So I have finally sorted my pictures and I am ready to post my little review of this fabulous night I will vividly remember for the rest of my life.
It was an exciting event from the moment I managed to score a standing ticket in the Bild presale, just as I am sure it was for all those who were there inside this very special venue. I went there to take a walk the evening before the show and there were about 10 people waiting already, incl. this young couple in a tent , that as somebody else wrote have been fans since 3 months ago :-) Nice.
We all knew in advance it would be hot in many ways. Sun and 34°C is really not a perfect weather for a long waiting and I seriously considered to come later in order not to be exhausted before the show even started. In the end I arrived to the venue at 4.30 p.m., half an hour before the gates opened and this half an hour was actually the most demanding, since it was on a direct sun. I drank more water than during the whole day. The fact that we were allowed to take only 0,5 l of water inside was a bit scary at this point.
Okay, shortly after 5 p.m. the gates opened and in a couple of minutes I was down there in the pit. It was great to find out that the front of the pit was already in a shadow of the shelter above the stage. Those 3,5 hours before The Stones hit the stage went by really fast and the weather was actually no problem at all. I didn't even drink that 0,5 l of water I had with me.
At 7.25 The Temperance Movement started to play. A support band is usually something that one has to suffer through, but even though the best part of their show was when they left the stage, since it meant that The Stones would be on soon, I have to say that they were really good. They rocked. I believe they could be quite big if they were born 40 or 50 years earlier. It is great that there are good young bands playing this kind of music, but it is sad that they can never really get the following they would deserve nowadays.
7.55 - The Temperance Movement is off the stage and we have to wait a bit more. During this time I spotted Joe Perry from Aerosmith on the stage and thought that Aerosmith, that played in Berlin the night before, might actually join The Stones on the stage for a number. It didn't happen though.
8.35 and The Stones hit the stage. It has been 7 years for me since I saw them the last time, and here they are. Keith hits the Start Me Up intro in the Hyde Park way (well, not exactly, but it was wrong anyway) and is all smiles. I can't help myself but smile too. He f...d it up! Yeeeesss!
From this very moment the show is absolutely fantastic. The Stones are obviously having a great time, which is the most important and most pleasant thing. As I wrote, it was my first show since 2007 and so I was mostly curious about Keith. And he was...great. He played really well, did his Keith Richards thing - kicking the air and throwing hands, interacting with the audiance, BUT he never posed just for the sake of posing as he did so often on The Bigger Bang Tour. The music was always first and he delivered. There were some bum notes of course, but those didn't take away anything from his playing. His timing and unique sence of rhythm is as good as it has ever been. He even did a very nice solo on Sympathy. They had actually some problems getting into the song, first Charlie had to sort some problem with his headphones and then Mick waited a couple of bars before he started to sing. But this problem seemed to get them all really focussed. The Sympathy was great. Speaking about mistakes, during the second pre-chorus of Out Of Control was Mick ahead of the rest of the band. It didn't sound wrong actually, just different. He sang "Now I'm out" twice at the beginnig of the chorus and got back on the right timing.
Now Mick - there is this one obvious thing everyone has to wonder and ask. The man will be 71 the next month. How the hell can he run the stage back and forth for more than two hours and work the crowd like he did 30 years ago and deliver absolutely perfect singing on top of all that? The thing is, that this thought runs through your head during the first song. Then you just think...well...it is Mick Jagger, what else to expect? It is simple as that. I believe he might do his thing in 15 years from now and it would still look absolutely natural. It is Mick Jagger, right? What else should we expect. :-)
Charlie - what can one say about the best drummer in the world? Actually one can wonder pretty much the same thing as about Mick. Charlie doesn't run much during the show :-), but to drum for more than two hours is a serious physical work. Yet he is there, effortlessly hitting the skins, smiling all the time. There was this moment during Midnight Rambler, when the guitars got a bit off the rhythm for a couple of seconds. Charlie gave his drums two or three really strong beats (it sounded almost angry) and put the whole train back on the track immediately. You know instantly what is he there for. And yea, the introduction - Charlie had to be introduced twice, since he didn't show up the first time. Mick seemed to be almost worried, when he said "Who will be drumming?"
Ronnie - his interaction with Keith was spectacular (as was the interaction among the whole band really). I personally didn't notice a single bum note on his part, he was absolutely steady and reliable. The most enjoyable part of the guitar work was probably Midnight Rambler, when Mick Taylor joined the band. It was the first time I saw him and I was really impressed by his playing. All three guitar sounded amazing on this song. Of course, there is this endless discussion why doesn't he play on more songs (even though the acoustic guitar on Satisfaction is nice, the song can do without it just as well). I think it is pointless. He delivers great on MR and that is all that matters. Speaking about Midnight Rambler - I was among those who Mick baptized from the cup he drank from :-)
As for the setlist, it was pretty much the same as on other dates, so no "club" thing there, Out Of Control, Get Off Of My Cloud and Waiting On a Friend (which Mick dedicated to the Berlin airport - I wonder what happened to them there) were the "surprises" thrown in. I personally could not care less, and would not mind seeing / hearing exactly the same setlist again.
How to summarize it? It was only my 4th Rolling Stones gig. The first one was in Prague in 2003, where we were standing right by the B-stage. I didn't know much about the band back then, but was absolutely blown away by them and became hooked. In 2006 in Berlin I was sitting really up and far away from the stage, but had an amazing time anyway. In 2007 in Brno, I was in the FOS and had a splendid time, despite Keith's playing was not 100%. But I still hoped to see them one more time and get a perfect Rolling Stones gig, where I would be really close and and the whole band would be on fire. It happened in Berlin and it was in this absolutely amazing venue with an amazing acoustics. And it gets even better - I will see them again on Monday in Vienna! :-)