Today In Pop Culture: The Circus That Came to Town Late

By Jeffery X Martin

Dusty: “What does that mean? Infamous?”
Ned: “Ah, Dusty! Infamous is when you’re more than famous! This guy El Guapo is not just famous, he’s IN-famous!”
—Three Amigos!

I’m not sure if The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus is famous or infamous, so maybe it’s both. We do know that on December 11, 1968, some of the biggest rock acts in the world got together to film a concert special. The Stones were the headliners, with Mick Jagger resplendent in a ringmaster’s outfit, the master of ceremonies for a carnival-like concert film that ended up being lost for decades.

Conceptually, the idea was strong. Rock and roll is a crazy environment; why not go ahead and film a show within a circus tent? The answer to that was unforeseen, yet simple; not even the big top was big enough to hold Mick Jagger’s ego.

Jethro Tull is the first act on the bill, and they are obviously in the wrong place. A flautist with a rock band is a strange and oddly delicate thing, especially alongside the Stones, who absorbed drugs and craziness like a black hole eats entire planets. Critically, the band’s performance was drubbed, with many saying that this was the wrong place for theatrical progressive rock. Please note the song Tull performed was less than four minutes long, and a lot of those criticisms can be traced to the fact that a lot of mainstream critics weren’t fond of Jethro Tull.

Besides, how can you level criticisms against Tull’s brand of rock when they were followed by The Who performing “A Quick One While He’s Away?” That song, the precursor to R. Kelly’s “Trapped in the Closet,” was almost eight minutes long. It was also a blisteringly hot performance, but more on that later.

Other performers on the show were the husky-voiced Marianne Faithfull, world blues legend Taj Mahal, and one of the many hastily formed John Lennon/Yoko Ono bands. This one was called The Dirty Mac. Not a bad line-up for a one-off group. Members of The Dirty Mac were Lennon himself, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, and Mitch Mitchell.

Famous? Infamous? You decide.

The Stones finished out the show with a six-song set that included “Sympathy for the Devil” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” Giant hits, big show, good performance. Or was it?

Due to technical difficulties, filming of the Circus took 15 hours. Because of that, the Stones went on last. The people in the audience were tired, the Stones were worn out, and Jagger was worried that The Who’s performance was better than the effort of the Stones. There’s that ego I was talking about.

When it came time to broadcast it on the BBC, the Rolling Stones withheld the special. The Circus did not come to town for decades, not until it was finally released on DVD in 1996. Critical reception was mixed, but most did agree that Roger Daltrey should always wear that tiny cape of his.

The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus is an oddity now, a chance to say, “Man, they look young!” But both the Stones and The Who turn in excellent performances. Does the whole conceit work? Nah. Not really. But it reminds me of something that would have been played on Night Flight, right after Jac-Mac and Rad Boy Go!

You do know what Jac-Mac and Rad boy GO! is, right?

Ah, jeez. You kids.