The Rolling Stones, who kick off their 50th-anniversary tour next month, played a surprise gig in Paris on Thursday with tickets selling for just $20 a pop.
The Stone announced the surprise Paris show on Twitter on Thursday. Fans gathered at the Virgin Megastore in the Champs-Elysées in hopes of snatching up tickets made available to the public, Rolling Stone magazine reported.
On Thursday night, 600 fans packed into the tiny La Trabendo rock club to take in the Rolling Stones' first live performance since 2007, according to the band's official website. The Stones had been rehearsing for their 50th-anniversary tour in Paris, where they recorded two new songs, "Doom and Gloom" and "One More Shot."
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood drew from a catalogue of five decades worth of music. They played hits like "Route 66," "It's Only Rock and Roll," "Champagne and Reefer" and "Miss You," according to the Rolling Stones website. When the encore came, the band chose "Jumping Jack Flash" and "Brown Sugar."
Although they had only planned on performing for about 30 to 45 minutes, the Stones rocked the Paris stage for an hour and 10 minutes, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "You'd think some of us would be sitting by now but we're not!" Jagger said after the performance.
"I have seen them before, but it has been in larger arenas with 40 thousand people, and [in] such a small club it was incredible. They played all the hits. 'Brown Sugar' was still my favorite," fan Johan Anssens, who had waited in line for over three hours, told the BBC.
The band is reportedly set to perform an invitation-only show for the Paris-based investment company Carmignac Gestion at the Mogador Theatre on Oct. 29, THR reported. Reuters, however, say Carmignac has declined to comment on their Stones Paris show. The company previously sent out mysterious invitations for "the biggest secret event of the year," offering a date and location but no word on the performer.
The Stones will also play London's O2 arena in November. Tickets for the two shows sold out in seven minutes, according to Rolling Stone magazine. The price for these ranged from $152 to $600 per ticket.
Check out the set list from Thursday night's Paris show, courtesy of RollingStones.com.
"Route 66"
"It’s Only Rock and Roll"
"Shattered"
"When The Whip Comes Down"
"Champagne and Reefer"
"Doom and Gloom"
"Miss You"
"Tumbling Dice"
"Start Me Up"
"Midnight Rambler"
"Jumping Jack Flash"
"Brown Sugar"
Rolling Stones 50
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misstated the start date for the tour as taking place on Friday in New Jersey.