ABSTRACT
There was a negative feeling in the air, a surly something. This was not a huge bunch of carefree kids come to enjoy themselves; no, there definitely was an ominous feeling in the air, something to do with the power of so large concentration of people – we had no previous conception of the enormous impact of 300,000 people crammed into a single space with the menace of these Hell’s Angels hanging over them. And add to that the reputation of the Stones, the reason that everyone had come. Not only were they perceived as rough anti-establishment renegades, but also because so many of their songs (as personified in Mick) had a Satanic aura about them, they saw Mick as Lucifer; so they were awaiting this messenger from hell with these barbarian Hell’s Angels at this netherworld entourage.
(Hotchner 1990, 18.)In the quote above, David and Albert Maysles remember The Rolling Stones Altamont concert December 6, 1969. The concert became notorious after a member of Hell’s Angels, hired to maintain security during the event, stabbed an audience member to her death. The Altamont concert has since been seen as one signal of the end of hippie-movement and beginning of the following 1970s cultural pessimism. (See e.g. Whiteley 1992, 101–102.)
In my chapter I will cover contextual ground around Beggars Banquet, the bluesy mythos of ‘evil’ and ‘decadence’ associated with their live stage performance. It should be a look into their whole performing career from this perspective, including their early beginnings in the London club circuit, and ending with their massive stadium performances such as seen in the Bridges To Babylon and The Bigger Bang tours. The obvious emphasis, however, will be on the 1960s and its legacy, Altamont. The chapter will also contain a closer reading of ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ in their live sets as a case study.
