I watched that recent Keef doc, Under the Influence. He played some minimalist, badass blues piano in one scene. Wonderful.
He’ll play until he can’t. Likely die on the road, which would be fitting.
They get to do what they want, and if folks pay for it, well, yay.
It’s the same as any other profession. If you’re tired and can’t keep up any more and you never really liked this job and you just did it for the paycheck, then you retire. If you’re doing something that you love, though, then why not keep on doing it? At my grad school, the most prolific member of the department was a guy who officially “retired” a decade previously. It’s the same thing.
What a drag it is getting old.
If the Stones were playing small venues – well, then I’d see them. But let’s say that they were playing small venues and they were the sort of band that still would suck in a small venue. Then I’d say they should retire to allow better bands that I might want to see a chance to play those places instead. But since they aren’t, I say go for it even though there are only a few Stones songs I’ve really gotten into.
Bad movies, on the other hand, do drive out good ones since there are limited theatre screens, so I do see the point of wanting better movies.
I saw the tour in 1980, and I remember thinking, “These guys are old, but it’s still cool!”
That was 35 years ago.
Cite? When did the Rolling Stones ever announce a farewell tour? Now the media like to trot out speculation that every tour might be the band’s last gasp, if only as an excuse to print the perennial “This could be the last time” quip.
When Mick or Keith dies.
Back in the late ‘70s I volunteered at a nursing home, helping with their Saturday afternoon ‘parties’. The facility would bring in a band or a DJ with music from the residents’ era, those that could dance would dance, the rest would listen. Everyone enjoyed it immensely and it was good to be a part of something that brought people a lot of joy.
I can remember chatting with a fellow volunteer who was about my age, wondering when our time came to be nursing home residents, what type of music they would play for us. I can still remember her laughing and saying “The Rolling Stones, of course. They’ll still be alive and touring.”
Never in a million years did I realize how prophetic that statement would be.
Keep on playing, boys, until you can’t. Long live Rock and Roll!
As the meme goes - “For every cigarette you smoke, God takes an hour away from your life and gives it to Keith Richards.”
This isn’t relevant anymore: movies can go direct to DVD or direct to Netflix/other streaming…
In other words, the Rolling Stones will gather no moss until they gather no mas.
As long as people want to see them and they are willing they should tour. Myself, I have no interest in seeing them (or any other band) from my youth perform live anymore. In the last ten years I’ve seen the Who, Peter Gabriel, Van Halen and AC/DC perform and have left each one feeling kind of sorry for them because I remembered them from when I saw them in their prime. I’d have been better off renting a stream of a show they did in their prime than watching a bunch of old timers listen to a bunch of old timers. Peter Gabriel was bald and had a huge gut, Eddie Van Halen balanced his guitar off of his gut and looked pudgy and AC/DC is going deaf. The only positive thing I felt was that at 55 I finally have the body of a rock star. 
I am of two minds about this. I get the argument that they are doing what they love and people keep buying tickets and should keep going as long as they want. And I do enjoy all the ‘Keith v. Death’ jokes.
But I agree that they have been written out for decades, and Mick’s strutting chicken dance is absolutely absurd for a man in his 70s.
*Older than dirt
“Steel Wheelchairs”
the name of the tour
Grandma just hung her head and said boy
Grampa loved the Rolling Stones
And when he played Satisfaction
He’d moan
And when he died they carved a big tongue
On his headstone*
Quit. Don’t quit. I lost interest in them as performers a long time ago.
Right, I am slightly disappointed when a terrible movie does huge business, because studios will think that they should make more movies like that to make money. But when the Rolling Stones sell out a giant stadium, that’s not really pushing out other bands from performing. The Rolling Stones aren’t really having an affect on anyone other than their fans going to see their shows, and that’s fine.
That’s true to a certain extent, but the budgets for direct to DVD or Netflix is limited. Here’s an article on how a lot of really great filmmakers are having trouble getting movies made, because their movies aren’t tiny budgets, but they also aren’t the big blockbusters. The studios’ focus on big blockbusters makes it harder for David Lynch and John Waters and other directors to make movies, but the Rolling Stones touring until they die doesn’t make it harder for M83 and Foals and other younger and smaller bands to make music and tour.
I think I’d gladly take up smoking if it meant Keef could live forever.
Or a man in his 40s. Or any man ever.
It’s never a goog tiem for Rock’n’Roll.
I dunno, I thought “Doom and Gloom” was a great single, and there’s some more good tunes on that album.
I’m firmly in the “If people still pay to see them, let them tour” camp. Why the hell not?