don’t get old. The No Filter tour hit Gillette Stadium, right next door to where I saw them 30 years ago. It started ominously for sure when it had to be delayed a month because Mick Jagger had to have heart surgery. Heart surgery for the lead singer would put any band on the shelf, but when the singer routinely runs about 5 miles during the course of a show and oh yeah… is in his mid-70s — one would think that was the end. But this isn’t your average band; this is the Rolling Stones. The show kicked off in a blaze of ragged glory with Richards hitting the opening riff of “Street Fighting Man” and Jagger dancing and a- prancing in an outfit that I’m guessing might have been a nod to either Becky Lynch or the Bruins between the black and gold? Why else would anyone wear a black leather jacket in the heat that was still hovering in the high 70s at this point? I say ragged because out of the gate the Stones were sloppy as they tried to find their groove through standards “It’s Only Rock “N’ Roll” and “Tumbling Dice.” By the time the Stones got to “She’s So Cold,” chosen (allegedly) by an online poll, the band started to lock in. I say allegedly on the song vote because outside of Stimbot, who is going to vote for “She’s So Cold” over more deserving songs in the poll like “Live With Me” and “Out of Control”? Not to mention as far as the Stones temperature girl songs from the ’80s, “She Was Hot” wipes the floor with “She’s So Cold.” The Stones brought out the opener Gary Clark Jr. to do an old blues cover “Ride Em On Down,” which showcased some fine guitar work, but to me was more of a snore. The highlight of the show was when the Stones came out to the middle of the arena to do a couple acoustic numbers where the song selection could not have been better. They did a mind-blowing version of “Play With Fire” followed up with “Dead Flowers,” which is about as good as it gets. The two-song, Richards-fronted set of “Slipping Away” and “Before They Make Me Run” were really the last surprises, but who really wants a surprise from a band that is 57 years in? The only surprise with the Stones would be if they ever stopped. The rest of the night was hits galore with “Paint It Black,” “Miss You,” and the ever iconic “Gimme Shelter” reverberating through the night. Post-heart surgery, Jagger still runs all over the place while Richards and Ronnie Wood trade slashing riffs looking like giddy half dead pirates. Charlie Watts is still a one-man engine room on the drums, powering the mothership. As for the ship analogy — the difference between Stones and the Titanic, is when the Stones hit the iceberg, the iceberg sinks. Email music news to [email protected] The Roots Report: Sunshine Tour Heads to Twin River Okee dokee folks… “Soft Rock” came about late in the ’60s and perfectly mellowed in the ’70s. That era spawned many great bands and songs that are still heard today. Three groups that rocked us gently then will be casting their light sounds in Lincoln when the Sunshine Tour pulls into Twin River on Friday, July 12. Pablo Cruise, Orleans and Firefall, the pinnacle players of the soft rock genre, will be bringing their many, many hits and more to the casino’s Event Center stage. I have been a fan of these three bands since the mid ’70s. So much of a fan that last year I booked John Hall (and Fly Amero) of Orleans to headline the Providence Folk Festival. I used to call these bands a guilty pleasure of mine but nowadays, I consider myself a proud fan. The instrumentation, catchy melodies and lush harmonies are what gave these bands and their songs over 40 years of staying power. Last week I spoke with founding members of each Sunshine Tour band about what they have been up to and what to expect from the show. Pablo Cruise released its first album in 1975, but it wasn’t until 1977’s A Place In The Sun that they gained widespread notoriety with songs such as “Whacha Gonna Do” and “A Place In The Sun.” The Bay Area band consisted of David Jenkins (guitars, vocals), Cory Lerios (keyboards, vocals), Bud Cockerel (bass, vocals) and Steve Price (drums, percussion). When asked about the band name their response was always, “’Pablo’ represents an honest, real, down-to-earth individual, and ‘Cruise’ depicts his fun- loving, easy-going attitude toward life. Original bass player Bud Cockerel had previously played with the band A Beautiful Day, known for their song “White Bird.” Bud left the band in ’77 to start a new project with his wife, Patti Santos, who also had been in A Beautiful Day. Bruce Day was brought in as the new bass player, and his first album with the band was 1978’s Worlds Away album, which spawned the hits “Love Will Find a Way,” “Don’t Want to Live Without It” and “I Go to Rio.” In 1985 the band took, what turned out to be, a 20-year hiatus. In 2005, they got back together and have been touring and recording ever since. Today the band consists of original members Corey Lerious, Steve Price and David Jenkins, as well as new members Larry Antonio and and Robbie Wyckoff. I called founding member Corey Lerious at his SoCal home and we chatted about his work and the band. When asked what he did during the hiatus Lerious replied, “I worked on TV and film scores…I am a composer, you never stop doing that! One thing I did a lot of work on was ‘Baywatch’…they have all just been re-released in HD to over 120 countries!” I wondered about the new members of the band and Corey told me, “Robbie was on tour with Roger Waters and sang all of the David Gilmour parts, he also worked on Disney projects… Larry is a top session bass player and is in high demand and is extremely busy but always makes time for Pablo Cruise …the band we will be playing with is the best we have ever had and we still have three original members!” When asked about new material, Corey talked about their latest single “This Time” and he added, “It’s always nice to keep bringing things out, especially with the band we have now!” As for what we should expect from the Pablo set on the 12th Corey said, “We play the cream of the crop of the repertoire…there is also a lot of comedy, we have great chemistry in the band…it’s a fun and friendly show!” For more, luxury line to: PabloCruise.com The band Orleans, originally formed in Woodstock, NY, by John Hall, brothers Lance and Larry Hoppen, and Wells Kelly, has been performing fairly regularly, with founding and new members since 1972. The band produced chart-topping hits including “Dance With Me,” “Let There Be Music,” “Love Takes Time,” “Reach” and, of course, their most famous, “Still the One.” Over the years, original members Larry Hoppen and Wells Kelly passed away and other members have come and gone, but the core of the band still remains. Today, Orleans includes John Hall on guitar, vocals; Dennis “Fly” Amero on guitar, vocals; Lance Hoppen on bass, vocals, Lane Hoppen on keyboards, vocals; and Brady Spencer on drums, percussion, vocal. I spoke with John Hall via phone just after Orleans’ soundcheck for a show they were playing in New Jersey. We talked about the current line-up of Orleans and John mentioned, “We have Lance and Larry’s younger brother, Lane, on vocals and keys…they have that ‘family blend’ of voices…I have been singing with Hoppens since 1972…and Fly is a terrific guitar player and singer and quite a character…we still have the vocal harmonies and this group is a great blend.” Many people may not know that John Hall has connections to Janis Joplin, so I asked him to recount that story to me. “Johanna (John’s wife at the time) was writing for The Village Voice and she had just interviewed Janis and she and Johanna came back to our flat, it was around Christmas time, and we sat around singing blues versions of Christmas carols…then I played her one of my songs and she said that it sounded like a song by a young guy and then she turned to Johanna and said, ‘You’re a writer; why don’t you write a song for me’…it was the first song that Johanna and I wrote together…when Janis Joplin says ‘write me a song’ you don’t say no!…she played the song every show until she died.” The song that they wrote was called “Half Moon” and it was included on Joplin’s posthumous Pearl album, and was also recorded by the Fifth Dimension, Chaka Kahn as well as being included on the first Orleans album.