The Rolling Stones
Gillette Stadium, Boston, MA, USA
Wednesday September 20, 2006

Who could imagine a set list this good? �Sway� and �Sweet Virginia back-to-back was a thrill. Mick was in amazing voice; the break did him good! The boys light the stage on fire with �Midnight Rambler.� �Under My Thumb,� as they say in Boston, was a �wicked pissah.� Amazing! �Streets of Love,� a song you wouldn�t think would translate well in a stadium, became a crowd pleasing sing-song and one of the night�s highlights.

�Rough Justice sounded great when I saw it in Philly and Baltimore, but it was flubbed on the B-stage. �Ain�t Too Proud to Beg!� Never heard that one in 25 years of shows! Keith sounded amazing on �You Got the Silver,� though he relied pretty heavily on the teleprompter. �Give a hand for the band, they really worked hard on that one,� he said. He had a great rapport with the crowd, who cheered loudly for him. �I had a rough year. I needed that.� The place went wild. Back to the teleprompter for �Little T&A.� It was as if a skeleton was doing some Keith karaoke in a Boston bar! It�s been over a decade since I heard T&A live and Keef nailed it! Definitely a top-10 show of all time. Long live the Rolling Stones!!!!

I was close enough to see the setlist and I was amazed at what I saw, I thought it was the practice list my Sister Marianne is going to be pissed she passed on this one. Paint it Black as an Opener? I believe it was the first time ever, correct if I am wrong. Nice version not my favorite song but what a great way to change it up. Sound was a little low at first and by the third song it was worked up. I thought Ronnie played really well, Keith , Little T&A was Awesome I am not just saying this because it was a huge surprise it really sounded punky and raw and the crowd responded nicely. You got the Silver, Ronnie played Acoustic and Keith played nothing just sang. I also think this is a first, in 99 I think he played Guitar on this song and I can't ever remember a time when Keith sang without an Instrument. (again correct me if I am wrong).

Sweet Virginia they F%&*$#G nailed it and I could not believe how many people actually new this song it was a dam good sing Along. Mick mentioned how this was the 5th time in Boston in a year and thanked the crowd for coming to see them again. I think he meant it because of the setlist and the energy he mustered up as the show went on. Lisa not featured much tonight but was steady as all the back up was.

Under my Thumb great version and excellent transition from the Big Stage to the Small stage. Jumping Jack first time I ever saw this on the B-Stage another great Change. Other Highlights : Sway: Awesome, Aint to Proud to Beg: I love this No Matter What and the crowd really got into it. Rambler: Kicked ASS Monkey man NICEEEEEEEE.

Biggest Highlights of the night NO Miss You, Shattered or She's so Cold Trash These for Ever. I have not been too Fond of the Sympathy version being played on this tour but I really liked it tonight. I think Gimme Shelter would have been great in that slot tonight, that's my Only complaint of the night. Satisfaction sounded great a real Raunchy version, almost I swear like the version from MSG 69 when someone post it see if you hear it the same way I did, the best I have ever heard.

Sum it all up , Great sound from my seat anyway, Great energy from the Boys and the crowd. It just goes to Show when they put their minds to it they can pull off a great show in a stadium with an somewhat Obscure setlist which flowed very nicely. I swore I was never going to another Stadium show again but after tonight I will be booking some flights. I hope Halifax gets more surprises than we had. IF you were on the fence about going to any shows let me give you some advice get your ASS in gear ASAP.

After the intro they started Paint It Black. What a great surprise. I don't think they ever started a concert with this song. Then Mick asked If I want to live with him. Of course I can't be sure if he really asked me in the middle of the 7th row, but certainly I would. (If he needs a nanny) The third song was Monkey Man. Oh my favorite song in the last few years. Mick was dancing like a Gibbon with tremendous energy through the whole song. Then came another treat: Sway. Although it was the second time I heard it, I was so happy to hear it again tonight.

After this first 4 songs I didn't even expect anything better than that, but surprises just kept coming. The 5th was Sweet Virginia and even though this and the 6th song was not a surprise, the 6th was a first time song for me: Streets Of Love. I heard stories about how well they played it in Europe, and I did not get disappointed. It was even better than on the album.

Then came another wonderful surprise: Ain't Too Proud To Beg . This was also a second time song for me (I heard it in Oakland i 2002) but I just love that song so much. Mick just rolled with energy and I was in Heaven. It was followed by Midnight Rambler my all time favorite. Then came Tumbling Dice and it was time for Keith to sing. After his usual gestures he did not pick up any guitar, instead Blondie did. It was good sign that something unusual might happen and came one of the many surprises tonight: You Got The Silver. Keith just sang it and i can't describe how good it was. This was my 34th show in my life and still got a song I never heard live before.

But wait, after he picked up a guitar he started another song I have never heard before live:Little T & A. Oh thank you so much. And they didn't stop their. Chuck started to play something I couldn't recognize. The band joined and I thought it gonna turn to Miss You, but it didn't. After about 15 second came the main riff of Under My Thumb. The fourth song I have never heard before. The stage moved, and Mick sang the song into the right direction, the direction I was standing. (Eventually they figured out something because the sound was awesome even during the time they played on the little stage. I remember on the Licks tour it was terrible.)

They Played Rough Justice, Jumpin Jack Flash, Honky Tonk Woman there. After they came back they played Sympathy. I enjoyed Keith solo very much, and so did Mick as well I guess because he missed the "pleased to meet You" after the solo and came only with "Hope you guessed my name". And I don't know if Lisa also liked Keith solo as much as i did, but at the end of the song she asked Keith to come to her and she gave a kiss to him.

They finished the concert with Start Me up, I Can't Get No Satisfaction and encore Brown Sugar. For a long time my favorite show in my life was Berlin 1990 then came the Wiltern 2002, then Vredenburg in 2003, then this year in LA Forum I again revised and called that show the best in my life. I can not do that anymore and can't compare awesome wonderful shows with each other, but tonight was definitely one of the best show I ever attended.

With Mick in character on every song - and clearly refreshed from some r & r -- it was full throttle from the opening chords of Paint It Black!. Opening nights are always special, Boston is always special . . . but this night was memorable. Every song was a statement --- with a 1, 2, 3, opening salvo of PIB, Live with Me and then MONKEY MAN. The first "breath" was SWAY and then it was Mick on guitar and harmonica with the intro "Let's See If I Can Remember This One" -- into Sweet Virginia . . . complete with audience sing along.

The rhythm section had it working with the lead into "Under My Thumb" which is dead on as the seque into the moving stage.

Oh -- did I mention "Aint To Proud to Beg" and of course . . . when in Boston . . . "Midnight Rambler". Mick thanked the crowd for the support of five shows in Boston - and pointed out that the Stones had Opened "Gillette Stadium" in 02'.

Keith shared, it had been "A hell of a year", and when he says "It's good to be here . . . he can mean it" ... amen. Yeah I've seen them too many times to count since 78' -- but this one was at the top.

Some comments, in bulleted form:

• I don't think PIB is a great choice for an opener. It didn't seem to generate the energy that an opener should. I'm not complaining, though.
• I REALLY dug the change-up from the UK shows that I saw. I would have been extremely disappointed if they hadn't done something.
• I knew we were in for something different when Mick strapped on an acoustic right before Sweet Virginia. Cindy & I both looked at each other and screemed "Sweet Virginia!" as the first notes were strummed. We did the same with Monkey Man, You Got the Silver, Little T&A.
• Right towards the end of YGTS, Keith said, "I love you, babe". I presume that Patti was down front during it. I thought it was touching (I am an old softy if you get right down to it).
• Intros: Keith & Charlie both got phenomenal applause, especially Keith. I'm guessing maybe a minute or so of clapping & chanting of "Keith, Keith, Keith". Charlie got the chanting too. I love the way Ronnie acts during his intro. Why does Chuck have to prance out on his tiptoes like he's sneaking up on somebody?! I hate that.
• I'm falling for Lisa Fisher. I'm glad they left TD in.
• I really dig the current version of SFTD. I've written about it before on the Tell Me section, so I won't go into it again other than to say that from an overall production standpoint, it is AWESOME.
• I was really blown away with the change-up in the setlist. I'm sure a lot of that has to do with the fact that the 4 UK shows that I saw were my only previous experiences. They probably could have played anything different and I would have been psyched. However, the fact that they played songs that I NEVER would have expected (esp. SV, MM, and YGTS) and that I REALLY like, made it that much better.
• Midnight Rambler was AWESOME! It totally rocked.
• I'm glad they left Sway in. The song is one of my faves,but I'll say it again, I don't love the way that Mick sings certain lines in the current live version. I also can't help but to unfairly compare Ronnie's solo to MT's as he's playing.
• As stated on this board many times before, traffic & parking is an absolute nightmare at that stadium. For those that don't know, Gillette stadium is actually about 30 miles or so south of Boston and sits along a 4 lane road (2 each direction). Ridiculous!!!! That btw is my ONLY complaint (other than Chucks prancing!)
• The stadium had fewer empty seats than I had expected (papered or not).
• I'm amazed at Mick's energy everytime I see him. The old man is amazing!
• No beard for Keith, as some had hoped (including myself), but he did appear to have a bit of a tan.
• Oh yeah, I almost forgot about UMT, another of my classic faves!!! I was psyched to hear that, though the intro made it nearly unrecognizable at first (at least to me).
• They should have a separate section for 13 - 16 year olds who only want to be there to socialize and play with their cell phones and chit chat all night.
• The couple in front of us who were TOTALLY making out for the duration of (I can't remember the song - MR, maybe???) should have gotten a room!

All in all, a phenomenal show. I hope that all that were there feel the same. (If they don't, its sad to say that they may have become so critical of the boys that they just can't enjoy them anymore, no matter what or how they play). I'm still a bit green, so it's all great to me.

I also hope that those that are attending remaining shows on this leg of the tour enjoy their shows as much as I enjoyed this one.

Peace out!

Paint It Black was a great opener & got the crowd pump up right away. Great choice. Live With Me was a pleasant surprise for me & Monkey Man was just outstanding. The band nailed it & Mick ran the stage as only he can. Sway was incredible. This was the first time for me live. I have always just loved that song. I�m thinking at this point, wow, four songs into the show, and the set list is already incredible.

I�m figuring they would play something more classic next for the casual fans, but holy crap, Mick on harmonica as they begin Sweet Virginia. This was a definite tour highlight. The band was having fun, but still playing for keeps. After the song ended, Mick had the crowd sing the chorus again.

Streets of Love was next, and I thought was great. The crowd responded very positive. Before the complaints that they are not playing enough from ABB start up again, in the 3 shows I�ve seen, they have done 6 songs from ABB. That�s pretty good.

Next was Ain�t To Proud To Beg, which Keith & Ronnie were crunching notes like their lives depended on it. Somebody in the Stones camp must be reading the message board and reviewing the previous shows as 7 songs into the show, not a single repeat from any of the Boston shows. This is too good to be true.

Next Mick on harmonica again and Midnight Rambler brings more screaming from the fans. In my head I do a quick calc � 3 songs from Let It Bleed! To me the highlight of this song (and maybe the entire show) was at one point Mick was playing harmonica and he turned to face Keith who was riffing away, Keith then broke into this wide smile on his face. This was the Mick & Keith I remember from my youth.

Tumbling Dice was next and was an absolute killer. I used to hate how Mick sang this as a reggae song before, but this was true to the Exile version.

It was now time for Keith to sing. He made his usual banter, thanking the crowd etc and the crowd responded with a tremendous ovation, Keith said �Thanks I really needed that�, and the crowd one again went wild. Keith then again said thanks and then said with a big assed grin �This time I really mean it�. When he started You Got The Silver, I got chills. I never heard that live before. This made 4 songs from Let It Bleed. I started to wonder if I was caught in some kind of cool time warp as 7 of the 10 songs to this point were from the 1969-1971 time period. Many consider this the ultimate period of the Stones.

Little T&A pick up the tempo and was a lot of fun. I had floor seats and I figured by the location I would be near the B-Stage, but not only was I near it, I was in the first row. (The Rock gods were smiling on me). So you can only imagine my excitement when the stage started on its path toward me. To be that close to the boys was more than I could have ever hoped for. Keith and Ronnie were having a good time tossing out pics and posing for the crowd. Most of the security people near the B-stage were young (late teens/early twenties) and they were enjoying the show with the crowd. One in particular was so excited he was able to get some good close-ups with his camera. Another was singing and shouting to the songs. Interesting seeing Rough Justice & Jumping Jack Flash done here, I enjoyed it. Under My Thumb was also very cool.

They finished up with their classic hits, but they played them with fever. Satisfaction in particular was more edgy and toward the end of the song Mick went in front of Keith and was pumping his fist as Keith was playing his ass off. Both Ronnie & Keith were spot on. Ronnie did many of the solos early on, and he was great. The band seemed really excited to be playing. Also Bobby Keys was great. If you had any doubts about the band, don�t. You will not be disappointed.