Rolling Stones Launch 50 and Counting Tour in L.A.

The Rolling Stones are off on their 50 and Counting "world" tour and they did it with a big bang over the weekend in Los Angeles. 

The Rolling Stones are ready to take the world by storm and they showed it in Los Angeles on Friday. Of course, just like their shows last year in London and New York, it wouldn't be a Stones show if there weren't some surprise guests.

The show kicked off with Emotional Rescue, which they had never performed live before. Rolling Stone Magazine gave high praise to country singer Keith Urban showing up and helping out on Respectable, but they weren't as complimentary to pop tart Gwen Stefani's vocals on Wild Horses.

Mick Taylor even made an appearance on Midnight Rambler and according to the review, it looked like Mick was, "having the time of his life, and played like it, too." The band also did Factory Girl and It's Only Rock n' Roll.

Apparently, the Rolling Stones think that there is just an endless supply of fans who are willing to cough up $600 and more for a ticket to their show, but they got a reality check in L.A. when, come show date the show wasn't sold out, so promoters unloaded tickets for $85 a pop. It was also moved from a Thursday night to a Friday night due to the NBA playoffs, so it wasn't like tickets weren't selling because it was a school night. Maybe now greedy performers will get the message people can't afford to pay exorbitant ticket prices, even if you are the Rolling Stones.

The group also performed in Oakland on Saturday night and they're set to play San Jose on Wednesday. The rest of the trek has already been plotted out, and there are no plans for a stop in Minnesota. The closest they'll come is Chicago for three dates at the end of this month and one at the beginning of June.