POP MUSIC REVIEW : The Rain Brings Quips and Another Solid Set by Stones

Gimme shelter, indeed.

Everybody was ready with rain quips as the Rolling Stones’ four-night stand came to a soggy, soggy end Sunday night at the umbrella-filled Coliseum:

* “Why do you think they call it a wet suit ?” asked Living Colour lead singer Corey Glover, whose customary bright, skin-tight bodywear came in handy when the downpour started halfway through his band’s opening set. (Surprise Colour highlight: A soaked, climactic, metallic “Johnny B. Goode” in honor of Chuck Berry’s 63rd birthday.)

* “I wasn’t planning on taking my shower till after the show,” quipped Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose. (Surprise GNR highlight: Once the rain stopped, Rose celebrated by taking a mid-song jog around the Coliseum track.)

* “Watch out for the acid rain,” jested Mick Jagger, weakly, though the storm--no respecter of audience persons, but deferential to true stardom, no doubt--had moved along well before the Stones started themselves up. (Surprise Stones highlight: None. This was their usual solid, 25-song, 2 1/2-hour set, on which neither rain nor spontaneity intruded.)

Those who waited until the fourth and final night to catch the triple bill--which really has seemed at times like a battle of the bands (Guns N’ Roses vs. Living Colour) or a battle within the band (GNR, again)--missed out on any sense of controversy.

Rose was in a conciliatory, if still childishly foul-mouthed, mood. He apologized for stereotyping police as the enemy when introducing “Out of My Way” earlier in the week, praised the Coliseum security forces and bid adieu by casting his vote for the Stones as indeed “the world’s greatest band.”

The tour now heads to New York’s Shea Stadium for shows Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. The tour is scheduled to return to the West Coast on Nov. 4 and 5 for concerts at the Oakland Coliseum stadium.