I know this guy who is Ret. NYPD ESU lieutenant who worked security for the Stones last MSG show a few years back. He said there were about a half dozen musicians/singers plugged in backstage. I didn't believe him at first but he swore it was the truth. I really found it so disheartening.

[Edited on 2/5/2016 by JerryJuice]

I thought some of y'all would enjoy this, I found it very interesting.

http://www.laweekly.com/music/inside-the-strange-hidden-world-of-offstage-touring-musicians-6539027

Thanks for the post.

I personally find it disgusting, it makes a concert be about the show, the image and not about the music.

I also call BS on that claim about the Stones, they have as many people on stage as the TTB, some of the best guys in the business (Chuck anyone?), they are proud of them and they feature them in ways most band don't even feature their core mambers.

Darryl Jones gets a bass solo every night, most bands don't allow a founding member to do that. The horn players take a prominent place when it's their turn, as do the backing singers. Search for a video of Gimme Shelter, Mick completely cedes the spotlight to Lisa Fischer (now Sasha Allen).
Look at this video of them doing Beast fo Burden just a couple of days ago in Buenos Aires, Bernard Fowler gets featured in a way few superstars would allow a backing bandmember to do.

Kudos to the stones for respecting their touring band as much as they do, they're also consantly spotted hanging out with them off-stage during the tour.

I personally find it disgusting, it makes a concert be about the show, the image and not about the music.

I also call BS on that claim about the Stones, they have as many people on stage as the TTB, some of the best guys in the business (Chuck anyone?), they are proud of them and they feature them in ways most band don't even feature their core mambers.

Darryl Jones gets a bass solo every night, most bands don't allow a founding member to do that. The horn players take a prominent place when it's their turn, as do the backing singers. Search for a video of Gimme Shelter, Mick completely cedes the spotlight to Lisa Fischer (now Sasha Allen).
Look at this video of them doing Beast fo Burden just a couple of days ago in Buenos Aires, Bernard Fowler gets featured in a way few superstars would allow a backing bandmember to do.

Kudos to the stones for respecting their touring band as much as they do, they're also consantly spotted hanging out with them off-stage during the tour.

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Hey man, I did not want to believe it either. But this guy works with a bomb sniffing dog and is highly trained in security. I basically told him I thought it was BS but he swore it was true. I have no idea why he would make that up