Behind the scenes of our behind-the-scenes with the Rolling Stones (Deb Trueman, Dateline producer)

We head up I-95 to Hartford, Connecticut. It’s the kind of assignment you know will bring surprises, no matter how carefully you try and plan. Matt Lauer has been given an invitation to follow the Rolling Stones as they launch “A Bigger Bang,” their worldwide concert tour.

We arrive around two in the afternoon at Rentschler Stadium. Dateline has its own group ready to rock and roll. Myself, the producer, associate producer Elizabeth Ruksznis and three great camera crews. Matt Lauer will drive up after he finishes the “Today” show and join us in a few hours.

The Stones are on an extremely tight schedule since they will be performing that night and when we meet up with their team I can sense the enormity of what they have to pull off.

We are allowed to enter from behind the gigantic steel structure that is their stage. It looks more like a construction site than the setting for a rock and roll show. There is the constant hum of people working but it is quite the contrast from what is to come when 40,000 fans pack this stadium.

We have asked for a lot of time with the group because our goal is to bring our viewers backstage, put them right there with the group known as the world’s greatest rock and roll band. The tricky thing is to keep to our schedule while the Stones stick to theirs.

I circle the football field with my lead camera man Rich White, along with the representatives for the Stones, as we try to block out our afternoon.


First up, will be an interview with Mick Jagger. But there is confusion on where to do it. They had hoped to place us directly on the stage, but the sun is strong and it is close to 90 degrees. And with Jagger performing in just a few hours, they don’t want to wear him out in any way.

The Stones reps scramble to come up with an alternative. Things are getting tricky now. I begin the first of what will be dozens of times nervously looking at my watch. It’s already 3:00. Matt will be arriving soon and we still don’t have a place to do the interview.

The reps come up with a solution. We’re told to set up in “The Party Room,” a darkly-lit room that’s reserved for Keith Richards’ friends and family when they arrive for the show.

There are black sofas with red satin pillows. And roses. Lots of red roses brought in by a woman whose job it seems is to fill the backstage rooms with flowers.

It’s 3:30 p.m. We have 30 minutes to set up our lights and cameras before Mick Jagger arrives.

The crews scramble with their gear and lighting equipment and, as they always do, pull it off beautifully.

Matt has now arrived and we have a few minutes to talk over what is ahead.

And then Mick Jagger enters the room. He is very polite and professional, offering a handshake and introduction.

We finish a brief interview and then take the long walk from inside the bowels of the stadium to the stage. Jagger seems to be in a very good mood. The opening night concert at Boston’s Fenway Park, just a week earlier, got rave reviews and he’s more than happy to let us follow along as he gives Matt a real bird’s eye view of the stage.

I was lucky enough to see the Fenway show and I really marveled at the passion and the energy the Rolling Stones brought to the stage. And now, pinch myself time, here I am with Mick Jagger, talking about it all. But there’s not a lot of time to daydream.

We spend the next four hours, right up to showtime, with Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ron Wood. Moving from the stage, to the dressing rooms, and then back to where our day began. At the top of the ramp leading up to the stage.

It’s 9:30 p.m. All the interviews have been great. But there’s one more shot to get. Our crews scramble to get into position.

A van pulls up. Jagger and company get out of the cars and take the long walk down to the stage.

Inside the stadium, tens of thousands of fans are waiting. You can feel the anticipation. Soon, an explosion of fireworks and then the familiar sounds of one of their classic songs. “Start me Up.”

The crowd is cheering. And so is the Dateline team.