Chicago Review... a Classic Memorable Performance... Guitars on Fire
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Date: September 11, 2005 09:09
If you've ever been to a Bruce Springsteen concert you know the feeling... you're spent, totally exhausted, and need a shower...
Well that's how about 60,000 Chicago fans looked after tonites gig.
Somewhat different than the typical post-stones "whoo - whoo" high energy buzz... THIS CROWD WAS DRAINED !! With good reason...
It wasn't perhaps song-for-song the best gig I've ever attended, but the highs were so &^%$# high that they truly make this one of the best Stones shows I've ever seen.
It started out just a little on the "average" side, but about 6 songs into it you knew this was gonna be a special show.
THE VERY HIGH POINTS:
1) YGMR... for all you YGMR haters out there, eat your hearts out because when this song is on, it's a rocker and you know it... The perfect 2nd song in the list for Ronnie to serve notice he intended to play tonite... just screamin' on the slider.
2) Ruby Tuesday... really perked up the crowd interest, nicely done sing-along and got everybody into it.
3) Bitch... coming after a fair "Shattered" was just a blistering plu-perfect rendition of this Sticky Fingers classic. Heard it before nowhere near as interesting as it was tonite. They really put the power into it, one of the most memorable songs of the evening. Coming at song #8, this really turned the whole gig up a notch
4) Night Time... just a great song, perhaps not as memorable as the performance 2 nites ago in Milwaukee with Buddy Guy, but what ever could match that ? This was the next best thing. When Lisa slithered out on stage, well, you know...
5) ONNYA... on the B-stage. Truly every song after #12 Miss You was a show-stopper, they just had the fortune of being in a rotation with a bunch of other show-stoppers. ONNYA was particularly interesting, again for the guitar intensity this evening. Ronnie just "clanged" on this one. 2nd time I've seen it, liked it both times & by far my fave off the new album
6) SATISFACTION... Without any doubt the very best rendition I've ever heard of this major rocker. Anyone still in their seats were "bolted upwards" at the first chords. About 2/3 of the way thru I tapped the concert-veteran to my left and said "that's pure Keith Richard", and it was... if Night Time was the best song in Milwaukee, up to this point Satisfaction was clearly the best tonite...
7) Out of Control... pleasant down-shift in tempo after a very serviceable Honky Tonk Women... Mick's harmonica on this number really added another edge to tonite's diamond.
8) Jumpin' Jack Flash (right after a fine Sympathy)... I would have said that Satisfaction was the best song tonite until the band launched into the stadium version of JJF. Forget about it... Did you catch Ronnie on guitar ? Keith on guitar ? And not to be outdone, Darryl on bass... Darryll was poundin' the bass so hard he spun around like a top. I think the 3 guitarists realized they'd just played this song as well as they ever had.
9) It's Only Rock n' Roll. After Ronnie creamed YCAGWYW, the band launched the final encore with IORR, and what an encore. When you've just played the best version of Satisfaction and JJF of your life, the encore might be a bit of a downer, but not here. Keith just drilled this song every which way. Perfect.
A sidenote re: Mick Jagger. No question he's in better form this tour than any I've seen since and including Voodoo Lounge. Mick's tremendous performance tonite in Chicago proves his also-great work in Milwaukee was no fluke.
Last but not least, the great Chicago crowds... you can travel all around the world but you'll never be closer to "Stones Country" than Soldier Field...
ALSO VERY NICE: Versions of She's So Cold, Miss You, Honky Tonk Women, Sympathy for the Devil, Brown Sugar, and You Can't Always Get What You Want... but tonite Satisfaction, Jumpin' Jack Flash, and Bitch were the showpieces.
NOT SO INTERESTING: Still see little value in either The Worst and especially Infamy. Maybe one, but together they just really slow things down. Keith could easily work Happy or You Got the Silver, or Before they Make Me Run in here. Rough Justice is just passable, I don't see this having much shelf-life as a live song unless they alter the arrangement somehow.
NOTE: Somehow Tumblin' Dice just doesn't work early in the Setlist. In both Milwaukee and tonite in Chicago they played this 4th song. IMO this classic concert tune belongs IN THE 2nd HALF, after the crowd is sufficiently "stoned"... then hit them with it. Consistently one of my very favorite live songs, but 2 shows running they just play it too soon.
Started a bit predictably, not every song a gem, but given the highs overall a solid A and truly one of the best Stones gigs I've ever seen.
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2005-09-11 19:24 by CreedenceLives.