It’s only rock ’n’ roll but they orchestrate it
Long Beach Symphony will add its sound to Stones hits
Fans of The Rolling Stones should be feeling a lot of musical satisfaction as the legendary band’s music is taken into another dimension with the help of a classical orchestra.
“Emotionally it takes it to a different place, but also it adds another flavor to it, another color,” said Brent Havens, who will be conducting the Long Beach Symphony in a concert dubbed Windborne’s Music of the Rolling Stones. “I want people to go out thinking this is one of the coolest things they’re ever heard,” he said.
The 50-plus-piece orchestra will take the stage along with a five-member Stones tribute band led by singer Mick Adams, who will be channeling the spirit and pipes of Mick Jagger to rock through six decades of Stones tunes.
“It’s going to be beyond cool. It’s really amazing,” Adams said. “It’s really
WINDBORNE’S MUSIC OF THE ROLLING STONES
When: 8 p.m. Saturday Where: Long Beach Arena, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach
Tickets: $30 and up Information: longbeachsymphony.org
powerful and it’s so artistic.”
The show is part of the symphony’s Pops! concert series, where the orchestra lets loose and breaks the classical rules by playing pop, rock and other modern music in more laid-back shows.
“They can play literally anything. As long as the music is in front of them, there it is, and they kill it. It’s a great orchestra,” Havens said.
The audience, meanwhile, is encouraged to arrive early and sort of tailgate inside the arena by bringing in their own food and drinks. For this show they’ll also need to bring their dance moves and be ready to pump fists in the air because the repertoire includes some of the best rock songs of all time.
People can expect to hear Stones songs like “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Under My Thumb,” “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Let’s Spend the Night Together” and, of course, “Satisfaction,” all with strings, reeds, brass and more.
“I marry the two. I treat the orchestra as a member of the band and the band as the member of the orchestra so it’s all one big thing,” Havens said. “And it works incredibly well.”
For Havens, some Stones songs have a singularly strong emotional impact with full orchestra.
“The ballads in particular, like ‘Wild Horses.’ I also think ‘Paint It Black’ just works so well,” he said. “It’s like wow, once you hear it live with a full orchestra it takes it to another dimension.”