For information about how to use this forum please check out forum help and policies.
Quote
Green Lady
Don't know anything about fast track entry gizmos - you'll need to ask people who had them.
You can't take in anything to eat or drink except one unopened 500ml bottle of water. Queues for food were quite long so it might be worth eating before you go in.
Quote
Max'sKansasCityQuote
Green Lady
Setlists are boring. Shows are not. This was a rather unadventurous choice of songs but a performance enjoyed enormously by both audience and band. I didn't time things exactly because I managed to leave my watch at home this morning, but they ran right up to the 10.30 deadline and I think we had 2 hours. I wasn't counting.
To begin at the beginning...
Yes, Keith did cock up the intro to Start Me Up - like arriving on stage in a skid and coming out of it at the last minute. On the other hand, it was fun to hear the band turn on a dime to keep up with Mick when he missed out a line of (I think) Doom & Gloom.
Mick asked who was there in 1969 and seemed a bit taken aback by the number if voices that answered (I met a few of them myself). Well, he said, nice to see you all again. And when the videos come out you'll be able to see the white garment he wore over his t-shirt and trousers for Honky Tonk Women - NOT by Mr Fish, I think, but it showed up beautifully in the spotlights as he took a walk around the catwalk in it. As did Lisa's wonderful white fringed shawl for a really devastating Gimme Shelter. A very visually enjoyable show, this, with the whole area behind the stage being used for video backgrounds - blue butterflies for Miss You, and what looked like half of Hyde Park on fire for Sympathy.
Lovely to have Beast of Burden - didn't Keith mention in one of those radio interviews that he'd been suggesting it to Mick? And Gary Clark Jr made a much better job of Bitch than Mr. Grohl, as far as I'm concerned.
Everybody looking and sounding absolutely delighted to be there - lots of smiles from all and a big grin on Keith's face a lot of the time. I expect once the videos appear all the experts will pick the guitars to pieces as usual, but as I'm no judge, thank God, I thought both Keith and Ronnie sounded great, apart from SMU as already mentioned.
VERY hot out in the field, with Security giving out water from great plastic dustbins full. I was on the rail of the Security area and I saw at least six or seven people carried out fainting by the paramedics during the show.
There was filming going on all the time, both onstage and in the crowd - you might have the horrible experience of seeing yours truly singing along to You Got The Silver!
I'll do another post about the layout of the arena, because it was rather peculiar and produced some problems. I will say, though, that the toilets for Tier 3 were nice and clean and uncrowded and worked perfectly - so much for the alleged superior Tier 1 facilities...
And I had the pleasure of standing next to a young lad of about 10, discovering his first Stones show - clapping, singing, taking pictures - and he wants to see them again. Hope he gets the chance.
Thank you for the in person review, you are awesome!
Quote
Big AlQuote
sarahunwin
and my dentist was in Harley Street!
Wow! We're your parents loaded?
Quote
sarahunwin
Loaded enough that I spent most of my childhood in boarding schools - lol!
That was brutal to listen to...not a good way to kick off a big show. Ugh.Quote
schillid
Did Keith REALLY begin Start Me Up on the WRONG FRET??
Quote
keefriff99That was brutal to listen to...not a good way to kick off a big show. Ugh.Quote
schillid
Did Keith REALLY begin Start Me Up on the WRONG FRET??
Quote
gotdablouse
Gary Clark finished...admire Paulywaul's wristband collection!
Quote
keefriff99
Keith completely botched the intro to Start Me Up...I mean, just MURDERED it.
What an atrocity.
You know, the fanboys keep saying how well they're playing, and when the tour first started last year, I agreed and was completely thrilled.
But lately, the excitement has worn off and I just don't hear it. At all.
Ronnie is doing pretty well, but Keith is still struggling. Not as badly as ABB, thank god, but it's still pretty dire at times. The basic timing is just off on a lot of songs, even the standards...it's really hard to listen to.
Quote
jazzbassQuote
keefriff99
Keith completely botched the intro to Start Me Up...I mean, just MURDERED it.
What an atrocity.
You know, the fanboys keep saying how well they're playing, and when the tour first started last year, I agreed and was completely thrilled.
But lately, the excitement has worn off and I just don't hear it. At all.
Ronnie is doing pretty well, but Keith is still struggling. Not as badly as ABB, thank god, but it's still pretty dire at times. The basic timing is just off on a lot of songs, even the standards...it's really hard to listen to.
I just don't get this. Not sure how it can possibly happen? He did the same thing at a Philly show in '97 I attended playing Brown Sugar. I love Keith, but seriously, he could screw up any other note during the show, as long as he nails the big intro. Can't wait to see how they fix this if there is a DVD.
Quote
jazzbass
Can't wait to see how they fix this if there is a DVD.
Quote
dimrstoneQuote
Silver Dagger
Oh well, roll on next week. By the way, there were plenty of tickets available outside and I got in for and got about 30 yards from the stage with a perfect view.
What time did you get in ?
Quote
Big AlQuote
sarahunwin
Loaded enough that I spent most of my childhood in boarding schools - lol!
LOL! I bet you got the cane, too! ><
Quote
Green Lady
My attempt to draw the layout of the Hyde Park arena - the three things marked X are three enormous sound/film structures that block the view for miles, and therefore have a screen behind them so you can watch what you can't see. The thing that caused the difficulties is a big railed-off security area that runs practically the whole width of the field. I assumed at first that everything the other side of it was Tier 1 or 2, but no - THERE IS MORE T3 ON THE OTHER SIDE. The trouble is that to get to it you have to make an enormous detour around the end of the security area.
I found myself a nice spot on the rail of the security area - good view of screens and part of stage - but throughout the show security were dealing with people who arrived at the rails and couldn't work out
(a) whether their T3 tickets allowed them into the bit on the far side
(b) how to get there
(c) having got there, how to get back.
I probably have the exact layout of T1/T2 wrong, but I'm describing this because the bit of T3 on the Keith-side stage side of the security area was very thinly populated - plenty of room to dance and move about - so it's worth knowing that yes, you are allowed in there without a wristband. Useful information for next week.
Quote
Big Al
Ughh... Keith's soloing on Sympathy
Some people here have speculated that Keith sometimes flubs the opening of Brown Sugar intentionally simply because it's a Jagger riff.Quote
jazzbassQuote
keefriff99
Keith completely botched the intro to Start Me Up...I mean, just MURDERED it.
What an atrocity.
You know, the fanboys keep saying how well they're playing, and when the tour first started last year, I agreed and was completely thrilled.
But lately, the excitement has worn off and I just don't hear it. At all.
Ronnie is doing pretty well, but Keith is still struggling. Not as badly as ABB, thank god, but it's still pretty dire at times. The basic timing is just off on a lot of songs, even the standards...it's really hard to listen to.
I just don't get this. Not sure how it can possibly happen? He did the same thing at a Philly show in '97 I attended playing Brown Sugar. I love Keith, but seriously, he could screw up any other note during the show, as long as he nails the big intro. Can't wait to see how they fix this if there is a DVD.
Quote
jazzbassQuote
keefriff99
Keith completely botched the intro to Start Me Up...I mean, just MURDERED it.
What an atrocity.
You know, the fanboys keep saying how well they're playing, and when the tour first started last year, I agreed and was completely thrilled.
But lately, the excitement has worn off and I just don't hear it. At all.
Ronnie is doing pretty well, but Keith is still struggling. Not as badly as ABB, thank god, but it's still pretty dire at times. The basic timing is just off on a lot of songs, even the standards...it's really hard to listen to.
I just don't get this. Not sure how it can possibly happen? He did the same thing at a Philly show in '97 I attended playing Brown Sugar. I love Keith, but seriously, he could screw up any other note during the show, as long as he nails the big intro. Can't wait to see how they fix this if there is a DVD.
Quote
keefriff99Some people here have speculated that Keith sometimes flubs the opening of Brown Sugar intentionally simply because it's a Jagger riff.Quote
jazzbassQuote
keefriff99
Keith completely botched the intro to Start Me Up...I mean, just MURDERED it.
What an atrocity.
You know, the fanboys keep saying how well they're playing, and when the tour first started last year, I agreed and was completely thrilled.
But lately, the excitement has worn off and I just don't hear it. At all.
Ronnie is doing pretty well, but Keith is still struggling. Not as badly as ABB, thank god, but it's still pretty dire at times. The basic timing is just off on a lot of songs, even the standards...it's really hard to listen to.
I just don't get this. Not sure how it can possibly happen? He did the same thing at a Philly show in '97 I attended playing Brown Sugar. I love Keith, but seriously, he could screw up any other note during the show, as long as he nails the big intro. Can't wait to see how they fix this if there is a DVD.
Essentially, he misplays it just to get under Mick's skin.
Now, I would HOPE that Keith isn't that immature and petty, but we've all seen and read some pretty damning evidence over the past few years which would indicate that he may just very well be.
However, botching the intro to Start Me Up is frankly inexcusable.
First of all, that riff is HIS baby, and probably second only to Satisfaction in terms of being one of his signature calling cards.
Secondly, this was an incredibly high-profile gig...kicking off the show that way was flat-out embarrassing.
I really fear that he's suffering from some cognitive issues that cause him to totally lose the plot sometimes...these issues most likely stem from his age and from his decades of substance abuse.
Even though he's living a relatively healthier lifestyle these days, the human body can only take so much before the damage is permanent.
Couple that with his horribly gnarled fingers, and he's actually playing better than anyone has a right to.