It's Only Rock'n Roll
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It's Only Rock'n Roll |
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Jumping Jack Flash and You Got Me Rocking. Then Mick is trying to catch his breath while he is saying it is so great to be back to Wembley: "It's just f***ing wonderful that you are here with us tonight!" Then they do Live With Me and Respectable.
Gimme Shelter. Keith does the opening chords. They sound awfully false. Mick is back with Charlie, and the camera is picking up his strange face. Not a grim face, more of a surprised face, like "how can Keith mess up this, he never did it before...". Well, the rest of Gimme Shelter works just perfect. Lisa is in shape for the very high pitch tonight, and the song is just great.
Ruby Tuesday is very popular. People are singing along. Then Honky Tonk Women. Everyone loves it. The entire stadium crowd is singing along to the song. Sheryl Crow is up there on stage, like she was in Sheffield and at the Shepherds Bush Empire. The camera guy is doing close up shots of Lisa, being the Honky Tonk Woman of the night.
Saint Of Me is great, but many don't know this song. Still, there is a great sing along, and as the song finish, the crowd is still singing, on and on.
Out Of Control. One of my favorites. They do a perfect version tonight. Keith walks all the way to his left wing, to please the crowd on that side of the stadium, while Mick moves to his positon sligthtly to the right, to do the harmonica solo. Keith is moving slowly towards Mick, and they meet up as Mick is finishing his harmonica solo.
Paint It Black. Another crowd pleaser. Tim Rese, who usually is doing the saxophone, is joining Chuck to do some additional keyboards. He is clapping his hands, like Mick, and like the rest of us. Then he start playing his the keyboards.
Then the introductions. Charlie is getting a hugh applause, and is leaving his drum kit, as he walks up to do a bow for us on the center stage with Ronnie and Keith. One of these rare occations you actually see Charlie up front!
It's time for Keith do do his set. Shy as usual, but prowd to finally being back at Wembley. By the time he is finished with his usual introduction, he has totally forgotten what song he is supposed to do. There is the stool behind him, so he might have guessed, but he is just lost. He say, in a shy way: "I don't know what to do, really!". Then he does one step back, takes a look at the set list on the floor, and realize he is doing "Silver". Pierre brings him his acoustic guitar...
Before They Make Me Run. Leah Wood is on backing vocals with the others. Then the small stage. As there are so few people in the front pit, it feels like the whole pit is flowing from the front to the B-stage by now. We enjoy the three great songs on the B-stage. But I would rather have Get Off Off My Clough than tonight's choice Like A Rolling Stone. May be tomorrow...
Sympathy For The Devil brings the band back to the main stage. On backing vocals Leah Wood, sharing the microphone with Bernard Fowler, for the first time with Mick and the entire band. And who is that girl sharing the microphone with Lisa, a blond looking just like Jerry Hall? Well, it's Elisabeth, Mick's daughter. Sure she looks like her mother, as she is debuting on stage tonight, just like James did in Istanbul last year...
Tumbling Dice is good. It's Only Rock'n'Roll great, and Start Me Up is may be the most popular song for tonight, as everyone is singing along, jumping and dancing. Brown Sugar is coming up all too soon, meaning the show is over soon. A long, long and great version, as both Mick and Keith are working their ways to both wings of the crowd.
Satisfaction is closing down the show, as they are running late, like 3 minutes past the 10:30 curfew. A long show, 2 h 15 min almost, but I really liked it. Tomorrow may be even greater. The last show at Wembley is always the best one...
PS. They rehearsed three songs tonight, before the gates opened: Memory Motel, Route 66 and Can't Get Next To You. They are on my wish list for tomorrow's show!
Start time: 8:19 pm End time : 10:33 pm
The set list:
Sheryll Crow was supporting and she took the stage about 6.45 pm. She was quite nice, but for my taste there were too many people on stage for the music she makes. She played guitars and bass and they had a cello and violin as well. A nice show, but nothing really special.
Security was everywhere, although the british people have some strange ideas about crowd safety. They let only a third of the poeple that would have room in the front section in there, so these people could play soccer there, if they wanted to and the Stones were playing to a half empty front bit. Everyone behind the barriers was pushing and pushing, it was a rather crowded place there. I was on Ronnie's side outside of the front section, but I had a very good view over the stage and the front bit. To make things worse, they sold drinks in bottles. Of course those were thrown, of course I got hit by one, but that's what they call security.
The Stones were on in the daylight, around 8.15 pm and the set did not change much compared to the tourist set they use to do now. Mick apologized to London for the "long Delay" and Mick and Keith both mentioned that the Stones are the last rock band in Wembley, as the stadium is demolished this summer to be replaced by a new one. Both liked that the Stones were the ones choosen to demolish it and Mick even mentioned that they could demolish the new one as well, at which point Charlie gave a strange look to Mick and Mick told us, Charlie wouldn't like that. Everyone was laughing. Keith very much liked the idea of demolishing the place. He also told us he felt strange that he was home again. He made quite a bit of a speech before his songs and looked ever so charming.
The show had bits and pieces, but was unspectacular all in all. Keith hit a few bum notes, had to restart Gimme Shelter, because he played something massively wrong and wasn't really in best form throughout the show. But other songs were highlights again. You got the Silver was treated even more delicate then in Stuttgart, Honky Tonk Women brought Sherl Crow out again to sing the second verse and carefully caressing Mick's thighs and breast. Leah was out for Before the make me run and Sympathy, joined on the latter by another blonde young girl, who I did not recognize, as I couldn't see her properly and did miss her on the jumbotron everytime she was on
What else: the sound was not really right til HTW, after that it got much better, soundwise.
I am off to Wembley 2 in two hours time, so I am really looking forward to it, again, hoe Keith does All About you and maybe they do Some Girls again.
BUT EVERY STONES SHOW IS SOMETHING SPECIAL, A PLACE TO EXPERIENCE GREAT THINGS AND FEEL HAPPY AND SATISFIED!
From Frankfurt we flew to London on Friday afternoon due to work reasons. So we arrived at Wembley at about 6 pm, when the gates already had been open for quite a while. We moved on to the left side as far as possible and sat down on the edge of the field, were it was not so crowded as in the middle. We had quite a good view to the stage when Sheryl Crow performed. But after her set more and more people came and our position became worse. Too many tall people, we had to look to the screen, no chance of catching a glimpse of the action on stage. Still we enjoyed the show. Today's highlights were "Ruby Tuesday", "Honky Tonk Women" with Sheryl Crow and "Midnight Rambler". (Do English people only know the older songs? On those there was a great sing along, but they did not know the lines of "Out Of Control" or "Saint Of Me".) During "Midnight Rambler" Nina managed to sit on the shoulders of a very tall and friendly English guy. So for her that was a perfect place for rocking with this highlight song.
All in all we enjoyed the show and the atmosphere in this great stadium, but for tomorrow night we had to be there much earlier to get closer to the stage.
Anyway, it was a good show, but not one of my favourites, maybe also because we were not in the great position we normally have on Ronnie�s side.. This time we were in maybe 9th row, but second row to the catwalk.. I was a bit surprised they had a pit at all, because I heard they had none at the previous UK shows, but I was glad they had this time. It was not filled with a lot of people at all, so it was easy to get out and back to your position again.. It must have been really sad for those who were too late to see all this free space..
Well, due to the curfew things had to start early.. Opening act was Sheryl Crow and we enjoyed her set lasting for about 45 minutes.. The Stones were on at 8.18 or so.. After the first two songs Mick welcomed us and said he appreciated that we waited for so long.. Keith messed up the start of Gimme Shelter and had to restart(!), being not the only tune with mistakes (Route 66 etc..), but not as many mistakes as in Stuttgart..
Ruby Tuesday was next on the rotation slot and it was done nicely.. Also, the crowd liked it.. Right before HTW Mick made us laugh with saying "Charlie, don�t look so unhappy..". Sheryl Crow was back on stage joining Mick during this one.. Not a big surprise, as I already knew that from the shows before, but it was a nice version, also because I like Sheryl�s music as well..
Saint Of Me was next and we started to sing the "OH YEAH"-part even before they started playing.. Though, it was a short version, maybe also because they were not in the mood to extend it a little more.. Out Of Control was great as usual.. Paint It Black ditto..
During the introductions Ronnie was hurled to the front by Keith and he was pretenting to fall down to the catwalk, but then he spat out all the water he kept in his mouth on the floor.. Another laugh.. Charlie was coming to the middle of the stage during the intros and got most of the audiences attention..
Silver was great and Keith was in a mood to talk before.. Before They Make Me Run was next, then the bridge was used to conquer the b-stage..
The b-stage songs were great again, especially Rambler.. But I can�t hear LARS anymore, though Mick sang some different lyrics in the end.. I want to hear Get Off Of My Cloud or Just My Imagination, please!!
The rest was the usual finish with greatest hits starting with a great Sympathy and closing with Satisfaction as the encore.. Though I heared it so many times, I still liked it again..
After the final bow of Mick and Charlie, Keith was fooling them a bit as he was walking under their arms and getting the final cheers for himself..:-) Another laugh and this show was over.. This time without a firework! Maybe it was already too late, as it was already 5 minutes past curfew.. Anyway, next show tommorow they�ll blow the roof of Wembley Stadium, I�m sure, with all the saved fireworks..
We stand in front of the massive Stadium at about 4.00pm ; many people are already there ; just a quick snack and we enter the "temple" at 5.30pm. We walk through the pitch & we are stopped by a compact crowd in the middle at about 10-15 meters from the small stage. Not a bad place! No squeezing there, cool place. 6.45pm : sexy Sheryl Crow enters the stage for a 45min. set mainly made with songs from the two last albums. The "honky tonk woman" has short hair now and a long dress. I really like her ; big sound for guitars, great beginning....
8.15 : the screen is showing the "no security" video and the "�bergruppenf�hrer" start with the first chords of Jumping Jack flash!!!!!!! Fantastic!!! Keith makes an ugly false start on Gimme Shelter but all the versions are great and I'm really happy not to hear Miss You and see the boring "sexual " games between Lisa and Mick ; but what makes me happier is to HEAR really Ronnie and see him alive!!!
Sheryl Crow does her duet with Mick on Honky tonk Woman & the good surprise is, first , You got the Silver by Keith :superb, so beautiful I could cry with great slide by Ronnie and also Midnight Rambler on the small stage, a killer!!! anthology, quick, the bootleg, please!!! Looking forward to come back tomorrow!!!
Saturday Night 12 we managed it get it to the pit and had a brillent time dancing and singing. I though Angie was unforgetable and made my night.
Mick and the boys please come back again soon to play in England you really do have some loyal fans hear and we miss you.
Thanks to each and every one of you for supplying links to online newspapers, and reviews, of course!
Read all about the "No Security" and "Bridges To Babylon" tours of 1999 in the It's Only Rock'n Roll magazines. New issue IORR 36 out May 18, 1999.
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It's Only Rock'n Roll 1999 -
© The Rolling Stones Fan Club Of Europe |