Rolling Stones rock Regina for the first time

Updated Sat. Oct. 7 2006 3:26 PM ET

Canadian Press

REGINA -- It's only rock 'n' roll but as the Stones rolled into Saskatchewan for the first time ever, the excitement had fans from far and wide hopping.

From the opening chords of Jumping Jack Flash, the band brought 40,000 fans from across Canada and many northern U.S. states to their feet at the first of two shows in Regina over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

"Someone told me, Regina, it rhymes with fun,'' said Mick Jagger, who had to dodge a bright pink bra tossed by an exuberant fan.

The veteran band's front man may be 63, but fans said Jagger and colleagues Ron Wood, Charlie Watts and Keith Richards could still work a stage.

"Mick still has the moves,'' said Regina resident Brenda Mcleish. "I thought that they'd be older and less movable, but no, no they've still got it going on.''

The steel stage rose 27 metres into the moonlit Prairie sky at Mosaic Stadium, home of the Saskatchewan Roughriders football team.

"It was awesome, the best concert I've ever seen,'' Mcleish said of Friday night's opening spectacle.

"The stage, the light show, the band, the crowd, it was amazing.''

Concertgoer Jessica Paul agreed.

"It was just phenomenal _ Mick in the big hat and he was just grooving,'' Paul said of Jagger's moves during the band's hit Sympathy for the Devil. "It was great.''

Richards got a laugh when he stepped up to the microphone, a cigarette dangling from his right hand and a cloud of smoke hovering around his head, to welcome fans.

''Good evening ladies,'' said Richards. And, after a pause, "and gentlemen, I presume.''

Many had wondered if Richards would light up on stage, given that the provincial Tobacco Control Act and a city smoking bylaw prohibit smoking in enclosed public places.

It's not clear how that would apply to Mosaic Stadium, which is an open-air facility.

Some fans who couldn't get into the sold-out stadium to see the boys up close lingered around the entrances, straining to catch a glimpse of the show.

Others forced area residents to take their own crowd control measures.

Mike Wesa, whose home is across the street from the stadium, had the benefit of a clear view of the show.

But he spent much of the night trying to keep fans off his property.

"A lot of people were trying to get up on my deck and in the trees in my yard, trying to see into the stadium,'' said Wesa.

"They were trying to climb on garages, sheds, trees, fences, trying to see into the concert.''

Still, Wesa said it was a great show and "a once in lifetime thing for Regina.''

City officials have said the Stones' two shows on Friday and Sunday were the biggest-ever concerts in Regina, and possibly in all of Saskatchewan.

Some 80,000 tickets were sold and the event was expected to bring in between $10 million and $15 million in direct tourism spending.