About 1,000 lucky music fans in Toronto experienced a rare treat Wednesday night they likely won't soon forget -- a live show in a small club by living rock legends the Rolling Stones.

The $10 show, considered a warm-up gig for their upcoming world tour, was The World's Greatest Rock Band's thank you to Toronto for playing host to them for past month.

"I'd like to thank everybody in Toronto for being so welcoming to us," Mick Jagger said to the adoring fans.

"The attention boosted up our egos for the tour."

One elated but tired fan, who waited over 18 hours to get his ticket, told CTV's Canada AM that the Stones treated the audience to an "absolutely fabulous" show.

"They could hardly fit on stage," Brad Rogers said Thursday morning, describing the intimate venue. "It was amazing just to see them in a close, personal setting. Everything was all basically bare bones."

Fans exiting the concert hall last night gave the band rave reviews.

"The boys still got it," one young woman told CTV News Toronto after the show.

"They're doing amazingly well for the age that they are, let's just say that," added her friend.

Fans got to hear the Stones play a mix of old and new songs, including favourites like "Brown Sugar," "Stay With Me," as well as new songs such as "Oh No, Not You Again."

But it was their cover of Bob Marley's reggae classic, "Get Up, Stand Up," that seemed to go over especially well with the crowd.

"That was very unique to see the Stones do a reggae-type music," said Angela Puelo. "I really loved that one."

The band ended with an encore of "Jumpin' Jack Flash."

Canadian rock band The Trews opened the show.

Scoring tickets

Eager fans started lining up outside the Phoenix Concert Theatre on Toronto's Sherbourne St. early Tuesday morning -- with hundreds gathered by the time organizers started handing out wristbands at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Unfortunately, the ticket allocation process didn't provide satisfaction for everyone, and that led to some hard feelings.

At one point, the line held an estimated 600 people but only 250 people were given tickets.

The remaining seats went to music industry types and friends of the band, while other fans won tickets by entering an online contest.

One fellow, who got the last ticket, said: "I feel alright. But my buddies didn't get in, which is pretty damned disappointing."

The bonus prize for those who did manage to pick up tickets was the $10 admission price -- a pittance compared to the $450 price tag for a top-priced seat when the rockers play in Toronto next month as part of their world tour, which starts Aug. 21 in Boston.

The Stones and Toronto

The Stones have been rehearsing in Toronto for the past month at a school they rented.

The British band has a relationship with Canada's largest city that goes back to 1965, when the group, then rising in the rock world, played Maple Leaf Gardens. A pivotal year was 1977, when Keith Richards was arrested for possession of heroin -- an incident he now credits with saving his life.

One outcome of that event was two charity concerts for the blind in Oshawa.

The Stones have also played other small venue shows in Toronto, one of which led to the Live at the El Mocambo album.
In 2003, they headlined the city's SARS recovery concert, which 450,000 people attended.

A few band members talked with eTalk Daily about the show.
"I get off in the clubs myself ... I really like the smaller intimate atmospheres," said guitarist Ron Wood.

Those who missed the small Stones show will get a chance to see the band's stadium show in Moncton, Calgary and Toronto later this year.

Ottawa will host the first Canadian gig of the Rolling Stones: OnStage tour on Aug. 28. The tour will help promote A Bigger Bang, the band's first album of all-new material in eight years.
Every Stones tour brings with it the question of whether it's the band's last one.

"Hopefully, they will be rockin' to Jumpin' Jack Flash 100 years from now; I'll probably still be playin' it," joked rhythm guitarist Keith Richards.

With a report from CTV's Scott Laurie