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Bjornulf

Certainly some terrefying reviews here....!

Its called canon.

Hi,
its 01.40 am now..I just came back to Cologne.
Frankfurt was my first gig this summer,,,,well..what to say..I really got very Mixed Emotions tonight, because:

1. The stadium and the crowd...placing the stage on the sidetribune was a good idea..cause: The stadium seemed to be full at least...it looked pretty packed, the atmosphere was great...the fans were into it, especially during the second half and there were already no bad places cause evrybody had a much closer view to the stage...I guess approx 25.000 visitors...

2. I had block A2 row 1 seat 10..so this was front line , you could not get closer to the stage..but they left about 2 meters space between row 1 and the iron wall...everytime I wanted to go front, I was told to go back by the security...rubbish..after the Stones hit the stage on 08.50 pm evrybody was on his or or her feet...as if there were no seats at all..
I could hardly see Charly from my place..I could not see Bernard,Lisa and Blondy at all, cause the stage was so high and I was on Keith side just opposite to the horn section.

Now the show....so I had the so called best seats in the stadium...and I got the worst sound i ever wittnessed at a Stones gig...and I saw more than 30 or 40 Stones gigs so far...believe it or not....setlistwise tonights gig was one of my favorites..but what do you do if you are not able to recognice the songs..such as, Bitch, Monkey man, even Rambler was a mess soundwise...i could hardly hear the guitars..Micks voice could not be heard at all..the horns..forget it..it was a horrible mish mash...I dont know the english vocabulary..so I explain it in german:
" Leute, der Sound war ein einziger Brei..eine katstrophe, eine Schande, ein Matsch aus dröhnenden Gitarrenchaos..Mick war fast überhaupt nicht zu erkennen..die drums shepperten mit Verzögerung....ich hätt echt heulen können"...I really wanted to cry...never thought it could get such a shitty lousy sound..
The Stones themselfes were in good shape....Mick at his best...he talked a lot to the audience...he apologized for not playing last year and so on, Charly was cool...he had so much fun during band intro..Ronni was very concentrated..he IS sober...at least tonight he was....Keith, well Keith...on some songs he was on..on others he wasn`t..well this is Keith as we all know him,
BUT: he was not the keith I saw last summer...what I mean ?..I am not sure, but he partly looked and behaved like he was kind of sedated( sediert in german)...
as I will go to the next Stones gig in Paris on saturday I will watch him again carfully and than I will see if there is something or if it was just an off night like he has it from time to time...although I do not mean this musicalwise..his guitar playing seemed to be ok so far...well at least from what I heard from time to time.During Symphathy something was wrong with his guitar...he stopped the solo and went to Pierre the talked to each other, checked the guitar and so...
during JJF & BS he was on fire again...I think.
They playd about 1 hour 55 minutes and performed 19 songs.

So all in all....it was , again, a high energetic Stones show...with Jagger setting the standard to higher levels....He alone, is worth the ticket price, The the band was on fire, the audience was hot, too....the sound was absoloutly aweful...it can`t get worse...and therefor I could not enjoy the show as I could , or better as I should.
Keith was somehow strange...and now I am looking forward to Paris...where I will have normal FOS tix...and this is my experience from todays gig....being in the first ten rows is too close...the stage is too high...you can not see evrything whats going on stage....I mean the whole production ( stage, sound and performancewise has become so large, that, if you are really front row, the show is blowing away over your head....man kriegt irgendwie viel zu wenig mit da vorne...besser 10 meter weiter hinten stehen....so IMO the best place on a Stones gig is FOS about 10-15 meters from first row..just between main and bstage..this is the place to be..cause there you get both...perfect sound and perfect view.

So Good night so far
CUinParis
Salar

bv Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Keith did not stopp playing. The power went out of
> his guitar totally during Sympathy. He was not
> happy at all. Walking very prompt far over to
> Darryl side to fix the problem. The whole song was
> hanging in the air for half a minute. Then his
> guitar problem was fixed, and he walked up front
> stage, too late for the main riffs. But half a
> minute later he was on fire and all the way
> throughout the show. For sure there was a
> technical problem, nothing less. But you know,
> these things do hapen - it is live!

Funny, I thought he stopped playing because it wasn´t his turn or something, but it makes perfect sense when you say the power went out on his guitar.
I still don´t know why Charlie left his drums for a moment, I first thought it all had something to do with him...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-06-14 03:44 by YPatrick.

@salar: very well pointed out.

We were about 15 meters from the stage. Maybe the sound was a little bit better, we could look at the stage, even the whole audience was standing.
I felt very happy this evening, fortunately I can write, the voice is gone...

Here are some photos I have taken with my cell phone cam:

Pic taken while The Stones played Start Me Up! There was just nobody there to start him up. Maybe hundreds of empty seats on the tribune. After the 2nd and 3rd song it filled up a bit but there were still lotsa empty seats left.




The crowd was just not into it

This Place Is Empty, maaan....

Excuse me, I can´t imagine the first picture being taken duing Start Me Up, people are walking around, I don´t think there´s anything going on onstage

YPatrick Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Excuse me, I can´t imagine the first picture being
> taken duing Start Me Up, people are walking
> around, I don´t think there´s anything going on
> onstage


You are right..this picture never ever was taken during Start me up...it MUST have been BEFORE the Show...I was there and though it was not totally packed it
was well crowded....not embarassing IMO.

YPatrick Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Excuse me, I can´t imagine the first picture being
> taken duing Start Me Up, people are walking
> around, I don´t think there´s anything going on
> onstage

As you can clearly see on the second pic, people are still walking around while the band is on stage.

Kartoffelsalat Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> YPatrick Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Excuse me, I can´t imagine the first picture
> being
> > taken duing Start Me Up, people are walking
> > around, I don´t think there´s anything going on
> > onstage
>
> As you can clearly see on the second pic, people
> are still walking around while the band is on
> stage.

Correct, but look at the number of people in the opposite blocks on picture 1 and the following pictures, I can´t imagine they all came rushing to their seat all of a sudden during SMU

I didn't start to take pics before the show. First pics I have taken was during SMU.

Not trying to be negative - just reading what was posted and seeing these pictures - is it time to give it up?

Looks like a 50/50 verdict on Keith so far. 2 good shows, 2 bad. BTW, I've never seen this band have a bad night (10 times since 1981). Keith really looked out of it on the opening night on YouTube. As someone else said, like acid had him. Hope he'll take a little care of himself and lay off the chemicals.

"No Anchovies, Please"

Just came back from the show to read all the sad statements about Keith. And, guys, unfortunately it's true. I've never seen Keith like this. Sometimes during the concert he just stopped playing, he looked like not being there mentally and missed lots of tunes and licks. Hope, he's getting better soon ...

One things happened I didn't understand: during SFTD suddenly Charlie stopped playing, left his drum kit, did something I couldn't see and turnt back to his drums. Did anybody see what was happening?

Overally, it was a concert of mixed emotions. Great audience, bad sound and a band, that would have done a very bad concert without Mick and Ronnie...

Well Paris is next and they have another 2 days off until the show. So if they don't start to elevate and improve their performances starting with the Paris show. Then there's not much chance it will get better..............As for Keith. It seemed like in the photos from the rehearsels,that when he first showed up in Brussels he looked great. Then after a night or two,the photos taken of him when he showed up at the studio,he started looking like crap. Is just the habit of the R&R lifestyle?....He seems to have deterioted rather quickly since recent public appearences before the tour.

"It's just some friends of mine and they're busting down the door"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-06-14 06:28 by sweetcharmedlife.

Kartoffelsalat Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here are some photos I have taken with my cell
> phone cam:
>
> Pic taken while The Stones played Start Me Up!
> There was just nobody there to start him up. Maybe
> hundreds of empty seats on the tribune. After the
> 2nd and 3rd song it filled up a bit but there were
> still lotsa empty seats left.
>
> [img393.imageshack.us]
> 6mk4.jpg
>
>
> The crowd was just not into it
>
> [img443.imageshack.us]
> 9tu9.jpg
>
> [img297.imageshack.us]
> 0gp7.jpg


There very first picture was for 100% sure not taken during Start me up but rather 1-2 hours before. Oherwise I must have been completely blind.

I went to the show last night. The sound was abominable with the roof closed.

From the review page

"Well how about "Tumbling Dice"? If they did not play that great song every night the show would not be worth going to! There would be a missing link. The song is so complete."

I enjoy Tumbling Dice very much but this statement is just ridiculous. I like tonight's setlist. The Keith set and Respectable make it a plus for me.

just back from the show in frankfurt:

the sound was really bad, but the band started good with start me up.
but from then on keith was in trouble for the whole concert, which made the others very insecure so that they made mistakes themselfes and had to fight with almost every song. this is why i think mick ran a little less than before.
i have seen them very often over the years they always played at least almost perfect, but not this time.
Keith is almost completely out of Focus. If there wasn´t Mick and Charlie and also Chuck really it would not work at all and actually it doesn´t.

i also think keith has a mental problem. it´s not that he can´t fret, he doesn´t know what and when to fret or which part comes next.

i don´t say that because i am biased by earlier reviews. i play guitar for 25 years, open g tuning for 12 years. keith not only plays little, he really doesn´t nearly play what he used to play even when he plays.

i also don´t think it´s drugs or alcohol or flute, i also don´t think he will recover. his brain has got enough it seems.

remember, a few weeks ago we talked about that belly and that he looks healthy with it. still to me it´s most likely a huge liver. and his mental condition might be caused by alcohol over the years or by a malfunctional liver.
just two possibilities.
Whatever he might have i am sure he is diagnosed and gets treatment. but would they tell us? and is he able to play with the treatment he currently gets?
is it sufficient?
they have to finish that tour whatever comes.
but will keith be able to come back for another tour. i am not sure!

Man, many of you read into every little thing way too much.

Just feel the groove and let the music move you.

Don't worry about Keef's belly and don't fret so much about his frets.

We're so lucky to still have these guys around playing.
Enjoy whatever they have to give while they still can.

I'd rather hear them in a bad sounding arena than no sound at all.

On to Paris!




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-06-14 10:20 by NumberOneStonesFan.

Supply >>> Demand at those prices
Yes, I'd rather see packed stadiums

Keith seemed dazed for most of the evening. Couldn't hear that much because of the genuinely terrible sound. I am never going to another show at either Commerzbank Arena or Amsterdam Arena. Anyone who pays money for shows at these venues is paying for the "event" not for the music.

I too am praying that he will come back full strength at Paris. Let's hope.

It's great to read about concerts that I can't get to, and thank you to those who take the time to write their reviews. The ones written within hours of returning home really give a flavour of what it was like.

But those of us "watching" from home seem to be turning into an audience who go waiting for an accident to happen instead of enjoying the show. Like going racing and watching for something to fall rather than waiting to watch and savour a close finish...

Please, no one is saying that the band is above criticism, but it gets boring to read all the "they should give up now" comments time and again. As and when they do, by God this board WILL have something to moan about!! Recently a few have made the point that MJ should stop running a marathon on stage and concentrate on singing. It sounds like he did just that at Hamburg, but guess what, that was wrong too

Just one small point about Keith's paunch: liver damage as such cannot cause mental deterioration. We are all second guessing what, if anything, is up with Keith and whether its cause is the wild-living that we all loved about our hero. But a paunch, on a 60+ year old man, so what? Look around you, IORRians, the only comment-worthy bit about Keith's tummy is that there are a lot bigger tummies out there.

OK now I'm getting down from the soap box and going to work

KEITH IN TROUBLE WITH ... WITH WHAT ... i dont want to talk about what is wrong with my hero .. but just take a look at the werchter version of satisfaction ... 2.04 min. and keith just played a few times the intro ... and did not know what to do.... it was a 2 min instrumental version .... and i read reviews that it was so great ... did I miss something here ...

>> With a live show you get what you get on the night and that is it.
You cannot expect anyone to be AOK and 100% all of the time. <<

thank you for sayin that - that is so right. this is not a sports team or theatre troupe
where they send in stand-ins to substitute if one of the principle players is having an off night.

i'm sorry the sound wasn't good at Frankfurt and that the seating arrangements caused assorted problems.
and sure we're concerned if Keith isn't seeming his usual radiantly Keithly self but ...
there *is* some degree of misinterpretation going on (eg the high tech screws up and some folks imagine it's Keith's doing)
i'm sure some of this is due to sincere concern (not just a "'something's-wrong' bandwagon")
but sincere concern can also cause us to misinterpret and/or blow things out of proportion.

>> I will go to the next Stones gig in Paris on saturday I will watch him again carfully <<

i know what you mean, but ... maybe just enjoying the show would be a better idea?

all kinds of blessings & well-being on Keith & all the Stones



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-06-14 13:50 by with sssoul.

"Just one small point about Keith's paunch: liver damage as such cannot cause mental deterioration"

Heavy alcohol and drug use doesn't only create liver damage, but even worse - "brain damage".

"Brain damage" of course has a huge impact on his guitar playing - fx. intervalls of few seconds black-out, a loss in memory, does he know what he is playing, is he always aware of the situation, does he remmeber the words etc.

It seems it is the latter that bugs him..... probably also has impact on his creative work - fx. writing new songs for new records. Macca can make new records, Clapton can, Mick can - Keith????

It used to be Ronnie who got all the flak. Now Keith-bashing seems to be the flavour of the month.

The mental problems may lay on us:
as the Symbol of Reason and Health,
Jagger will always be praised by us.
Keith symbols might be the opposite.

The critics process is goin' on within us, within ourselves.

Anyway: I'm convinced something is goin' on - hope it is casual
and will vanish. Maybe some private stuff.

One Love!

Maharishi Baboon Bro

thats a sad sequence of photos, posted above.
hopefully the large number of apparent empty seats,
didn't ruin the enjoyment for those that wete there.