Here is
another source of the Stones first Sydney concert, the differences between
Doris’s recording compared to this one are that this recording is somewhat
clearer & louder, has less audience chatter, but Doris pushed his record
button earlier so he captured the end of the last song played over the P.A, the
audience reaction when they saw the Stones head to the stage in a coach plus
the band introduction, whereas here the recording begins as the 2000 Light
Years From Home intro music started.
A number of
Stones enthusiasts consider this recording to be one of the best of 1973
audience recordings. From the accompanying notes:
“The
Australian tour tickets had the now famous Australian 1973 tour poster on them,
tickets for all shows on the tour had the same design except every concert was
printed in a different colour,the 1st
Sydney show ticket was red, however nobody seems to remember at the 2nd Sydney
gig what colour the ticket was.
For the
first time in Australian musical history the Stones tickets were forged, so
when concert goers arrived at the venue Racecourse staff scrutinized every
ticket, once declared to be valid the genuine tickets were not returned to the
ticket holder, instead they were tossed into large cardboard boxes. If you were
a holder of a forged ticked you were denied entry, the next night’s tickets
were also forged, the same scenario happened with the genuine tickets which
probably accounts why in the 50 years since no original ticket for either
Sydney show have been seen.
The stage
had been set up directly in front of the racetrack, the back of it bordered the
track the horses actually raced on. The stage was a streamlined but simple
affair, the row of amps was clad in white covers with an open section running
along the front so the musicians could get to the controls, at the top of the
amps stage lights ran the length of them. At either end of the amp’s stairs led
up to a walkway that was situated on top of the amps, from memory Jagger only
ventured up there once or twice during the show. The two colourful fire
breathing dragons painted on the stage floor used on the 1972 US tour were also
used here.
After the
support act departed every time there was movement on or near the stage such as
vehicles moving on the race track the crowd would erupt thinking that the
Stones were inside, which incited the crowd creating an even bigger upsurge to
get nearer the front, then when nothing actually happened the crowd fell silent
only to explode once again when they spotted more movement.
When the PA
music stopped the audience erupted again assuming the show was about to kick
off, when nothing happened they quietened down only to start up again, this
time they kept on cheering. What the folks seated in the grandstands as well as
those in higher further back areas could see that we couldn’t was on the left
side of the racetrack heading towards the stage was a black open coach pulled
by four white horses, in the coach were the Stones plus their backing
musicians, an impressive way to kick off the night’s activities. From our
position we were only able to observe the coach briefly as it got nearer to us
before being obscured by the stage.
On arrival
the band made their way up to the stage to a snippet of 2000 Light Years From
Home played over the PA, then from stage left the Stones / backing musicians
came into view. Mick was the last to appear with a handheld masquerade mask to
his face which he quickly discarded while running from left to right across the
stage. Then straight into Brown Sugar, the volume was incredibly loud, at times
it over-powered his vocals, they were louder than Led Zeppelin who played here
the year before on the 27th February 1972. With the sound being so loud it’s a
wonder that Doris’s & this recordings aren’t distorted, especially mine
seeing I was taping down the front in the crush.
Brown Sugar
marked the start of more upheaval in the audience. From the moment the Stones
hit the stage those closest to the stage stood up which created a backwards
domino effect, add to this the people behind now pushing forward. With all the
front sections now standing it pissed off those further back as their view was
now blocked, the sit-down chants started up, quickly followed by various
objects being thrown in our general direction such as assorted foods, soft
drink cans, bottles. A favoured projectile heading our way were coins thrown
with such force that they would have dead set hurt
if one were
hit in the head. One of the next day’s newspapers concert coverage mentioned
that a 18 years old girl had been hit on the head from a thrown empty beer
bottle. During the concert because of the crush in the front sections some women
fainted. I personally saw a few that had fainted being lifted up, then they
were passed person to person over the heads of the audience until they reached
the stage barrier where they received medical attention.
Usually
when folks at the front are blocking the view of those behind one hears the
sit-down chant whereas on my recording when Brown Sugar ends you’ll hear a
feller close to us yelling out “stand up”, he’d turned around to face the crowd
behind us, at the same time he did get up hand gestures, this seemed to inspire
them to stand up, well most of them however as some sit down’s can still be
heard also there’s a distant down down down chant that can be heard just before
Love In Vain.
For Sweet
Virginia Mick donned a cowboy hat, on completing the song he says “You can have
your hat back Newman” which means the hats owner is Newman Jones The Third who
if I remember correctly at the time was Keith's guitar tech.
Nice touch
in All Down The Line is when Mick can be heard saying “C’mon Mick” to Mick
Taylor just before he does his lead break; one of the numbers that got the
crowd jumping & considered to be one of the highlights of the evening was
Midnight Rambler in which Jagger did his party trick of taking off his belt
then dropping to his knees belting the stage with it. I’m positive it was
during the instrumental section in this song that Mick climbed up onto Nicky
Hopkins piano, then laid down flat across it & proceeded to dry hump it
like he was screwing the invisible woman!
When Mick
came to do the band introductions he forgot to introduce Bobby Keyes, when
doing them the next night after introducing Bobby Keys Mick said, “Forgot him
last night”. Bobby Keys during Jumping Jack Flash played a tambourine while
dancing around. On one number, I’m sure it was in Street Fighting Man the last
number of the night Ian Stewart & Jim Price sat either side of Nicky
Hopkins at the piano for a quick tinkle on the ivories. As Street Fighting Man
built to its finale Mick stood in the one spot with outstretched arms spinning
around & around.
As soon as
the song was finished off they went, they didn’t do an encore as it was an
excellent performance to a responsive audience however despite the audience
wanting more they did not return, on this recording a nearby pissed off
gentlemen can be heard calling them bastards for not returning, instead we were
bid farewell with Land Of Hope & Glory over the PA along with a fireworks
display.
The next
day’s newspapers ran stories that the fireworks had badly spooked the horses
stabled at the Racecourse, so the powers that be at the Racecourse wanted the
fireworks banned at the next night’s gig, however a compromise was reached with
the fireworks to be set off a mile from the racecourse so not to spook the
horses for a second time.
Jagger also
performed the same spinning in Street Fighting Man at the 27th February gig but
this time with hundreds of multi coloured ping pong balls being poured down
upon him by roadies up above on the stage towers, part of this can be seen
briefly in the Stones movie Crossfire Hurricane. Years later on my travels I
met a roadie who worked on the tour who told me that they possibly brought
every available ping pong ball in a mad dash all over Sydney, then spent all
night spraying them assorted colours.
It’s this
concert that Keith has famously been quoted as saying that he dropped acid
before the show & on hearing a playback of the show back at Sydney’s
Kingsgate Hotel he thought he played great.
The 27th
February 1973 show can be identified in photos by Micks jumpsuit being shredded
from the knee down.
The only
bootleg release that has used this recording is The Rolling Stones VIP Disked
Joint on the dubious Shaved Disc label taken from high generation cassette.
This one of course will be superior to any previous offerings.
