Rolling Stones in Seattle: You get what you needBy Daniel DeMay, SeattlePI
August 15, 2019
Genna Martin, Seattlepi.comMick Jagger will strut to his grave.
And Keith Richards, thought by some to be possibly immortal or, at the very least, not able to be "killed by conventional weapons," may yet live forever.
They, along with Ronnie Wood, Charlie Watts and a stellar lineup of backing players and vocalists, failed to show their age Wednesday night at Seattle's CenturyLink Field. At least not in their playing.
Charlie looks feeble, and yet pounds the drums as hard as ever. Ronnie, perhaps the most outwardly youthful member (and actually the youngest of the old-time players at 72), plays guitar like he's still in high school and with as much fervor.
The Rolling Stones are alive and well, ladies and gentlemen.
But who are the Rolling Stones in 2019? Three of them have, after all, been playing together since 1963 — 56 years — and Mick and Keith had been at it most of a year before that. Ronnie joined the band in 1975 and has been with them since.
Their catalog of albums spans almost every modern music movement. But what they brought Wednesday night came mostly from the band's excellent stable of rock and blues tracks.
Mick started out the set with a bang, hitting "Street Fighting Man" with hips gyrating and hands waving. Keith moved a bit slow, perhaps simply because when he plays guitar, he doesn't look like he's trying, but the energy eventually came round and caught him up.
"You Got Me Rocking" followed (with a supreme slide solo by Ronnie) and the band launched into "Tumbling Dice" from their 1972 record, "Exile on Main St." Keith, leaving all the early set leads to Ronnie, gave the crowd a wink at one point, and carried on.
Between songs, Mick apologized for the delay — the show was originally scheduled for May but he had to have a heart valve replaced in April or somewhere thereabouts — and reminded the crowd that he had been to Seattle not so long ago.
"We played here once before, it was called something different," he said, referring either to the stadium's earlier name of Qwest Field, or perhaps the name of an earlier tour.
The band first touched down in the Emerald City in 1965 during what was their third American tour, a show Mick referenced later in the set: "Which is a very long time ago."
The band — or perhaps the band's promoters — allowed fans to vote for one song in the set list and Wednesday's feature was "Beast of Burden," which they performed admirably. Backup singer Bernard Fowler made his way out front for a short duet with Mick during the song and showed his technical prowess as a vocalist.
The fifth song of the set was a track off the 1969 album "Let It Bleed," that being "You Can't Always Get What You Want," and it was a moment that saw the band unleash its true force upon the gathered masses.
By this point, Mick had already removed two shirts, and as the song roared to life, he was on the verge of removing a third.
Nearby, a woman was clearly overcome by the music, thrilled with the sound and the fury of what really is The Rolling Stones. This was perhaps influenced by a high-powered solo from Ronnie and much hip shaking and general sexy movements from Mick.
He is still a serious threat to the opposite sex, and perhaps only a slightly less serious threat to the same sex.
At this point, the older members of the band walked out to the end of the center stage walkway, roughly to the 50-yard line, with acoustic guitars. This would prove among the highlights of the show.
They started right into a variation of the 1972 "Exile on Main St." track "Sweet Virginia," which proved to be a showcase for not only Ronnie, who played a healthy lead as he wandered around the mini stage at the end of the walkway, but also a showcase for Mick to make some minor moves around the stage while strumming a beautiful Gibson Hummingbird.
Between that and "Dead Flowers," it was easy to feel like you were in somebody's basement listening to a friend's band strumming their way through a blues standard. Except you weren't. You were in CenturyLink Field, and it was the @#$%& Rolling Stones playing those basement songs. And it was amazing.
After a lovely strut back up to the main stage, (Ronnie was looking very sexy, for one thing) the band launched into "Sympathy for the Devil," a song that was among the last appearances of founding member Brian Jones.
Listening to the song performed live was akin to a religious experience, according to one listener.
For the tune, Mick strutted out in a flashy sequined jacket. For the solo — one of the best lead guitar parts in the band's thick catalog — Keith made his noise with a TV yellow Gibson Les Paul Jr. A searing guitar tone carried him through not one but multiple lead sections before the band led into "Honkey Tonk Women."
What does the reviewer say about this? It was one of the finest examples of guitar and vocal work yet observed.
Keith's riffs shined through (thanks in part to volume) all other sounds and gave the crowd the familiar bits they were used to even before Mick got through the verses and Keith launched into a beautiful solo.
Mick took a break after this, apparently, leaving stage center to Keith and Ronnie, who had no problem occupying it.
Keith led off with a song penned firstly by him, "Before They Make Me Run," and brought a vocal talent akin to Bob Dylan. Not in a negative way, mind you, but just a sound that made you think, 'hey, he sounds a bit like Dylan.'
But if you were turned off by it (this writer wasn't), the band came back to full steam with "Miss You," the classic disco hit with the four-on-the-floor kick drum and all other attempts at hitting the mark during what was otherwise a dark time for rock musicians.
What was perhaps the blues highlight of the show came next — the 13th track — with "The Midnight Rambler," a problematic song (lyrically) that is also a crowd favorite and, for many years, a jukebox choice because of the value the long track offered.
The Stones spared no expense this night and took the breakdown to new levels. Mick did not one but two harmonica solos before the song was taken down to bare bones. Then he practiced a bit of call and response with the crowd ahead of the expected build up.
The feeling was that of a blues club of the 1960s, or at least, the impression of such a place. Between the harmonica and Keith's riffs and Ronnie's leads, the track sounded both as rough and as honed as anything the band has ever done. Charlie carried the beat impeccably, pounding the drums as hard as anyone half or a quarter of his age, and not seeming to break a sweat doing so.
Ronnie brought the sitar to the next song, "Paint it Black," a hit off the band's 1966 album "Aftermath," if you can believe that. Most listeners would have doubted the band had been playing the song for 53 years hearing it Wednesday night.
This was followed by "Jumpin' Jack Flash," at which point the band's energy was higher than my own. Keith was reveling in his open tunings on this one, and thus, I soldiered on.
Song 17 was "Brown Sugar," and while the performance was stunning — the band was at its highest energy yet — I wondered what the African-American backup singers, particularly the woman, thought about singing those words over and over.
Apparently, it wasn't an issue, as Sasha Allen and Fowler kept right at it throughout the song. It was a cocaine-fueled, classic Rolling Stones song, minus the cocaine.
At this point, the band said goodnight and headed off stage. There was no doubt they would return for an encore or perhaps two (not two).
No sooner had I spoken the words, "I bet they play 'Gimme Shelter,'" than they were playing the very track.
It started out very mellow and built into a raging river of rock and roll. Aside from the usual joy of the song (this writer's favorite Stones song, full disclosure), it was advanced by the performance of Sasha Allen, who joined Mick way out front to start some call and response that built up and up and up until it nearly reached a breaking point and they brought the song back together.
And finally, with all of us music lovers knowing it couldn't be overlooked, the band closed with "(I can't get no) Satisfaction."
How long have they been playing this song??
It was released on "Out of Our Heads" in 1965. They've been playing it for 54 years. And do you know what? It sounded GOOD. It sounded like those guys had just written it and it was the hot new thing.
And maybe that's just it. Maybe, after all these decades, the Rolling Stones ARE the hot new thing.
Maybe it's not just Keith. Maybe they're all going to live forever.
My only hope is if they do, they keep on coming back to give us the full frontal rock show they have offered for decades.
It might not be what we all want, but it's certainly what we need.
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