I was there,I had tickets for the first night but swapped them for the last night,because I thought it might be the last night,and I'm glad I went even though it was not their best performance.
Woyuld I go again I'm not sure,I'm 4 years older and I know my own personal arthritis is worse and I use a stick more now,so I would imagine Keiths arthritis is not getting better,after all there is no cure,well as far as I know there isn't,I can use aforementioned walking stick to help me,what do you use if your fingers are affected.
I know one thing for sure though ,if there's no Keith ,there's no Rolling Stones.

more london 3

Ronnie's kiss from ???

Mick telling Keith he had lipstick too!

Keith "Chewing up" his cigarette

and Mick's final for now....

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jimpietryga1
Keith "Chewing up" his cigarette

He he - I find that quite disturbing

If you remember, there was a ban on smoking at the o2 and lots of speculation if Keith would light up anyway......Looks a lot like a chocolate cig to me

I was there and it was a very emotional evening for me. When I left the O2 that night I couldn't get the thought that I may well have witnessed the Stones' last show out of my mind and yes, I did shed a few tears.

Lose your dreams and you will lose your mind...

I was there and went to all 3. Travelled from Canada, second time over the pond that summer to see the boys! I thought show 2 was the best, followed by show 3 and that show 1 was the weakest, especially you know who! There were 3 of us in our travelling group and we all thought it was likely the last show for the band. Not only the kids on stage but so many family memebers in the audience and the vibe from Mick between songs lead us to believe that it may be the last one. We went to one of the bars in the O2 after the show, they were blasting mainly Stones songs, and we toasted the band and all their shows we had seen. We felt fortunate to have done it and if we are wrong and more shows come along, so much the better.

The 2nd night was the best as they did a truly great version of Midnight Rambler. You can use that as a rule of thumb - if they play Midnight Rambler then the general performance is going to be up there because they'll be high on confidence in settling into that amazing funky groove.

it was a day of mixed emotions,

first we got the silver, and at the end i was a fool to cry....

i don`t hope it was our final bow,
but sometimes when i watch the dvd of this gig and i follow keith, he was so slow, so tired.. don`tget me wrong,no critics, just a thought, i enjoyed the moments anyway...

till the next goodbye

I went at the last minute having only planned to go to the first two shows. The person offering me the ticket actually said "This may be the last time"! I think it was. Keith is and was in poor shape and I think Mick has had enough.

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skipstone

Curious shows of affection between the band members (03:35 to 03:52 approx), anyone else notice this ? For the benefit of the cameras do we think ... or (heaven forbid) genuine ?

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

Clearly genuine and why not? There was plenty of affectionate interaction that night between band members - especially Mick and Keith. That made me think all the more that both of them were, at least, mindful of the significance of the occasion in their lives. But time moves on. It isn't on their side any more.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-04-03 13:24 by Lady Jayne.

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Lady Jayne
Clearly genuine and why not? There was plenty of affectionate interaction that night between band members - especially Mick and Keith. That made me think all the more that both of them were, at least, mindful of the significance of the occasion in their lives. But time moves on. It isn't on their side any more.

I asked the question precisely because there's no shortage of punters on this message board who would have us believe that the individual band members can barely stand to be in the same room as one another these days and have entirely lost the desire to make/play music together; in fact that this has been the case for years. Personally, I do not subscribe to that view. Those few seconds of open affection for one another I do not for one moment think is a play for the cameras, I think what you see is entirely genuine. Some things you can fake, others you can't; such as occasional little looks of affection at one another. One wonders what WAS in their respective minds ... Keith blowing a kiss to Charlie, Mick winking at Charlie, Mick and Keith hugging ? Personally, I'd like to think it was something like "f**k me, whoever would've thought back in 1962 ............." ?

What an amazing journey those boys have had !

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

Was there, but it wasn't the last show as far as I'm concerned.
Here's some weird trivia for ya: Aug. 26, 2007 was the same day Hulk Hogan's son Nick crashed his Toyota Supra in Clearwater, Florida (The day that changed Hogan's life forever).

JumpingKentFlash

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paulywaul

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Lady Jayne
Clearly genuine and why not? There was plenty of affectionate interaction that night between band members - especially Mick and Keith. That made me think all the more that both of them were, at least, mindful of the significance of the occasion in their lives. But time moves on. It isn't on their side any more.

I asked the question precisely because there's no shortage of punters on this message board who would have us believe that the individual band members can barely stand to be in the same room as one another these days and have entirely lost the desire to make/play music together; in fact that this has been the case for years. Personally, I do not subscribe to that view. Those few seconds of open affection for one another I do not for one moment think is a play for the cameras, I think what you see is entirely genuine. Some things you can fake, others you can't; such as occasional little looks of affection at one another. One wonders what WAS in their respective minds ... Keith blowing a kiss to Charlie, Mick winking at Charlie, Mick and Keith hugging ? Personally, I'd like to think it was something like "f**k me, whoever would've thought back in 1962 ............." ?

What an amazing journey those boys have had !

I think it is genuine. To me it looks like that the problem is to get them together to play together - and for that we need a lot of money and diplomatics, ego consultation or whatever - but when they get there, there is a real affection between them. One can only imagine what it feels like being them in that very moment when they are playing together, having all that history in them.... there much be some kind of extraordinary connection or chemistry that that is only known and felt via music, catching the moment. I can very easily imagine that Mick and Keith have that "glimmer twin" connection in some of those monents, and it is not just "for the cameras" - but I can as easily imagine that when the moment - a show - is over, they just walk out out of the building (surrounded by their own courts) without saying anything to each other, and not paying any attention to the very existence of the other, and hoping to stay as far as possible...

- Doxa

I was there, my best seats ever, just a couple back from the B stage thanks to a long suffering Mr Stargroves.
It may have been the Last Time, but I'm not sure that that was the intention at the time, we'll just have to wait and see...

I wasn't able to get to the third show on the Sunday, but I did make it to the first two. I quite simply don't know whether we have seen the last of the Rolling Stones on stage, but if the show on Thursday 23rd does turn out to be the last Stones performance I ever see, it was a bloody good one.

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Green Lady
I wasn't able to get to the third show on the Sunday, but I did make it to the first two. I quite simply don't know whether we have seen the last of the Rolling Stones on stage, but if the show on Thursday 23rd does turn out to be the last Stones performance I ever see, it was a bloody good one.

Hi G.L.,

The same for me but I might take the Tuesday show by a whisker...ah heck, they were both a joy to be at!

Cheers,

Si.

Now thinking this emotionally touching thread and its subject... Well, I think I am more egoist kind of fan.. Everytime I've been a Rolling Stones concert in recent decades, I remember being thinking that this is my last Rolling Stones concert experience ever no matter if they will tour or not in future. Maybe being in a tour closing show like then in 2007 (I wasn't) might made me to think it the from their side as well - that this is it. That they don't ever again enter the stage again (gulps indeed). Never been in that kind of situation.

I guess the 'guys' themselves might actually think everytime they close a tour that perhaps this was the last time. To start a new tour and all that it takes, needs a whole new beginning and a motivation and all that - and how can they know that they will have it once again some day? I mean, just having had once again ground-breaking (in gross) a three-year-tour, one can only guess how mentally tired the guys are, and the idea to start it all over again from a zero, does not sound a very likable option for sixtysomethings who are tremendously wealthy as hell... and we need to notice the natural riskies (age/physical condition factor) as well.

Anyway, what was special about ending A BIGGER BANG TOUR was that they weren't eager to put the tour to bed; at the time they all - even Charlie! - were attending to SHINE A LIGHT movie premieres; I thought that perhaps they are now like doing their own personal long goodbyes to their career as a touring band. Then I had that feeling that perhaps that was it - now whe have seen it all, how far it can get. That Scorsese had the task to somehow capture the last moment of the 'Stones in concert' for the history to remember. Jagger's interest on the vaults projects (EXILE, LADIES & GENTS, SOME GIRLS), while Keith sharing his view on the past in just form form of talking, seems to indicate that the existence of The Stones might be different from now on.

- Doxa



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 2011-04-03 15:43 by Doxa.

I was there too. Of all the shows I've seen the Stones I keep wonderful and unique memories. That night was unforgettable for me.
Not sure if it was the last time (I hope not!) but the atmosphere was very special.

This is the setlist of the final show signed by Darryl, Chuck and Ronnie.
Bigger Bang Show #147

What's funny in that Jordi's setlist is the tempo of "You Got The Silver" - it says "KR"... I guess before 1982 any song would have the same tempo indication...

- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-04-03 15:49 by Doxa.

if it was the last show maybe they will issue an official dvd of the show with overdubs and edits of course typical stones fashion

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melillo
if it was the last show maybe they will issue an official dvd of the show with overdubs and edits of course typical stones fashion

That's one thing that points to this concert not being their last. Do you really think they'd miss the opportunity to not get paid for a DVD of their final show.

JumpingKentFlash

good point

thanks for posting your pics, jim pietryga. they're brilliant, as usual. have any more! :-)

i was there - it was the end of a tour that had kept my life lit up for three years
so yeah: i cried at the end.


(that footage of Keith in the hotel and then taking the boat to the venue was filmed the day of the second show, by the way)

i love the Rolling Stones

I do know one thing, I was next to someone I know who knows Keith and his wife quite well, she visits with them a fair bit and is back stage whenever she goes to a show. When Keith was playing, she was quite emotional: She said to me that she couldn't believe she was seeing Keith for the last time. Given that she is a friend of theirs, I took this to mean that he must have said something or Pattie had.