Sticky Fingers The Jam Band Way

From the 3-note beginning riff of "Satisfaction" to their maybe-to-be 50th anniversary tour this year, the Rolling Stones have always been near, or at the top, of my rock n' roll list.

How do I like the Stones? Well, let us count the ways. I trace my  love of blues back to the early Stones albums. In all the classic rock bands I have played keyboard in since 1966, Stones' tunes have always been prominent on the song list. In college, I remember studying and partying to Get Your Yas Yas Out. At our wedding, I wore a 3-piece cream suit similar to the one Mick Jagger wore when he married Bianca. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" was played by the organist in the church, and we happened to cut the cake to "Honky Tonk Women". When our son was born in 1973, I convinced my wife we should call him Michael Keith. My cell phone ring tones have been both "Jumping Jack Flash" and "Gimme Shelter".  I have seen the Stones live more than any other act. In fact since 1st seeing the them at the Philly Spectrum in 1969, I have only missed 1 tour.  And my wife and all my bosses over the years share a conviction that my attitude comes from too much emulating the "the we're the Stones and we'll piss anywhere we want" swagger of Jagger, Richard, and the rest of the band.

Obviously, my ratings of  Stones' songs, albums, CDs, and live performances have changed over the 48 years I have been following them. These days, I vacillate between Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers as my favorite Stones' collection.

Of course, I am not alone in my admiration of the Stones. They, along with the Beatles and Bob Dylan, are among the most covered artists in the world. One of their admirers is leader of the jam band Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, premiere horn player Karl Denson. Denson, who cites Sticky Fingers as his favorite Stones' CD. Since late 2011, his band, joined by guest New Orleans guitarist Anders Osborne, has been touring the country, performing the album track by track in its entirety. 

Tonight, we headed to the intimate State Theater in nearby Falls Church to check out Denson's take on Sticky Fingers.

Osborne opened the night with a 45-minute set of loud (and I mean table and chest rattling loud) power trio blues.

Then, after a break and a 3-song warmup sequence, he joined Denson and the rest of Tiny Universe, for all 10 of the Sticky Fingers songs. The augmented band played relatively straight versions of Brown Sugar, Bitch, Wild Horses, and Can't You Hear Me Knocking. But it was on special arrangements of some of the lesser known tracks that the most magical moments occurred. You Gotta Move became both southern gospel soul and New Orleans strut. Osborne's best guitar moments came on an extended ride in Sway and alternating country-picked guitar solos with the Universe's regular guitarist on Dead Flowers. The best jam of the night came on a lengthy, ethereal full-band jam at the end of the eerie, haunting Sister Morphine.


Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
 For those of you not completely familiar with Sticky Fingers, here is the complete track listing:

1. Brown Sugar
2. Sway
3. Wild Horses
4. Can't You Hear Me Knocking
5. You Gotta Move
6. Bitch
7. I Got the Blues
8. Sister Morphine
9. Dead Flowers
10. Moonlight Mile