With the current lull (I will not speculate on it being anything else) in touring, I think now would be a great time to assess how lucky we've been since 2012 to be getting the band as often and as good as they've been since resuming business for the 50th.

This is by no means an academic ranking, but I figured this would be a fun discussion after listening to thousands of hours of bootlegs.

1. Hackney Diamonds (2024)

I truly believe the last tour was their best since reuniting (not that they ever officially broke up after 2007). The new material was sorely needed and thankfully was of worthy vintage, adding depth and energy to a set that had long grown stale. Furthermore, it was Keith's best tour in years; whether it was the new material or his continued sobriety, he really came back alive this tour and threw himself fully into the music again. MetLife 2 may be the single best show they've done since Charlie died, and pretty much every show ranges from very good to excellent.

Best Shows: MetLife 2, Foxboro, Chicago 2, Los Angeles 2, Ridgedale

2. Zip Code (2015)

While I do think this tour was a missed opportunity with the Sticky Fingers tie-in, musically Zip Code was excellent. Many of the shows came out as IEMs, so it's pretty easily to discern audibly that the band was in really fine form throughout this particular run. Mick's physicality was still close to his 1990s' peak, and Keith and Ronnie were both playing incredibly well this tour: there was a heavier emphasis on keeping the show fast paced and rocking this time around, and as a result we got some thick, raw guitar work instead of Chuck and Matt padding out the Vegas sound. An underrated tour worth revisiting.

Best Shows (not counting the Fonda): Atlanta, Orlando, Nashville, Kansas City, Detroit

3. 50 & Counting (2012-13)

Until Hackney Diamonds, the last tour where the set was more than just 15-17 Hot Rocks songs and Keith's tunes. We got 22-23 songs a night, blues covers, special guests, and the return of Mick Taylor. It didn't quite plumb the depths of the catalog the way 40 Licks did, but they made a valiant effort. It wasn't perfect; Keith was still finding his way (he played better in 2012 than 2013) and Mick sang with some weird affects at times. However, the tour had heart and proved the band could still perform credibly after the worrisome moments of 2006-07

Best shows: London 2, Chicago 1, Boston 2, Philadelphia 2, Glastonbury

4. No Filter (2019 leg)

I know they toured under the No Filter label for quite some time, but there were enough differences from leg to leg that I'm going to rank each one separately. The 2019 leg for me was their best from start to finish: coming off Mick's heart surgery, the tour had a really triumphant energy to it, and had one of their coolest changeups in recent years with the B-stage acoustic set, which I wish they kept. On top of that, it's Charlie's last hurrah, and he played fantastically right up to the end.

Best shows: Chicago 2, Landover, Foxboro, MetLife 2, Miami

5. No Filter (2018)

I was initially turned off by this tour because the tempos often crawled and they really sounded their age at times, but after powering through some shows this tour came off really well in hindsight. Keith played great this tour, some of his Sympathy solos sound like they came from the 1990s'. The set lists weren't the most exciting, but the staid roster meant consistency and the level of it was very high.

Best shows: London 1, London 2, Marseille, Prague, Warsaw

6. No Filter (2021)

This is essentially a tale of two tours, and while I admit I focus a bit too much on Keith's condition in these rankings, he is both the reason the first half was so great and the reason the second half fell apart. He and the rest of the band played their asses off right up to Minneapolis: Steve Jordan's arrival kept them on their toes and open to a new challenge. Keith especially seemed refocused. Then we got that bad solo on "Sad, Sad, Sad" in Florida and the whole thing seemed to literally go downhill right from that moment. Still, the energy from that first run of shows is great, with some true highlights.

Best shows: Charlotte, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Los Angeles 1, Los Angeles 2

7. 60 (2022)

A noteworthy tour just for the milestone, but compared to the blowouts of the 40th and 50th, I wish they did just a little more to make it special. "Out of Time" was a great addition, and we got a few other interesting song selections and performances worthy of mention. In contrast to 2021, Keith started out rough and ended strong, getting better with each show. Some things remained inconsistent (tempos, Mick's physicality and voice as he hit 79), but overall a very entertaining run even if it could have offered more.

Best shows: Liverpool, Brussels, Amsterdam, Lyon, Berlin

8. No Filter (2017)

Another took me a long time to come around to. Tempos draaaaagged at the beginning of the tour, and Keith was really off until about four or five shows in. However, the No Filter stage setup was impressive from the get-go, Mick and Ronnie were running hot, and the blues numbers added a fresh feel. The tour got better as it went along, and they ended strongly with the Paris shows.

Best shows: Zurich, Amsterdam, Arnhem, Paris 2, Paris 3

9. 14 On Fire (2014)

A tour I often forget about. I just felt they failed to give this tour any identity as they pared back the number of songs from 2012-13 and didn't add much new to the set aside from Keith bizarrely bringing back "Can't Be Seen" and a few interesting one-off's ("Loving Cup," "Streets of Love," "It's All Over Now"). It was solid, and there were some great shows, plus they still had Mick Taylor which is a point in its favor. Not outstanding, but by no means bad.

Best shows: Berlin, Paris, Rome, Perth 1, Perth 2

10. Ole (2016)

This tour is admittedly a hard one to rank due to the lack of quality recordings. The official document, Havana Moon, is heavily touched up and even then sounds lethargic and disappointing. I always felt this was the tour where age suddenly caught up to them: tempos slowed, Mick wasn't quite as wild and fluid in his movements, Keith and Ronnie had to simplify their playing to a degree. Not my favorite trek.

Best shows: Chile, Argentina 2, Sao Paulo 1, Mexico City 1, Mexico City 2

11. North American Mini Tour (2016)_

I almost didn't even count this one, as Vegas was the only proper Stones show of the tour. Both Desert Trip shows were interesting on paper, but I always thought musically they were a disappointment. Then we got a solid but unremarkable night in Vegas (initially two nights, Mick's voice shitcanned the first one) and a private show for Robert Kraft. Hardly worth mentioning, but for the sake of posterity I'll count it at the bottom.

Best shows: I guess both Desert Trip shows by default. 2 had a great set list at least.

So you rank tours and shows without being there through I phone recordings?

Judging from the shows I attended:

2012
2022
2018
2017
2014
2013

I didn't catch any 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2023 or 2024-shows.

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So you rank tours and shows without being there through I phone recordings?

I don't start this one again! By this logic, one can't have a opinion on whether they prefer the 1973 European Tour, or the 1972 U.S.A. Or we have for some of those shows is very ropey audio, indeed. Much of what's recorded today is really rather good.

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DandelionPowderman
Judging from the shows I attended:

2012
2022
2018
2017
2014
2013

I didn't catch any 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2023 or 2024-shows.

Yet, you can still have an opinion on those years, surely

Not going to do everything.

- 60 Tour: Weird podium, some other weird things that did not make sense... But what a great tour and what a great summer! I will never forget doing Brussels which was great, then Paris which was fantastic and then Berlin which was mindblowing and might be my all time favorite gig.

- No Filter 17: A Fall tour. First time seeing the new stage. Great setlist in Hamburg, but this was not Keith his best tour. Stones where rusty.

- No Filter 18: They improved from 17, but not really special imo. Happy to she She's a Rainbow in Scotland.

- 14 on fire: When you look back now you think, wow they where so young. Very good tour which lacked some special feeling. Still have Werchter traffic nightmares sometimes.

- Hackney Diamonds: New Album! Stage was fantastic and the shows where awesome. NJ2 was special with the return of Rambler and debut of Tell me Straight. Fantastic.


Hackney Diamonds and 60 on top for me. Glastonbury and Waldbuhne 22 the most special nights.

After Charlie they increased song speed, which I feel made the performances 50% better.

I hardly listen to boots of recent concerts, so this is based on my personal experience or youtube videos-

1. No Filter (2017)

Set list: the "Blue and Lonesome" tour.

Performance: saw then in Lucca and Paris. Lucca was not bad, but certainly not one of their best nights. At times I had the feeling that something wasn't working with the onstage monitors. Closing night in Paris, to the contrary, was superb. One of the best I've seen from them.


14 On Fire (2014)

Set list: same old same old.

Performance: Saw them in Rome and it was truly great. Even loved Streets of Love with MT.

Notes. I can't say that guests ruin the show, but for sure I live even if I don't see Mayer share the stage with the stones.


3. 60 (2022)

Set list. Ghost Town and Out of Time were great additions.

Performance: First time for me with with Jordan. Saw them in Milano and was blown away. The opening tribute to Charlie was very moving.

4. 50 & Counting (2012-13)

Setlist: The set list of the first 5 shows was good on paper, but live the opening was a little weak. The later sets were better-

Saw London O2 and HP + the pay per view concert onscreen. Good stage. Very professional performances. Great to see MT and Bill on stage again. Actually, Bill I had already seen with the Stones, MT was a first with them. Wonder what kind of drug MT took at the O2 arena: his stage antics were quite cringy.

5. No Filter (2018)

Set list: Nothing really new to characterize the set list, but fool to cry was great to see.

Performances. Saw them in Marseille. Excellent concert.

All the rest I can't really say. I haven't seen them live, and my memories of YT videos are quite foggy.

Would have loved to see the 2019 B-stage acoustic set. I did enjoy the Ole documentary. Cuba was so so.

C

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SoulSurvivor1990
...Then we got that bad solo on "Sad, Sad, Sad" in Florida and the whole thing seemed to literally go downhill right from that moment.

Holy crap! WOW! Tampa. How did I miss that? That was horrendous! That is king of all bad solos! It even outdoes SFTD 1994 in Miami!!!

So he's in the wrong key. He slaughtered it when he was in key in 1989-90.

That's really something, though.

At the end of the day this style ranking is very arbitrary. Several things I definitely disagree with and several things I agree with. However, every show is great, some can be less great. being the age they are things may happen differently every show. Keef totally missed his cue on the Angry solo in Cleveland this year and I thought it was the great laughable moment, so did he.

Agree with SoulSurvivor on 2015 missed opportunity. Imagine if they performed all ten songs from Sticky Fingers every night and kept Mick Taylor on for this...

Shows I saw:
1. 2013 Chicago 3 (the Taylor Swift one)
2. 2015 Kansas City and Columbus
3. 2021 St. Louis
4. 2019 Jacksonville

Did not see a HD show, sadly.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025-03-03 20:28 by Send It To me.

1. 2017 The darkness as it was in the autumn and Sympathy as the opener. The Paris III was magical and hopefully it will get an official release in the future.

2. 2014 On Fire, Europe. Can't Be Seen as a great addition and great song choices overall with superb Ramlers in Stockholm and Roskilde. Keith was really on fire during this stint I felt.

3. 2022. Great summer and lotsa energy from the band, the OOT addition provided an interesting balance for the setlists.

4. 2018. As in 2017 only that the summer dates didn't reach those nocturnal emotions.

5. 2024. Great stuff with a new album and 3 songs from Keith.

6. 2012-13. Weak opening songs as someone mentioned earlier but OMS was worth the entrance fee alone and those particular shows (Philly and LA in 2013 were great!).

7. 2019.
8. 2015.
9. 2016.

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So you rank tours and shows without being there through I phone recordings?

No, I rank them through my eyes and ears, thanks to the preponderance of top notch IEM and audience recordings, word of mouth from here and elsewhere, and yes, videos which are now also high quality and capture whether or not they’re tired.

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SoulSurvivor1990

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More Hot Rocks
So you rank tours and shows without being there through I phone recordings?

No, I rank them through my eyes and ears, thanks to the preponderance of top notch IEM and audience recordings, word of mouth from here and elsewhere, and yes, videos which are now also high quality and capture whether or not they’re tired.

Completely agree

I have stumbled across the odd ‘IEM’ recording. Could you recommend a few that are viewable on YouTube?

Ranking my 4 shows:
1. Atlanta 2024
2. DC 2019 (Mercy, Mercy puts it above Nashville 2021)
3. Nashville 2021
4. Nashville 2015

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SoulSurvivor1990

This is by no means an academic ranking, but I figured this would be a fun discussion after listening to thousands of hours of bootlegs.

Thanks for sharing your impressions, great post.

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SoulSurvivor1990

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More Hot Rocks
So you rank tours and shows without being there through I phone recordings?

No, I rank them through my eyes and ears, thanks to the preponderance of top notch IEM and audience recordings, word of mouth from here and elsewhere, and yes, videos which are now also high quality and capture whether or not they’re tired.

s
I'm sorry it's still not the same. It's like all you have are a few a picture of a girl a couple voice messages on your phone. Its not the same as a real date. It's not the same as being there.

But I totally respect all the work you put into it.

Do blow-up dolls count ?????



ROCKMAN

To me (Europe)

Best: 2014 - they were not rusty anymore like in 2012/13 but still had a lot of energy. They played many festivals and had young and enthusiastic audience at many concerts. Also last European tour before before everyone became a smartphone zombie.

2022 - great summer with „Out of time“ and a superb closing night in Berlin (my favourite Stones show I have ever seen)

2018 - much better than 2017 especially during the second half they had been a well oiled machine. Got lucky with my lucky dips and know a lot of others did too.

Last: For me 2017. Very rusty Keith and very slow tempos. Great setlists though, especially the opening night in Hamburg.

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SoulSurvivor1990

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More Hot Rocks
So you rank tours and shows without being there through I phone recordings?

No, I rank them through my eyes and ears, thanks to the preponderance of top notch IEM and audience recordings, word of mouth from here and elsewhere, and yes, videos which are now also high quality and capture whether or not they’re tired.

s
I'm sorry it's still not the same. It's like all you have are a few a picture of a girl a couple voice messages on your phone. Its not the same as a real date. It's not the same as being there.

But I totally respect all the work you put into it.

We had the discussion here many times before. To me recordings are even better to judge and compare shows. When you’re there at the concert your own personal experience and mood plays a much bigger role. Also you‘re comparing to your subjective memories.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025-03-03 23:41 by StonedRambler.

to me from worst to best

2017
2018
2016
2014
2013
2019
2012
2021
2015
2022
2024

Phone recordings don't lie: the music is audible. Wrong and right notes.

That's been established for years.

"You weren't there" doesn't equate.

Technology has removed the aspect of not being there. Phone recordings, bootlegs, vault etc live releases - unless fixed (VOODOO), well...

Flat singing or wrong keys on a guitar are not hidden because it's recorded on a phone.

Denying technology's improvement is a shadow.

Pay per view!!! Not as bad as that Sad Sad Sad solo but... Go to 6:47...

The idea that modern cell phone videos don't capture the mood and sound of a show accurately is absurd. Watch this video from 2021 and tell me it doesn't portray that the band is absolutely on fire here. Jesus, watch Keith, he's like a kid.

[www.youtube.com]

6.47 is the end.

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SoulSurvivor1990
The idea that modern cell phone videos don't capture the mood and sound of a show accurately is absurd. Watch this video from 2021 and tell me it doesn't portray that the band is absolutely on fire here. Jesus, watch Keith, he's like a kid.

[www.youtube.com]

It's not absurd. Modern smartphones use a technique to suppress background noise. This leads to a very weird sound. You can see this very good in Matt Lee videos when he follows mick down the catwalk. Suddenly the sound changes completely. To me modern Smartphones don't capture atmoshphere. They sound sterile because of the dynamic filtering.

I prefer real audience recordings and even Smartphone recordings from 10 years ago over modern smartphone videos.

To the general discussion my two cents. I think on a Smartphone video you can judge bum notes, tempos etc but you can't judge a general mood of the show or how the band sounds as a whole. This is mainly because of the volume adjustments done by modern smartphones where information gets lost.

My tour Ranking:

1. 2017 (Sympathy as an Opener was very unique, the first two shows were rusty but Zurich (#4) was sublime and afterwards they delivered every night)

2. 2012 (the setlists and the pure fact that they're on stage again)

3. 2018 (very good performances and the reincarnation of SFM as an Opener)

4. 2014

5. 2019 (the B-stage set was awesome)

6. 2013

7. 2022 (Berlin was the best show of the Steve Jordan era for me)

8. 2024

9. 2021 (I had a hard time getting used to the new sound and the casino show was a real downer)

I'm not judging 2015 and 2016 for myself as I only saw the Vegas show where Mick was ill. I attended 45 shows in this period.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025-03-04 11:33 by hockenheim95.

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So you rank tours and shows without being there through I phone recordings?

Yes and?

I think that nowadays and having a great knowledge of the group, we can easily judge the musical quality of a concert through a recording. Especially today when audios are correct.

I will even say sometimes that an opinion from a guy in his living room listening to the show on headphones can have a more relevant opinion than another who is at the concert but who spends his time bawling, looking for beers and being in the emotion of seeing them in real life.

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Barkerboy2
6.47 is the end.

Ooops. 5:47!

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AntoineParis

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More Hot Rocks
So you rank tours and shows without being there through I phone recordings?

Yes and?

I think that nowadays and having a great knowledge of the group, we can easily judge the musical quality of a concert through a recording. Especially today when audios are correct.

I will even say sometimes that an opinion from a guy in his living room listening to the show on headphones can have a more relevant opinion than another who is at the concert but who spends his time bawling, looking for beers and being in the emotion of seeing them in real life.

And I have made pretty much the same point before! I’ve attended shows I can barely remember! The quality of many of today’s videos are more than adequate enough to judge and form an opinion on a performance.

I think 2014 European Tour was pretty unique. Mick sang and performed like there is no tomorrow, not holding anything back (we know the tragical circumstances), and the band stood behind him damn well. Plus there was still Taylor, Bobby and Lisa. And Charlie.

As far setlists go, I don't know. Aren't they always the same? It's The Singer, Not The Song.

- Doxa



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2025-03-04 22:23 by Doxa.

Ranking the tours as were done, descendent:

2012 - Great concept anniversary, stage and Mick Taylor
2013 - Great Setlist and guests (unfortunately they never arrange with discography to release the Duets album), and Mick Taylor
2014 - Not attended
2015 - Great setlist and Sticky Fingers concept!
2016 - Good to be back in Latinamerica, unfortunately in Mexico dont get the coloured stage and they played only hits...
2019 - Nice to see them playing the same script, Charlie seems tired yet
2021/22 - not interested in see only 3
2024 - same as 2021 but new songs...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025-03-05 00:11 by rogerriffin.