The Rolling Stones committed an egregious moving violation at a media party hosted by Best Buy, celebrating their exclusive right to release Four Flicks, the Stones new live four disc DVD collection. The Stones' hit and run action was a rare, but brief, appearance on stage at Capitale in New York City's famed Chinatown on Wednesday, October 29, 2003.

     Rolling Stones promoter Michael Cohl appeared on the Capitale stage to address the crowd of Stones fans. He offered his opinion that the impact of Four Flicks will be to the DVD industry what Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was for record albums. Comic Whoopi Goldberg was on hand to introduce the World's Greatest Rock'n Roll Band.

     Each Rolling Stones had arrived separately and were sequestered upstairs. The band eventually emerged on a balcony at 11:20 p.m. and made their way down a staircase together. Mick Jagger greeted the Capitale audience all too briefly. He abruptly turned heel and departed the intimate stage with Charlie Watts behind him.

     Keith Richards and Ron Wood sort of glanced at each other unsure of what their next move was to be. Wood uttered into his microphone, "Well, that's about the size of it", and the two guitarists sauntered off stage to follow their band mates back up the staircase. The famous foursome were on stage for all of a micro two minutes.

     Celebrities were admitted into Capitale without delay, however, contest winners and media guests were corralled outside behind a barricade. The media area positioned under an awning with black carpet arranged for photographers and film crews was crampt with competitive paparazzi. Celebrities were snapped before a Best Buy backdrop with the new Stones Four Flicks logo.

     John Sanders contacted Best Buy online for his invitation to attend the media party. Bart Eilts won a trip from WXRT in Chicago and brought his wife Laura. Fashion model Brandon Trentham was one of several celebrities in attendance. A handful of members from a cyber Stones fan club were able to secure entry to the exclusive event.

     Capitale guests enjoyed an Asian buffet station and a Mexican buffet station and were treated with an open bar. Serves also circulated through the event with warm h'orderves and delectable deserts. The atrium outside the main hall had all Four Flicks features running simultaneously designated by an oversized ticket stub identifying each performance.

     Every event guest was given a business card with a Four Flicks guitar pick affixed on the back. At the end of the evening, guests were instructed to hand in their promo card to receive a Best Buy gift bag upon exiting. Amazingly, each guest received a copy of the Four Flicks DVD collection and a handsome, hooded Four Flicks sweatshirt.

     Four Flicks is scheduled for distribution release in the U.S.A. and Canada on Tuesday, November 11, 2003. The DVD collection showcases four features including three separate concert presentations and a bonus disc of tour related material with extra tracks.

     Many classic Stones tunes premiere live for the first time within this jam-packed collection. Disc 1 presents two documentaries, "Tip Of The Tongue" and "Licks Around The World". Bonus tracks on Disc 1 include five live performances and footage of two in-the-studio band jams of the Rolling Stones on "Extreme Western Grip" and "Well Well".

     Disc 2 presents a performance from Madison Square Garden in New York recorded January 18, 2003. Disc 3 presents a performance from Twickenham Stadium in London recorded August 24, 2003. Disc 4 presents a performance from the Olympia Theater in Paris recorded July 11, 2003. Serious Stones fans will be elated with this collection.

     The Rolling Stones anticipate their DVD package will sell as well as Led Zeppelin's wildly popular live product. The surviving members of Led Zeppelin participated in two rare media appearances in London and New York City this past May promoting their live DVD and CD compilations. Led Zeppelin have only reformed on stage three times since they officially disbanded in 1980.

     Canadian media retailers have expressed frustration over the exclusive deal Best Buy inked with the Rolling Stones to sell Four Flicks for four months during the holiday season. Several Canadian retail chains have retaliated by removing Rolling Stones product from their shelves. Their actions are unlikely to produce any economic impact on Rolling Stones sales.

RockonTour   Issue #25
Mitt Namlitt   Cybersnews@yahoo.com

RockonTour.net - the Single Source for the Concertphile © 2003 RoT
RockonTour

 

RockonTour.net
                  the Single Source for the Concertphile

Famous Foursome best bye blitz
Rolling Stones make lickity split at Media Bonanza

by Timothy Tilghman