Rolling Stones announce Cdn. dates
MONCTON, N.B. (CP) – The Rolling Stones, the ageless superstars of rock ‘n’ roll, will play four Canadian cities during a massive world tour that will begin this summer in North America.
The legendary rock stars, led by singer Mick Jagger, will play Ottawa on Aug. 28 at Lansdowne Park; Moncton, N.B. on Sept. 3 at Magnetic Hill; Toronto on Sept. 26 at the Rogers Centre; and Calgary on Oct. 28 at the Pengrowth Saddledome.
The Stones announced the tour in New York on Tuesday in a broadcast that was simulcast to several of the cities they will be visiting, including the southern New Brunswick community of Moncton.
The Stones performed four songs before taking questions from reporters, demonstrating that although they are all over 60 years of age, they still have the energy to deliver high-voltage rock ‘n’ roll.
Pencil-thin Jagger gyrated like a live wire around the stage at the Juilliard school in New York, looking more 16 than 61.
Later, he was asked the inevitable question after more than 40 years of touring and tireless performing: “Is this the last time?”
“We take each tour as it comes,” he answered, adding the Stones would never set up a tour as their curtain call.
Jagger confirmed the band will rehearse in Toronto prior to the tour, but offered no other details. The Stones have rehearsed in Toronto for previous world tours in 1994, 1997 and 2002.
“We love Canada,” Jagger said when asked by a British reporter if the band rehearses in Canada to avoid taxes.
“We’d never rehearse there for tax reasons.”
The Stones tour will begin in Boston’s Fenway Park on Aug. 21. The band has 35 dates confirmed in the United States and Canada.
The concerts in Moncton and Ottawa will be at open-air venues.
The Magnetic Hill site in Moncton can accommodate 60,000 people and is centrally located to draw fans from all three Maritime provinces, as well as from Newfoundland, Quebec and several New England states.
“They want to go to areas they’ve never been before,” concert organizer Donald K. Donald said of the decision to play Moncton.
City officials said hotel rooms in Moncton are already almost sold out.
Word leaked out last week that the Stones would play in Moncton in early September. Thousands of fans bet that the performance would be on the Labour Day weekend and booked their accommodations.
“It will be the biggest concert ever in Atlantic Canada,” predicted Ian Fowler, a municipal official.
Fowler said the spin-off benefits will be huge for New Brunswick and for the other Maritime provinces.
“It’s a win for the whole region,” he said.
Tickets will go on sale later this month at different locations in most provinces, as well as through on-line sites.
At least two Canadian acts will open for the Stones in Moncton – The Tragically Hip and the Quebec band, Les Trois Accords. Jagger wouldn’t name the other opening acts for the tour.
The Stones have a longstanding connection to Canada, including a history of playing small club shows before launching their world tours. They headlined a SARS benefit concert in Toronto in 2003 that drew 450,000 spectators.
After the North American shows, the Stones will move on to Mexico, South America, the Far East, and Europe in the summer of 2006.
There is also a new album in the works to coincide with the tour.
Jagger said the setup for the tour will include seating for about 400 spectators on the actual stage, behind the performers.
“You’ll get a great view of our bums,” he said of the seating arrangement. “So we’ll have to work on them a bit.”
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