Hear me now and believe me later: the Stones are a better band live now than they were in the '70s when their lives, bodies, and minds were a quagmire of sex, drugs and alcohol. I saw shows back then that felt like they were going through the motions, disrespecting their own songs, their audience and themselves. Age has focused them, yet taken away very little of their maniacal energy, and Keith Richards is still the greatest rhythm guitarist who ever lived. Long live rock, indeed.

UPDATE
Stones to perform free concert in LA on the 6th to spotlight global warming:

On February 6, 2003 at 8 pm, the Rolling Stones will perform a special free concert at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA to raise awareness about global warming.

NRDC and the Stones are staging this landmark event to turn up the heat on global warming, and spotlight opportunities that exist right now to start fixing the problem.

Between December 23, 2002 and January 6, 2003, fans had the opportunity to enter a sweepstakes to win two tickets to the concert.

Congratulations to the lucky winners, who were selected at random and have been notified by email or postal mail. Winners are listed here.
We hope everyone will join the Stones, the Natural Resources Defense Council and millions of others who want to stop global warming. Click here to take a simple online action to fight global warming and to learn what else you can do.

Together, we can turn up the heat on U.S. leaders to put global warming solutions in place.

Clinton plans to appear at a free Stones concert Thursday at Los Angeles' Staples Center, event organizers said Sunday.

The ex-president, who sported sunglasses and played his sax on "The Arsenio Hall Show" during a 1992 campaign appearance, isn't expected to perform with the band.

Instead, he'll make a speech from the stage about the importance of fighting global warming, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nonprofit group staging the gig.

The show was conceived as a way to put "a worldwide spotlight on global warming and the opportunities that exist right now to start fixing the problem," said Jon Coifman, spokesman for NRDC.