Daily Staff Writer

The Rolling Stones

Target Center, Minneapolis, Minn.

Feb. 15, 1999

Mick is the man — there’s no denying that. Four decades of savvy satisfaction on the stage has built the big-lipped Brit into a rock ‘n’ roll monster.

And that is what the Stones’ recent “No Security” tour is about — pure rock. No fireworks. No theatrics. No Babylonish stage decor. Just Mick and ragged guitar great Keith Richards rockin’ out with a couple pals.

Whether it was the gold mines (“Brown Sugar,” “Start Me Up”) or the hidden treasures (“Shine a Light,” “Live With Me”), the Stones had no problem burying a Jesse Ventura-equipped Target Center crowd deep into its music.

A three-song (“Route 66,” “I Just Want To Make Love To You,” “Honky Tonk Women”) “club” set was even added to the mix, as the band moved to a small stage in the center of the arena and played through only a fraction of the house speakers.

But the best part of an evening with The Rolling Stones is watching Jagger superbly fill an enormous stage with his tiny figure.

Mick racing back and forth, swinging his hips and making love to his mic stand is what makes tunes like “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “You Got Me Rocking” live gems.

The Stones once proclaimed, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” and the group prevailed by ditching “Satisfaction” and the aforementioned favorite from its set list.

Instead, the band departed with a slightly disappointing encore made up of “Midnight Rambler” and “Sympathy For the Devil.”

“No Security” could have been dubbed “Social Security,” since the $100 to $300 ticket price would take a check or two to cover.

The Rolling Stones are a rock phenomenon, but at that price — how does the saying go — The Rolling Stones gather no Moss.

— Corey Moss

John Scofield

Vall Air Ballroom, Des Moines

Feb. 21, 1999

John Scofield and his comrades filled the Val Air Ballroom Sunday evening with grooving tunes from his “A Go Go” album, as well as some brand-spanking-new numbers.

The majority of the first set entailed the quartet’s freshest songs, all of which were yet untitled. The purely instrumental songs gave way for plenty of solos and demonstrated the performers’ tight chemistry.

Bassist Matthew Garrison and drummer Marlin Browdin kicked off the fourth song with a smooth groove that progressed into a solo by Garrison.

Before taking a break, the group played “Hope Springs Eternal,” which sprouted from a classical guitar intro and blossomed with solos by Foley and Garrison. The song first appeared on the Japanese version of “A Go Go,” but not the American pressing.

The second set got underway with four more “A Go Go” ditties, the last of which included an extensive organ solo by Bill Foley.

Following the “A Go Go” run, Scofield whipped out his classical guitar for a soothing and contained piece he said the band had never played live before.

“We might make it through; we might not. Let’s see,” he said.

Well, the band made it through just fine and persisted on into the last number, which featured Scofield pickscraping his guitar in a mad riff, laying it down during Foley’s keyboard solo, then coming back into a drum-dominated extravaganza.

The groove picked up speed and spontaneously crashed itself into a unique finish that concluded the set in a most awesome collaboration of the band members’ capabilities.

That last number was sheer fun and could have ended the evening just fine. But after much persuasion from the crowd, the quartet joined forces for an encore.

The funk-induced evening concluded with heads still bopping to the sounds of a jazz legend and his talented retinue.

— Adam Jonas