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filstan
Took in the Chess Studio tour and photo exhibition from 2:00-3:15. Very much worthwhile BTW. Drove over to Soldier Field with two old Stones fans friends and I was pleased/relieved to get a disability spot in the North garage. $50! I had a foot surgery a few weeks ago and didn't want to gimp over from beyond Michigan Ave as I would usually do when the gait is normal.It was worth it to pick up a temporary handicapped placard at the DMV earlier this week. There was some WXRT fueled Stones music being broadcast on the South end outside Soldier field which helped kill some time until the doors opened at 5:30. Hung out in the Club for drinks and eats until 8:00. Weather was cool, but rain held off. A quality windbreaker/raincoat was sufficient.

Stones hit stage at 8:45? I thought they sounded on their game right out of the gate. As per usual at a concert it's all about the sound quality. I can only say from section 214 that there were songs that were really dialed with the mix and a big frontal guitar assault, which is what we want. Then on other songs Keith would wander down in the mix. Bass sound was fantastic last night. Jones was terrific. The entire band was very good. They clunked a change here or there, but so what. It was opening night anyway. Ronnie pulled some guitar licks out of his hat that were stunning. Keith was excellent and when he and Ronnie were up in the mix, the songs soared. Jagger was in outstanding voice.

Setlist was conservative, but since it was the opener why push songs they might not be so comfortable with. I really hope for some blues numbers on Tuesday, but they put together a concert that had to please everyone there. Amazing that these guys still have gas in the tank to perform at that level. They can still find that groove and they know it. Those smiles during songs from the band aren't fake. They still love playing and know when they get it right.

I'm in the front row of section 308 on Tuesday. Closer to the stage and I'm interested to hear how the sound is in that location. The general admission standing area had lots of room for people to move about. Soldier Field was full in the seating area, even in the nosebleed sections all the way in the back.

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TeaAtThree
Filstan,
I was on that same Chess records tour at the 2:00 hour! Very cool.

Agree with the review, the guitar sound was impressive. I felt like I could really hear Ronnie's contributions better than any show I had ever seen -- though my last show was Salt Lake City on the Bigger Bang tour.

I do think Keith should hand off the solo on Sympathy or simply drop the song; that solo has been painful for years.

All in all a tremendous opening gig. Wow.

T@3

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filstan
Took in the Chess Studio tour and photo exhibition from 2:00-3:15. Very much worthwhile BTW. Drove over to Soldier Field with two old Stones fans friends and I was pleased/relieved to get a disability spot in the North garage. $50! I had a foot surgery a few weeks ago and didn't want to gimp over from beyond Michigan Ave as I would usually do when the gait is normal.It was worth it to pick up a temporary handicapped placard at the DMV earlier this week. There was some WXRT fueled Stones music being broadcast on the South end outside Soldier field which helped kill some time until the doors opened at 5:30. Hung out in the Club for drinks and eats until 8:00. Weather was cool, but rain held off. A quality windbreaker/raincoat was sufficient.

Stones hit stage at 8:45? I thought they sounded on their game right out of the gate. As per usual at a concert it's all about the sound quality. I can only say from section 214 that there were songs that were really dialed with the mix and a big frontal guitar assault, which is what we want. Then on other songs Keith would wander down in the mix. Bass sound was fantastic last night. Jones was terrific. The entire band was very good. They clunked a change here or there, but so what. It was opening night anyway. Ronnie pulled some guitar licks out of his hat that were stunning. Keith was excellent and when he and Ronnie were up in the mix, the songs soared. Jagger was in outstanding voice.

Setlist was conservative, but since it was the opener why push songs they might not be so comfortable with. I really hope for some blues numbers on Tuesday, but they put together a concert that had to please everyone there. Amazing that these guys still have gas in the tank to perform at that level. They can still find that groove and they know it. Those smiles during songs from the band aren't fake. They still love playing and know when they get it right.

I'm in the front row of section 308 on Tuesday. Closer to the stage and I'm interested to hear how the sound is in that location. The general admission standing area had lots of room for people to move about. Soldier Field was full in the seating area, even in the nosebleed sections all the way in the back.

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PaintMonkeyManBlack
They sound a lot better than dublin and even more hamburg. I think they play really well. On par with the 2018 gigs when they were on fire.

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Papo

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gotdablouse
Thanks for the reports and videos ! About to listen to the Dime recording now.
Keith's solo was pretty good on "Sad, Sad, Sad" but he appears to be less and less mobile...during SFM he even looks completely dazed at times in Christiaan's video :-(

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Big Al
Keith’s dye-job looks ridiculous. Everyone knows he’s fully-grey and balding. He looked fabulous last year, in my opinion. Anyway, more importantly. Great to see Sad, Sad, Sad back in the set-list. It’s first time since 2002?

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gotdablouse
Thanks for the reports and videos ! About to listen to the Dime recording now.
Keith's solo was pretty good on "Sad, Sad, Sad" but he appears to be less and less mobile...during SFM he even looks completely dazed at times in Christiaan's video :-(

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gotdablouse
Right, again I thought his playing was fine, better than in Hamburg 2017 by a country mile but I've never seen him look like he did on SFM at 2'48 : [youtu.be]
Guess he was focusing !

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bye bye johnny

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Koen
Keith’s not in that picture.

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PaintMonkeyManBlack
They sound a lot better than dublin and even more hamburg. I think they play really well. On par with the 2018 gigs when they were on fire.

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powerage78
It's magic.
The Stones are always better during the current Tour than during the previous one...

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dcba

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PaintMonkeyManBlack
They sound a lot better than dublin and even more hamburg. I think they play really well. On par with the 2018 gigs when they were on fire.

Agreed. Only "Satisfaction" displays a clear lack of energy (from Keef?).

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keithsman
The thing is concerning Keith is that he always starts out like this, sort of looks older than the rest of the band and looks a little lost at times, but he usually finishes tours in better shape, looking healthier and stronger than Mick and Ronnie. I think the road work does Keith good, he slims down a bit and is usually much fitter two thirds into the tour than at the start, only problem being as soon as he gets in good shape the mini tour ends.

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makemeburnthecandle
On the 7th day God created The Rolling Stones

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His Majesty

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makemeburnthecandle
On the 7th day God created The Rolling Stones

Brian sends his thanks, but say's he isn't god.

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StonedRambler

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keithsman
The thing is concerning Keith is that he always starts out like this, sort of looks older than the rest of the band and looks a little lost at times, but he usually finishes tours in better shape, looking healthier and stronger than Mick and Ronnie. I think the road work does Keith good, he slims down a bit and is usually much fitter two thirds into the tour than at the start, only problem being as soon as he gets in good shape the mini tour ends.

Yeah in Dublin he was also not moving much (let alone Hamburg, but he looked a bit lost the whole first leg). At the end of the tour (Marseille, Stuttgart, Prague) he looked and moved at times like he was the band leader again. Mick seemed a bit knocked out at the end of the 2018 leg (which maybe might have to do with his heart issue)