The Dirty Macs at the Hollywood Palladium: Rolling Stones’ 1973 Secret Show

Yes, there’s a bootleg of the Rolling Stones’ 1973 Hollywood Palladium show where they played under the name “The Dirty Macs,” a nod to the 1968 Beatles-Yoko Ono supergroup featuring John Lennon, Keith Richards, Mitch Mitchell, and Eric Clapton. But the Stones’ version was pure cheeky misdirection—they used the alias to warm up for their upcoming European tour without drawing a huge crowd.

The setlist leaned heavily on Goats Head Soup material (released just two months earlier) plus older hits. They played “Brown Sugar,” “Bitch,” “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker),” “Happy,” “Star Star,” “Angie,” “Silver Train,” “Midnight Rambler,” “Street Fighting Man,” and closed with “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” A few audience tapes circulate—sound quality is rough but historical. Keith introduces the band as “Dirty Macs,” and Mick Jagger later admitted the ruse let them test new songs in a smaller room.