Shine a Light
When the Rolling Stones hit the road in 1989 to support their album “Steel Wheels,” it was derided as the “Steel Wheelchairs tour.” Now, it’s almost 20 years later, and the Stones have outlasted the jeers. They’re more likely to inspire awe. Maybe that’s why Martin Scorsese borrowed the song title “Shine a Light” for his exuberant Stones concert documentary. At this point, you can only bask in their luminescence. Unlike the Band, the subject of Scorsese’s “The Last Waltz,” the Stones aren’t worn down by performing: They’re rejuvenated. The movie was shot over two nights at Manhattan’s Beacon Theatre in the fall of 2006, with a half-dozen brilliant cinematographers working the cameras. From the opening riff of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” the Stones mesmerize with their musicianship and showmanship. Scorsese’s team illuminates the delicate interweaving between Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, the eloquent backbeats of Charlie Watts and, of course, the irrepressible strutting and shimmying of Mick Jagger. If anything, “Shine a Light” proves through its intimacy that you don’t need front-row seats to enjoy a Stones show. Jagger’s lithe and wiry body exudes so much energy, you could appreciate him from a mile away. Scorsese intercuts bits of archival interview footage, and at one point Dick Cavett asks Jagger if he could see himself performing at age 60. Jagger responds: “Absolutely.” He’ll be 65 this year, but he shows his age only from the neck up. “Shine a Light” could win over even the most calcified Stones-hating hipsters.
LISTEN: Shine a Light