A hard coconut to break

Just bought Beggars Banquet at Amoeba Records last week and was surprised to find this is the best Stones album yet. Saw them in March at the Fabulous Forum in Inglewood. Yes they were old and they were inspired. A friend told me he almost turned down tickets to see them at the Forum in 1981. Why? Because they seemed so old then.

But you can't be too old when you are nearly killed falling out of a tree you were climbing for coconuts:

ROLLING STONES guitarist KEITH RICHARDS has returned to his Weston, Connecticut, estate to rest, following three weeks of treatment in New Zealand for the head injury he sustained after a fall from a palm tree in Fiji.
"He is feeling great, happy to be home and looking forward to getting back on the road with the Rolling Stones next month," the veteran rock band's Web site reported. While a revised itinerary will be announced shortly for the summer European leg of their A Bigger Bang tour -- originally scheduled to kick off May 27th in Spain -- French promoters already announced that two shows slated for June 3rd and July 2nd at the Stade de France in Paris have been postponed, while an August 8th date in Nice was still on. - Rolling Stone, May 23

The band's website didn't have much to say about the incident:

06.02.06 Keith Richards Is Given The All Clear To Get Back To Work As Stones Announce New Itinerary For European Shows

With the news that Keith Richards has made a complete recovery from his accident and is ready to return to the concert stage, The Rolling Stones have unveiled today their re-vamped European Tour Schedule.

05.24.06 THE ROLLING STONES FORCED TO POSTPONE SHOWS AS KEITH RICHARDS CONTINUES TO MAKE FULL RECOVERY
The first 15 shows on The Rolling Stones 'A Bigger Bang' European Tour from Barcelona, Spain on May 27 through to Zagreb, Croatia on July 5 have now been postponed.

05.01.06 Keith Richards Making A Speedy Recovery
Keith Richards was hospitalized for a mild concussion he suffered while vacationing in Fiji. Keith was injured earlier this week and flown to a hospital in Auckland, New Zealand for treatment. "Following treatment locally and as a precautionary measure, he flew to a hospital accompanied by his wife, Patti, for observation," said Stones' publicist Fran Curtis. Doctors say Keith is making a speedy recovery.


While at the Forum's b-list backstage area, a group of retirees who use their 401-Ks to follow the Stones around the world said this is the band's last tour. You heard it here first.