I totally empathize with anybody (such as benstones) who was at the front and unable to see properly. It's happened to me before (not with the Stones, luckily), either because of the height of the stage or because of monitor-positioning, and totally defeats the purpose of being at the front. Though I think getting some personal attention and a pick from Keith might have made up for it, a bit, for me!

Maybe this gig will be incorporated in the next season of "Homeland"? Any sights of Carrie or Saul in Abu Dhabi?

I remember in the Urban Jungle Tour that the stage was also so high that I couldn't see a Thing in the first row. ABB was about the same. I remember that Voodoo Lounge was slightley lower. As this was more or less an open field with seats at the very back they might have Chosen a very high stage to get all the People to see the Stones.

Anyway thank you very much for all those reports and yes they are rolling on Fire in 2014. Wonderful

I have to say living in Philly,yesterday afternoon at work was awesome,light day for a Friday.. I was excited all morning for USA vs CANADA.. hats off Canucks.. and the Stones..my TV on for the game and my cell here on IORR,watching the setlist and pics..thanks so much to all to included us in the show. Now, I have to bitch a bit, like many here, I have seen many Stones shows since my first in 81 JFK Philly..and my last was Philly June 18th and 21st 2013 and all tours in between. EVERY song is a gem now to me, while we might want to hear others played.We must realize that the privilege of seeing them live cant last many more years and the day will come that we wish we could hear those warhorses one more time and enjoy the experience that is the STONES live. I will take what they give me and love every moment.The setlist is secondary to me.It's the feel,groove,closeness of a show only they can create that makes them special.When that is gone, they could play all the gems we would love to hear but the magic would be gone. Yesterday,from what I can see,even with the setlist as was.. they created that magic.The SETLIST song is the most tired warhorse of them all....just my opinion

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Max'sKansasCity
Thanks for posting the videos Cristiano Radtke.

I am looking forward to reading more comments from people who were actually there. I do hope for a proper lower front of stage for the people who pay to be in up front, to be able to see everyone, at other events on this leg, for our friends who are up close... and as far as songs/ set list they will play? They will probably play a bunch of great Stones songs, and if one does not want to be disappointed then one should not expect anything else.

I have paid top $$ for front row seats for Adelaide show.
I better be able to see or I may have to borrow Keefs blade.

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EG1964
I have to say living in Philly,yesterday afternoon at work was awesome,light day for a Friday.. I was excited all morning for USA vs CANADA.. hats off Canucks.. and the Stones..my TV on for the game and my cell here on IORR,watching the setlist and pics..thanks so much to all to included us in the show. Now, I have to bitch a bit, like many here, I have seen many Stones shows since my first in 81 JFK Philly..and my last was Philly June 18th and 21st 2013 and all tours in between. EVERY song is a gem now to me, while we might want to hear others played.We must realize that the privilege of seeing them live cant last many more years and the day will come that we wish we could hear those warhorses one more time and enjoy the experience that is the STONES live. I will take what they give me and love every moment.The setlist is secondary to me.It's the feel,groove,closeness of a show only they can create that makes them special.When that is gone, they could play all the gems we would love to hear but the magic would be gone. Yesterday,from what I can see,even with the setlist as was.. they created that magic.The SETLIST song is the most tired warhorse of them all....just my opinion

No, that's not enough. Have one of these!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-02-22 11:25 by Aquamarine.

Angie:

Seems like setlist praisers are outnumbering the setlist whiners now...

Many thanks for all those pictures, videos and reviews

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

Imo there's no point in bashing the band over what was essentially a dress rehearsal in front of an audience. Jagger the fox made sure he got paid for it...

Tour starts next Wednesday.

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Green Lady
Angie:

Jagger sings very well and even went to the "high notes" like in the studio recording, when was the last time he did this, sometimes in the 70s maybe?

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Cristiano Radtke

They are obviously playing very well and Jagger is singing and performing VERY well, I guess the whole year 2013 was some kind of a rehearsal... I really hope they can keep up with this level. This is like back in -89.

And Darryl Jones' bass playing is WILD!!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-02-22 12:15 by rollingon.

Jagger flubs the words to Miss You and then sings an extra line to make up for it and the backing starts while he's still singing the verse. Dress rehearsal indeed!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-02-22 12:54 by jammingedward.

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jammingedward
Jagger flubs the words to Miss You and then sings an extra line to make up for it and the backing starts while he's still singing the verse. Dress rehearsal indeed!

Yes but the feeling is very strong and intense IMO.

And Ronnie, was he good ?

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rollingon
I guess the whole year 2013 was some kind of a rehearsal

I've heard some ludicrous things posted in this thread, but this takes the cake.

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rollingon

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Green Lady
Angie:

even went to the "high notes"

Absolutely amazing

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

YCAGWYW (beginning missing)





Satisfaction (complete) and final bows:

Sounds like a solid show

Lee Hoagland/The National

The Rolling Stones thrill Abu Dhabi

Saeed Saeed
February 22, 2014

It was labelled as a new tour by the Rolling Stones, but their du Arena show last night was business as usual for the legendary rockers.

The band kicked off their latest jaunt in the capital with a two hour performance that may have lacked in surprises but packed with enough hits to keep both the faithful and first-timers happy. The concert also cemented du Arena as the region’s leading concert venue.

The Yas Island music hub has hosted many top stars but the Rolling Stones’ mammoth stage-set up was arguably one to be rivalled.

However, those used to extra space in the Fire Pit and Golden Circle areas of the arena received a rude shock; the combination of over 30,000 people and the 40 metre T-Shaped stage split both sections in two, cramming fans in on both sides.

Fortunately the stage was elevated to such a height that even the vertically challenged had a decent view of the wrinkly rockers.

Arriving on stage to the sound of tribal drumming, the Stones launched into Start Me Up for their opening number.

Frontman Mick Jagger was up for it. Dressed in a sparkly red jacket — the first of nearly half a dozen costume changes — the 70-year-old’s voice was in fine form as he delivered the lines with utter conviction.

The energy was maintained with the follow up, the stomping It’s Only Rock’n’roll.

The song was another demonstration of the band’s influence on the rockers who followed in their footsteps; when Jagger stretched the lyric “strange” in the opening verse it was hard not to think of Oasis singer Liam Gallagher who made this vocal technique his stock in trade.

The cobwebs were truly blown away with You Got Me Rocking.

Anchored by Charlie Watts’s powerful drumming, guitarist Keith Richards and Ronnie Woods locked onto a sturdy groove while a howling Jagger — supported by long-time backing vocalists Lisa Fischer and Bernard Fowler — delivered that memorable chorus that conquered stadiums for two decades.

The band then turned away from their primal rock sounds to explore some of their more musically adventurous material.

Tumbling Dice remains one of their most dynamic offerings, its magic lying in how that standard rhythm and blues riff majestically swells into emotional gospel refrains.

Brought back from a near thirty year retirement, the funk-inspired Emotional Rescue gave the crowd plenty of opportunity to practice their falsettos before the tempo died down with the stinging acoustic led ballad Angie.

Jagger remained a consummate frontman throughout the show. Ever so gracious, he kept peppering his banter with Arabic phrases such as “shukran jazeelan” (thank you very much) and “kaifa halek?” (how are you?).

The best moment was when he exercised his UAE knowledge by attempting to mention the seven emirates. Astonishingly the tongue twister Umm Al Qaiwain got a mention but Ajman was forgotten.

After a few more high points with the tetchy Paint It Black (the crowd singing the famed sitar parts) and the rollicking Honky Tonk Women, the set took a worryingly slow turn with Keith Richards taking the lead on the languorous bluesy numbers Slipping Away and Before They Make Me Run.

This was followed by an epic take of the evocative Midnight Rambler.

The performances remained strong throughout — particular Richards growly take on Before They Make Me Run — but sequenced together it represented a rather large chunk of the set where the pace remained too languid.

Another disappointing feature was the low-key welcome guitarist Mick Taylor received as part of the show.

The former Stone simply walked on stage to assist Richards on Slipping Away before really shining (and being properly introduced) during Midnight Rambler where he traded guitar licks with Jagger’s harmonica. It seemed a rather odd way to treat a special guest, particularly one that was responsible for many of the band’s best musical moments.

The set went back on track with Gimme Shelter (voted by fans online as the UAE’s favourite Rolling Stones song) and the set closer Jumpin’ Jack Flash with its riffs inspiring a mass of air guitars.

The two encores boasted Brown Sugar and the elegiac You Can’t Always Get What You Want, the choral accompaniment in the latter performed splendidly by the Abu Dhabi group The Al Khubairat Singers.

The band called it a night with I Can’t Get No Satisfaction, the crowd po-goed along with the hip-swivelling Jagger with the final notes triggering fireworks from the roof of the venue.

Not everyone would have been satisfied with the band’s set list. Some of the glaring omissions this time around included Get Off My Cloud, Ruby Tuesday and Wild Horses.

That said, The Rolling Stones’ Abu Dhabi show was a solid performance.

The 14 On Fire Tour may not be that different to their previous performances, but it remains another celebration of rock’n’roll by a revered band who fifty years on, are still showing us how it’s done.

[www.thenational.ae]

Rolling Stones in Abu Dhabi



22 February 2014

In the 50-plus year lifespan of The Rolling Stones, the seven months that passed between the band’s Middle Eastern debut in Abu Dhabi and their last appearance on stage in London’s Hyde Park, is fractional. But conceptually, that half-year is seismic – many thought the Stones’ historic outdoor gigs in London and Glastonbury were the perfect and fitting swansong for the most celebrated dinosaurs of rock n’ roll. But no – they raged on (‘52 & Counting’…?), into Asia and Australia on the clumsily dubbed 14 On Fire tour. Since those Hyde Park gigs both Mick and Keith have both turned 70 – can they really keep it up for another run?

On the basis of opening night at Yas Island’s du Arena – it’s a resounding yes. The Rolling Stones played an incredible two-hour set, brimming with bluster, groove, spirit, hits, history – most surprisingly – seeming enthusiasm. Mick Jagger repeatedly made attempts to drop Arabic into his between-song banter, told us with a grin how the band spent their four days in the capital (visits to Emirates Palace, Ferrari World and Falcon Hospital) and hilariously recited the UAE’s emirates (poor Ajman excluded), cheekily building up to Dubai.

The seven month gap also may have given the band time to make peace with their largely-overlooked ’80s and ’90s output. Where Hyde Park’s setlist featured nothing younger than ‘Start Me Up’ (1981) – aside from token reunion single ‘Doom and Gloom’ – fans will be thrilled to hear about the inclusion of ‘You Got Me Rocking’ (1994) and ‘Slipping Away’ (1989) on the Abu Dhabi setlist.

Alongside a welcome revival of ‘Angie’, these were the only additions to the regular ’50 & Counting’ setlist – but what a set, and what songs. After groping for a groove with the crowd-pleasing one-two of ‘Start Me Up’ and ‘It’s Only Rock n’ Roll’, the riffs and choruses came thick and fast. Barroom burners ‘Tumbling Dice’ and ‘Honky Tonk Women’ had all their trademark testosterone-fuelled Jagger-swagger intact, ‘Paint It Black’ conjured the demonic drive needed to match its theatrical silliness, and with Jagger on guitar ‘Doom and Gloom’ provided a punky sense of bite and urgency. Only 1980 disco pastiche ‘Emotional Rescue’, notable for Jagger’s misconstrued falsetto, fell a bit flat.

After scaling the first-half’s musical mountain of memories it was Keith’s turn to take the mic. Bringing all his hardened hedonism and lovable sincerity to the spotlight – master of the mischievous, freak-of-nature rock n’ roll survivor – Richards’ reading of overlooked ballad ‘Slipping Away’ and trademark ‘Before They Make Me Run’ – were surely the highlight for many hardened fans. Then reclaimed guitarist Mick Taylor – oddly not introduced until a passing reference as he left the stage, and wearing a weary expression to boot – was wheeled out for jagged blues marathon ‘Midnight Rambler’, the three intertwined guitars, staccato stop-starts and sudden tempo changes magnificent in their ragged glory.

After this purists’ paradise came the final furlong which we’ll dub The Hits – a seven-song stream of timeless musical moments few in this international crowd wouldn’t recognise. Disco groover ‘Miss You’ gave way to ‘Gimme Shelter’, voted online as the UAE’s favourite Stones song, here capturing all the turbulence of the tumultuous time it was penned. This was only outdone by the warhorse that is ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ – The Stones’ most-played song, an ecstatic trance of rock n’ roll bliss which wrapped up the set…

Until the encore, Jagger returning to the stage amid the tribal drumming and prophetic theatre of ‘Sympathy for the Devil’. Then ‘Brown Sugar’ brought the set to a close in a simmering melting pot of Muscle Shoals soul, Chicago blues, Memphis rock n’ roll and British bite. But they didn’t play…

After a few anxious moments the band were back onstage for a second encore – another change for this tour – a local choir brought out for the anthemic ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’, before – you guessed it – ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’, one of rock’s most dumb, danceable and timeless guitar riffs vamped into an extended, ecstatic blues breakdown.

It’s always tempting to patronise aging rockers with phases like ‘they played like men half their age’, and the fact remains that 35 years ago the band sounded better than it does today. But where the rock was harder in the band’s ’70s heyday, late-Stones pay more attention to the roll. The slower pace brings out the best of Charlie Watts subtle around the beat flourishes, locked into a grooves with Darryl Jones (an infinitely funkier bassist than Bill Wyman), Keith’s guitar left space to swell and chime rather than stab and attack. Jagger’s vocals have clearly lost clarity with age, but he still trounces the stage throwing his body around like… well, a man half his age.

Yes, there were mistakes, negated notes and forgotten lyrics – Keith touchingly laughs at singing the line ‘am I losing my touch?’, after fluffing the line before – but The Stones’ were always lose and live, and all the more real and charming for it. It’s those uncharted moments – the ragged, raging outros of ‘Jack Flash’ and ‘Brown Sugar’, those chugging juggernauts of blissful improvised sound that threaten to fly off the rails at any moment, but skid into the station just behind schedule – when the band truly cooks. When it sounds, unmistakably, like The Rolling Stones.

The Middle Eastern debut of the world’s greatest – and oldest – rock band was a historic moment before Mick, Keith, Charlie and Ronnie set foot on the stage. But the blistering, beautiful, blissful set they played did nothing to diminish the night’s legacy. But we just can’t help asking, when this tour wraps up on April 5 in Auckland, what next for The Rolling Stones?

[www.timeoutabudhabi.com]

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GOO
Sounds like a solid show

Aye, solid like a Volvo, safety first and all that..................oh well, let's see what happens in Tokyo...

any video of midnight rambler?

They better step it up

Boring.

Yes, the set list was

Kieth: I want MT onstage more
Jagger: No
Keith: F*ck you, then i'll bring him out during my songs if I want to
Jagger: Fine

I don't know why they're so cautious, it's not like they'll be passing that way again..............I thought - as they were in a hot and arid land - they might have broken out Continenetal drift..............

Did Mick say Keith tried to steal some Ferraris?