Review: Rolling Stones heat up Tel Aviv

Things were scorching hot in Tel Aviv's Hayarkon Park Wednesday night, and not only because of the temperature, which earlier in the afternoon had hit 108 degrees.

The Rolling Stones took the stage for their first-ever concert in Israel, and proved that it was worth the wait. The 19 songs performed in the two-hour show are unlikely to ever be forgotten by anyone who was on the damp grass in the park.

"Good evening Tel Aviv, Happy Shavuot, We are the Rolling Stones!" front man Mick Jagger said in Hebrew, smiling into the microphone. A minute earlier, he discarded his jacket, which was too warm for the sauna-like conditions. Then they were off, and there was no stopping them.

The well-known hits "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll," "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" brought the audience to its feet. Thousands of smart phones were held up to record the ballad "Angie." The band played "Get Out of My Cloud," which fans had chosen on the band's Facebook page. Jagger showed off more Hebrew, asking the audience, "Hakol sababa-" (Is everything alright-) and telling them that guitarist Ronnie Wood had bought shoes at the "shuk" (market) and complimenting them on being a "kahal meturaf" (an insane crowd).

The Rolling Stones show might go down as the most expensive concert in Israel's history, a point that infuriated the Israeli public and lit up social networks, but it is unlikely that any of the 50,000 attendees felt that they didn't get their money's worth.

Mick Jagger in the flesh might be the greatest performer we have ever seen. Keith Richards, the crazy man of the group, showed that even if you miss an occasional note or play flat, it is still rock and roll and we still like it. Ronnie Wood, who this week celebrated his 67th birthday, joined forces with Mick Taylor, the man who was part of the band in its glory days of the early 70s, and who is a guest performer on the Stones' current tour.

It has been said that drummer Charlie Watts, who turned 73 here in Israel (and was treated to a birthday song by the audience) has spent his career as "that guy who hangs around with the Rolling Stones," but anyone who experienced him live on Wednesday night understood that he was the glue that has kept the band together all these years.

The Stones have already rolled on to their next tour stop in the Netherlands. This might be their last tour, and the Israelis who made their way to Hayarkon Park at the close of the Shavuot holiday were lucky enough to be a part of it.

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