Vegas artist creates a Stones masterpiece with 13-year-old son
As an acclaimed Las Vegas artist, Tim Bavington is accustomed to creating indelible works. He did it again Saturday night, with a lift from the Rolling Stones.
The man who envisioned and designed the multicolored “Pipe Dream” in the grassy courtyard at The Smith Center brought his son, Jet, to the Rolling Stones concert Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium.
It might have been the Stones’ last Las Vegas show. It was certainly young Jet’s first rock concert. He is 13 years old. His seats were in the 21st row.
Not a bad way to learn of rock ‘n’ roll history. Bavington has seen most of the Stones’ concert tours since “Steel Wheels” at the L.A. Coliseum on Oct. 22, 1989.
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“It was one of my all-time favorite Stones performances,” Bavington said Sunday morning. “We’ll remember it for a lifetime. It is impossible to express how wonderful it was to share the Stones live with my son.”
The band effectively built to a rock apex. Jagger frequently skipped along the walkway jutting from the main stage, which was backed by towering video screens. We lost track of Jagger’s jacket changes, but it had to be 10. He mentioned the cool surroundings, saying of the venue, “You’ve had Garth Brooks and the Raiderettes in here. What more could you want?”
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— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) November 7, 2021
Maybe Jagger handing Keith Richards a black No. 21 Raiders jersey, which did happen.
“Start Me Up,” “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Honky Tonk Women,” “Paint it Black,” “Gimme Shelter” and an extended “Midnight Rambler” that seemed destined to end past midnight (and due credit to the sound designers at Allegiant, as the Stones show was far better balanced and full than previous concerts by Brooks and Guns N’ Roses).
Young Jet took it all in. He is actually the third generation of his family to watch a Stones show. Bavington’s mother, Jenny, was a regular at Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, England. That’s the club where the band played some of its earliest performances in 1963.
“She saw them before they were famous,” Bavington said. “We go back generations.”
Afterward, the young man said, “I thought it was an amazing show and the music was great.” Jet wants to be an artist, too, like his dad. We’ll consider him inspired.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
