Two shows I saw were quite different. Hollywood Bowl 2005 was a team effort, and they made a 17,000 seat joint sound intimate. I loved 'Back of My Hand', but they dropped it soon after.

Dodger Stadium 2006 was the Mick show. I didn't mind because I'd never caught them on a night when he was on. I did notice the individual players weren't excelling. I don't remember any instrumental flourishes that were outstanding. Even the drums aren't as explosive as they used to be. But it was a great show.

I saw the following shows on ABB.

13.09.05 Madison Square Garden - awesome show

15.09.05 Giants Stadium - fantastic

13.04.06 Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne - one of the best ever

July 2006 - Paris, France - great show

August 2006 - Both Twickenham shows - both awesome

August 2006 - Hampden Park, Glasgow - another awesome show

July 2007 - Paris France - not the best

August 2007 - Slane Castle - great show, great sound, fantastic performance

August 2007 - All 3 shows at the o2 - all were very good, the second one was brilliant

So, of all those shows, only the 2007 Paris gig was a bit of a dud. The rest were as good as any shows I've seen on the previous tours (I've seen all tours since Voodoo Lounge)

Not very exciting...but Slane Castle was excellent but probably because of the venue

I saw the East Hartford show on Aug. 26, 2005:

It's not so much that it was awful...it's that I was underwhelmed.

As soon as they hit the stage, I didn't get that euphoric rush that I usually get.

They started playing Start Me Up, and I felt like "been there, done that."

Same dancing, same guitar moves...it was so staged and rote.

There were hardly any setlist surprises, and the stage was too gaudy to be really breathtaking.

I don't know...there was nothing WRONG with the show, but I just felt BLAH afterwards, and it really made me sad, because I NEVER thought the Stones would EVER make me feel that way.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011-10-27 20:57 by keefriff99.

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mickscarey
GREAT tour

MS you posts never disappoint! You're like a compass pointing South

the only thing i wish is that they would really switch up the set lists ...
i went to:
11/05 anaheim stadium - 21 songs - good show, didn't like mick's comment when he said something like hope you didn't have to mortgage your house for a ticket.
hollywood bowl shows were good - 21 songs a piece - a few different song choices thrown in there.
the forum show 3/06 was a rocker - 20 songs - loved gimme shelter before the intros and respectable was a treat
vegas mgm grand 11/06 - down to 19 - not sure, good show, something felt off, but still great energy
and last, LA dodger stadium 11/06 - 19 - by now i'm praying for different songs - got lets spend the night together but that's about it. good show though!

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HighwireC
All concerts behind 1965 are very disappointing, no action, really.

... perhaps a little gleam at


Thereafter they have never done a good tour anymore, no Brian, no Taylor, no Stones ...

BWWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
whew doggy Jethro... who knew you could be so funny... thanks for the laugh.

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HighwireC
Thereafter they have never done a good tour anymore, no Brian, no Taylor, no Stones

LOL. Thanks for the humor.

-------------------
Keep On Rolling

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mickscarey
GREAT tour

Right on mate Cheers

-------------------
Keep On Rolling

Saw four shows - Opening night at Fenway, Moncton, Tampa and Atlanta. All were wonderful. Unlike many others, I enjoyed the on-stage experience.

Glasgow 2006 - average sound at the back of the field - picked seats to be close to the b stage and that was awesome - darkness, lights down, felt like a club show
Sheffield 2006 - clsoe to stage, brilliant, could hear every instrument clearly, great show, the band looked like they were having a ball (and it never stopped raining!)

O2 1st show 2007 - back of hall, good sound and B-stage again great (Satisfaction rocked!)
O2 2nd show 2007 - fantastic - much closer to stage - Midnight Rambler particularly fine!

ABB tour seemed pretty good to me as a 'live' experience - and the rest of the crowds

I only went to 2 ABB shows...Milwaukee (Bradley Center Arena) & Chicago (Soldier Field). Both were memorable.

Milwaukee (Sept 2005) - Buddy Guy opened / Stones did Waiting On A Friend for the Katrina TV telethon.

Chicago (Oct 2006) - Surreal experience. Reported as coldest Stones show ever. Played She Was Hot live for the first time. The band was dressed in long Winter coats, gloves and hats. Keith often motioned to the crowd that he could not play guitar due to the cold. The band (other than Mick) spent most of the time huddled around Charlie and the heaters.
The wind swirled the music. As I said..it was very surreal.


IORR............but I like it!

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StonesTod

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DragonSky
Well, having a great time at something is not saying the show/performance/etc was great.

excellent point. i've had great times at lousy shows and awful times at great shows. i've also had mediocre times at great shows and lousy times at mediocre shows. for some reason, i've never had a mediocre time at a lousy show, though. strange.

But what about having a mediocre time at a mediocre show? I think that's the real question here.

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sweet neo con
I only went to 2 ABB shows...Milwaukee (Bradley Center Arena) & Chicago (Soldier Field). Both were memorable.

Milwaukee (Sept 2005) - Buddy Guy opened / Stones did Waiting On A Friend for the Katrina TV telethon.

Chicago (Oct 2006) - Surreal experience. Reported as coldest Stones show ever. Played She Was Hot live for the first time. The band was dressed in long Winter coats, gloves and hats. Keith often motioned to the crowd that he could not play guitar due to the cold. The band (other than Mick) spent most of the time huddled around Charlie and the heaters.
The wind swirled the music. As I said..it was very surreal.

..and all so they could play a stadium show...to just 30,000 fans in the same stadium where 60,000 had saw them play 13 months earlier..

Proof of what a shambles much of the latter end of the ABB tour was. Cohl booking them into freezing stadiums in awful weather conditions (couldnt they have played one night at the United Centre instead?) - no wonder Jagger's voice ended up going. Large sections of stadia tarped off due to poor sales, last minute 2 tickets for the price of 1 'firesales' in order to shift thousands of unsold tickets. A low point in their career without question.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-10-28 02:08 by Gazza.

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Gazza

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sweet neo con
I only went to 2 ABB shows...Milwaukee (Bradley Center Arena) & Chicago (Soldier Field). Both were memorable.

Milwaukee (Sept 2005) - Buddy Guy opened / Stones did Waiting On A Friend for the Katrina TV telethon.

Chicago (Oct 2006) - Surreal experience. Reported as coldest Stones show ever. Played She Was Hot live for the first time. The band was dressed in long Winter coats, gloves and hats. Keith often motioned to the crowd that he could not play guitar due to the cold. The band (other than Mick) spent most of the time huddled around Charlie and the heaters.
The wind swirled the music. As I said..it was very surreal.

..and all so they could play a stadium show...to just 30,000 fans in the same stadium where 60,000 had saw them play 13 months earlier..

Proof of what a shambles much of the latter end of the ABB tour was. Cohl booking them into freezing stadiums in awful weather conditions (couldnt they have played one night at the United Centre instead?) - no wonder Jagger's voice ended up going. Large sections of stadia tarped off due to poor sales, last minute 2 tickets for the price of 1 'firesales' in order to shift thousands of unsold tickets. A low point in their career without question.

I hear what you're saying but nobody can predict the weather........October in the upper Midwest (USA) is very
difficult to predict. (yes that alone is a legit reason NOT to schedule a stadium) October at Soldier Field with the wind whipping off of Lake Michigan is going to be chilly no matter what....so YES..1-2 Arena shows would have been safer.

B2B Madison WI Show was in October and was 80 degrees. Mick said he had voice problems because the previous shows in Canada were too cold.

This year we had some 65-70 degree days in October...so one never knows.


IORR............but I like it!

WAS the ABB bang tour really bad?

No, it was really fun

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sweet neo con

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Gazza

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sweet neo con
I only went to 2 ABB shows...Milwaukee (Bradley Center Arena) & Chicago (Soldier Field). Both were memorable.

Milwaukee (Sept 2005) - Buddy Guy opened / Stones did Waiting On A Friend for the Katrina TV telethon.

Chicago (Oct 2006) - Surreal experience. Reported as coldest Stones show ever. Played She Was Hot live for the first time. The band was dressed in long Winter coats, gloves and hats. Keith often motioned to the crowd that he could not play guitar due to the cold. The band (other than Mick) spent most of the time huddled around Charlie and the heaters.
The wind swirled the music. As I said..it was very surreal.

..and all so they could play a stadium show...to just 30,000 fans in the same stadium where 60,000 had saw them play 13 months earlier..

Proof of what a shambles much of the latter end of the ABB tour was. Cohl booking them into freezing stadiums in awful weather conditions (couldnt they have played one night at the United Centre instead?) - no wonder Jagger's voice ended up going. Large sections of stadia tarped off due to poor sales, last minute 2 tickets for the price of 1 'firesales' in order to shift thousands of unsold tickets. A low point in their career without question.

I hear what you're saying but nobody can predict the weather........October in the upper Midwest (USA) is very
difficult to predict. (yes that alone is a legit reason NOT to schedule a stadium) October at Soldier Field with the wind whipping off of Lake Michigan is going to be chilly no matter what....so YES..1-2 Arena shows would have been safer.

B2B Madison WI Show was in October and was 80 degrees. Mick said he had voice problems because the previous shows in Canada were too cold.

This year we had some 65-70 degree days in October...so one never knows.

Guys in their mid 60s - one of them a lead singer prone to throat problems - shouldnt be playing outdoor shows in cold weather. And fans who are paying a lot of money to see them shouldnt be subjected to those conditions either just so they can squeeze more money out of them. I can understand that there are some parts of the US where you can comfortably play outdoor shows at that time of year, but Soldier Field?

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Gazza

..and all so they could play a stadium show...to just 30,000 fans in the same stadium where 60,000 had saw them play 13 months earlier..

Proof of what a shambles much of the latter end of the ABB tour was. Cohl booking them into freezing stadiums in awful weather conditions (couldnt they have played one night at the United Centre instead?) - no wonder Jagger's voice ended up going. Large sections of stadia tarped off due to poor sales, last minute 2 tickets for the price of 1 'firesales' in order to shift thousands of unsold tickets. A low point in their career without question.

Only 30,000 showed up in a "rock n roll city" like Chicago???

People there have no problem freezing their asses off for a football game in December or January.

Yeah, a huge blunder by Cohl, however, where were all of the fans of Chicago? There are nearly 10M people in the metro area (as anyone who lives within a couple of hours of there claims that they are from Chicago.)

No wonder Cleveland has the Rock N Roll Hall and not Chicago - Cleveland would have filled the place.

Quote
Gazza

Quote
sweet neo con

Quote
Gazza

Quote
sweet neo con
I only went to 2 ABB shows...Milwaukee (Bradley Center Arena) & Chicago (Soldier Field). Both were memorable.

Milwaukee (Sept 2005) - Buddy Guy opened / Stones did Waiting On A Friend for the Katrina TV telethon.

Chicago (Oct 2006) - Surreal experience. Reported as coldest Stones show ever. Played She Was Hot live for the first time. The band was dressed in long Winter coats, gloves and hats. Keith often motioned to the crowd that he could not play guitar due to the cold. The band (other than Mick) spent most of the time huddled around Charlie and the heaters.
The wind swirled the music. As I said..it was very surreal.

..and all so they could play a stadium show...to just 30,000 fans in the same stadium where 60,000 had saw them play 13 months earlier..

Proof of what a shambles much of the latter end of the ABB tour was. Cohl booking them into freezing stadiums in awful weather conditions (couldnt they have played one night at the United Centre instead?) - no wonder Jagger's voice ended up going. Large sections of stadia tarped off due to poor sales, last minute 2 tickets for the price of 1 'firesales' in order to shift thousands of unsold tickets. A low point in their career without question.

I hear what you're saying but nobody can predict the weather........October in the upper Midwest (USA) is very
difficult to predict. (yes that alone is a legit reason NOT to schedule a stadium) October at Soldier Field with the wind whipping off of Lake Michigan is going to be chilly no matter what....so YES..1-2 Arena shows would have been safer.

B2B Madison WI Show was in October and was 80 degrees. Mick said he had voice problems because the previous shows in Canada were too cold.

This year we had some 65-70 degree days in October...so one never knows.

Guys in their mid 60s - one of them a lead singer prone to throat problems - shouldnt be playing outdoor shows in cold weather. And fans who are paying a lot of money to see them shouldnt be subjected to those conditions either just so they can squeeze more money out of them. I can understand that there are some parts of the US where you can comfortably play outdoor shows at that time of year, but Soldier Field?

I completely agree....but both shows were still enjoyable and memorable to me.


IORR............but I like it!

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Max'sKansasCity
WAS the ABB bang tour really bad?

No, it was really fun

bad and fun are not mutually exclusive. now, bad and good generally are.

Quote
uhbuhgullayew

Quote
Gazza

..and all so they could play a stadium show...to just 30,000 fans in the same stadium where 60,000 had saw them play 13 months earlier..

Proof of what a shambles much of the latter end of the ABB tour was. Cohl booking them into freezing stadiums in awful weather conditions (couldnt they have played one night at the United Centre instead?) - no wonder Jagger's voice ended up going. Large sections of stadia tarped off due to poor sales, last minute 2 tickets for the price of 1 'firesales' in order to shift thousands of unsold tickets. A low point in their career without question.

Only 30,000 showed up in a "rock n roll city" like Chicago???

People there have no problem freezing their asses off for a football game in December or January.

Yeah, a huge blunder by Cohl, however, where were all of the fans of Chicago? There are nearly 10M people in the metro area (as anyone who lives within a couple of hours of there claims that they are from Chicago.)

No wonder Cleveland has the Rock N Roll Hall and not Chicago - Cleveland would have filled the place.

Surprised me too! But it probably has to do with the frequent stops in Chicago...the high ticket prices (i didn't know about the "buy one get one" deal) and the fact the weather was so miserable that there were no show-day ticket purchases for fear of cancellation. ?? I'm sure Gazza knows more stats & details. I won tickets from a Milw radio station THAT morning and raced down to Soldier Field after work....missed opener Elvis Costello.


IORR............but I like it!

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StonesTod

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Max'sKansasCity
WAS the ABB bang tour really bad?

No, it was really fun

bad and fun are not mutually exclusive. now, bad and good generally are.

yes...the question needs to be clearer. more new material more often would've been better....but
overall, the tour itself was exciting....and I've enjoyed every Stones show I've attended.

so there you go..ask a vague question..get a vague answer.


IORR............but I like it!

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StonesTod

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Max'sKansasCity
WAS the ABB bang tour really bad?

No, it was really fun

bad and fun are not mutually exclusive. now, bad and good generally are.

Yeah, I read your funny quote...

""i've had great times at lousy shows and awful times at great shows. i've also had mediocre times at great shows and lousy times at mediocre shows. for some reason, i've never had a mediocre time at a lousy show, though.""

on the other hand, bad and good are not mutually exclusive,
just ask Mae West('s ghost)... she is quoted as saying....
""When I'm good I'm very good, but when I'm bad I'm better""



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-10-28 03:11 by Max'sKansasCity.

I thoroughly enjoyed both the Toronto and Vancouver shows...that isn't saying that they were at their musical highs, but honestly, in the spectacle of it all, whether Blondie is covering for Keith or if there is a muffed solo here and there...it's all a blur.

Also, Mick ends up being the centre of it all, so as far as shows go, they continue to be great.

If I were to listen to the bootleg, maybe I would have a different opinion.

Based on the last shows though, I would go again.

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treaclefingers
I thoroughly enjoyed both the Toronto and Vancouver shows...that isn't saying that they were at their musical highs, but honestly, in the spectacle of it all, whether Blondie is covering for Keith or if there is a muffed solo here and there...it's all a blur.

Also, Mick ends up being the centre of it all, so as far as shows go, they continue to be great.

If I were to listen to the bootleg, maybe I would have a different opinion.

Based on the last shows though, I would go again.

you can say all of that again

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sweet neo con
Chicago (Oct 2006) - Surreal experience. Reported as coldest Stones show ever. Played She Was Hot live for the first time. The band was dressed in long Winter coats, gloves and hats. Keith often motioned to the crowd that he could not play guitar due to the cold. The band (other than Mick) spent most of the time huddled around Charlie and the heaters.
The wind swirled the music. As I said..it was very surreal.

Was there also and surreal is a great word to describe it. That was no way to experience a rock and roll show for both the band and the fans yet us weird Midwestern folks braved through it. It was tough to completely enjoy the show when we were all literally trying to just SURVIVE the show. It was pretty sad to look up and around see those huge tarps (with huge tongues printed on them) covering the entire upper section of empty seats.

I frequented the Shidoobee board more in those days and I recall the hoopla after this show that swept the board...it was the beginning of the "there is something wrong with Keith talk" And it was true. Something was definitely off with Keith. He was sluggish and just looked out of it. There was a ridculously long delay before they played "Midnight Rambler" and Keith was noticeably absent. Charlie and Mick had to fill the dead air with noise until Keith emerged. Because of this, one member supported the idea that Keith that night simply forgot songs and couldn't remember how to play the guitar. We can assume now that he was probably doing a couple things to try to warm his hands. Still though, that was a tough show to watch...seeing Keith really not himself.

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Max'sKansasCity

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treaclefingers
I thoroughly enjoyed both the Toronto and Vancouver shows...that isn't saying that they were at their musical highs, but honestly, in the spectacle of it all, whether Blondie is covering for Keith or if there is a muffed solo here and there...it's all a blur.

Also, Mick ends up being the centre of it all, so as far as shows go, they continue to be great.

If I were to listen to the bootleg, maybe I would have a different opinion.

Based on the last shows though, I would go again.

you can say all of that again

For whatever negativity there is out there, towards Keith and Ron's playing, Chuck, Darryl not being Bill, whatever, you do have Charlie, and you have Mick.

Mick is the show, so that is covered. The music is more than adequate...it may not be 1972, or 1978, but then we all know that already.

They may not be the band of the past, but if we accept this is what we have, it is still REALLY good, excellent in fact. Speaking of Vegas, what would you rather see, the Rolling Stones, or the Beatles LOVE in vegas?

btw- I dont (want or) need to ever read a Blondie "tell all" book.
We know the score, there is no need to write it all down.....
let the legend be the fact... even feigned ignorance can be bliss.

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uhbuhgullayew

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Gazza

..and all so they could play a stadium show...to just 30,000 fans in the same stadium where 60,000 had saw them play 13 months earlier..

Proof of what a shambles much of the latter end of the ABB tour was. Cohl booking them into freezing stadiums in awful weather conditions (couldnt they have played one night at the United Centre instead?) - no wonder Jagger's voice ended up going. Large sections of stadia tarped off due to poor sales, last minute 2 tickets for the price of 1 'firesales' in order to shift thousands of unsold tickets. A low point in their career without question.

Only 30,000 showed up in a "rock n roll city" like Chicago???

People there have no problem freezing their asses off for a football game in December or January.

Yeah, a huge blunder by Cohl, however, where were all of the fans of Chicago? There are nearly 10M people in the metro area (as anyone who lives within a couple of hours of there claims that they are from Chicago.)

No wonder Cleveland has the Rock N Roll Hall and not Chicago - Cleveland would have filled the place.

Well, the Stones totally over-saturated the Chicago market. For a while it seemed like they were playing there every other month. They really overplayed their hand in Chicago. By way of comparison, since B2B in 1997, the Stones have played Chicago 15 times, and Cleveland 2 times. If that cold, October 2006 show at Soldier Field had been the the third time they'd played Chicago instead of the 15th time within that timeframe, well, they probaby would not have had to tarp half the stadium and give away tons of tickets. Well, maybe. Not only was that the coldest show the Stones may have ever done, it was probably also the coldest ticket Chicago's seen in a LONG time. Literally couldn't give them away. And not just because of the cold weather that night. Yes, a low point.

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Rolling Hansie

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NedKelly
I had a great time on each and every one of them.

Good for you. That's all that matters. Who cares what other people think ?

Like, Hansie!!!

Did 15 shows. Only the first Chicago a bit... Mick's cold.
Best was MSG. And G I luv' that place!
Hmm, can't think of a bad bad show. Frankfurt the sound, Halifax the rain don't count
ONE thing, will never ever forgive myself for missing Texas. Think Dean said it was just as good as on the DVD.

TE
Oslo



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-10-28 03:39 by TE.