The Rolling Stones
Frank Clair Stadium, Lansdowne Park, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Sunday, August 28, 2005

Ottawa had been crazy for the Stones all week. Not like the big cities where the cab driver would not have a clue if the Stones were in town at all. When I arrived into Canadian Customs the lady at the customs desk asked what my purpose of the visit to Canada was. The Rolling Stones I said. "I love them" she said and then she stamped my passport. Welcome to Stonesland!

Lansdowne Park is an amusement park and the Frank Clair Stadium is simply attached to this amusement park. A place where they play football, big place with the capacity of some 35,000 people. Plus may be 8,000 on the floor makes it 43,000 in total for the show. Sold out completely. Every person living miles away from Ottawa wanted this ticket...

The most popular T-shirt was the special one. Simply a "must have". The Canadian tour T-shirt. Black. Front is a big moose (elk). And a small Stones tongue stamping it's rear leg. Just in case you did not see it was a Stones T-shirt. On the back all the Canadian tour dates. Simply great! Two warm-up acts I never saw. I was enjoying the great weather in Ottawa. The forecast was rain and thunderstorms but the Gods heard Mick and his band was coming so they sent the bad weather elsewhere. I was in by 8pm and the house was full.

I had been wondering what kind of show we would get. May be Boston. May be Hartford. Both set lists were great. For me it was the same. I love all these great songs, and it is just amazing how these guys can take a reggea song or a blues or whatever and turn it into a song that is taking down the house and making the crowd go wild, like they have played these cover songs forever.

We got Boston-1. My favorite. Night Time Is The Right Time. Their best cover song on this tour. Just fantastic with Lisa on the vocals for half of the song. Then Mick, and the crowd is going wild. Great song. Have to get it every show!

Shattered don't really work. It is a great song but the crowd don't interact much. But "Tumbling Dice" is making up for that. The crowd is wild.

Keith is doing his set and nobody is sitting down. Nobody. Thank you Ottawa you know what rock'n'roll is all about.

As "Infamy" is played with the final chords I am working my way fast from my seat towards the B-stage. It takes forever, it feels, as the isles are all packed, but I am arriving there long time before they start their journey still, and I am in a great position. The sound is awful there as you hear both the main PA and the B-stage monitors, but ignoring that it is great fun to have the "boys" up front!

During Satisfaction Mick is having problems with his "handsfree" Madonna microphone, and he is getting rid of it. Grabbing his big usual handheld microphone he feels much more at home and he is working the crowd with much more power. Do this every night Mick!

Honky Tonk Women and I am back in my seat. Out Of Control simply the best song of the show. Outstanding. Don't even think about taking this great song out of the set list. I can't live without it!

Sympathy was all in fire. Until all the guitars went dead. All of them. It took forever to fix it but Keith came on strong eventually.

Jumping Jack Flash was payback time. The missing guitars on Sympathy were strong and hit us all direct as Keith seemed to put all his energy into this song. I love it! Still feeling my chest pumping JJF...

Brown Sugar. Bobby. Another winner. Then the encores. Mick running all the way from one side to the far other side still singing IORR. Don't even try it! It will kill you!

Great fireworks. Then the show is over. Beer sales are closed but as we walk out from Frank Clair Stadium we are actually still in Lansdowne Park - the amusement park. Where it is business as usual.

Thank you Ottawa. You make a grown man cry!

Review by Gerry Catry

I was honestly struck by the hard-edged guitar work of Ron Wood (for the first four or five numbers), and then of course, Mr. Richards. By the end, I'm certain Richards was channeling Chuck Berry himself.

Don't ask me for the set list - the pyro, the energy, and the rocking, exhilarating atmosphere still has me spinning.

"Start Me Up" opened, to no surprise, preceded by a huge pyro blast - the proverbial "Bigger Bang". The Ottawa set included "Shattered", with the slower reggae beat. No Bob Marley this time, but a simply amazing rendition of "The Night Time (Is the Right Time)", complete with a photo collage of Ray Charles on the big screen. Beautiful.

Who could have guessed that my $162 (Cdn.) seat would actually put me front and centre for the B-stage?! When that platform started making it's way towards my wife and I, it was too good to be true. Even with the music out of sync from the speakers to the Stones (now playing from the 50 yard line), "Honky Tonk Women" and "Satisfaction" were better than ever.

I was honestly struck by the genuine level of enjoyment displayed, particularly by Keith and Mick. Prior to Keith's "The Worst" and "Infamy" he reminded the audience that he truly was having a blast - and he looked the part for sure.

Jagger himself seemed amazed that it took some 40 years to return to Ottawa - he couldn't believe their last gig here was at the YMCA.

Great renditions of "She's So Cold", "Rough Justice", "Beast Of Burden", "Sympathy For The Devil", and "Brown Sugar". I don't think I've ever enjoyed "Jumping Jack Flash" this much - stripped down with some kick-ass guitar.

Traditional closers were "Can't Always Get What You Want" and "It's Only Rock and Roll", again hi-lighting the hard-edged duelling guitars of Richards and Wood.

Great fireworks to end it all (and all too soon). Let's see... in 40 years Mick will be...

Review by Ron Blank

The city of Ottawa has been gripped in Stones fever for more than a week. There are huge summaries of their history, discography, fashions, shows and set lists in both newspapers everyday. The radio and TV are filled with their music, updates of the stage construction, when the band arrives, and coverage of them in as many different ways as the reporters can dream up and everything else. It is without a doubt, the biggest concert, and one of the biggest events to ever take place in the city. Considering that it is the capital city of Canada, this is quite an achievement, and exceptional for a band of their age.

The day was fantastically warm and humid as late August days usually are here as we waited for the time to trek to the concert to finally arrive. My son and daughter have been attending Stones shows with me since 1998 so it has become a family tradition to spend at least one show on each tour together. Outside the gates, the t-shirt hawkers and ticket sellers were in overdrive as approximately 43,000 people slowly arrived, milled about and queued for their chance to be frisked and have a metal detector run over their bodies. It was also the Central Canada Exhibition's last day and although it seemed that everyone in Ottawa was attending the concert, there were apparently quite a few that did not, but still wanted to see the last day of the summer fair. Even though the staff made a valiant effort to assist, it still made for quite a mess getting to the downtown area, parked, to walk to the stadium and to finally! get into the concert grounds. An extra hour would have made it a lot less stressful.

The hugely massive 'A Bigger Bang' stage is even larger in person than the pictures most fans have seen in the past week since the tour opened portray. As it nearly backed right onto a bridge abutting the football grounds, there was not much room for the crowds to mill about. We were anxious as we waited our turn to enter because until you actually see the empty seat, I always have a nervous feeling. But it was all finally over and we could stand by our seats in section A7 looking upwards at the huge expanse of steel, wood and other metal staring out at us. I smiled to myself, because I could imagine Mick, Charlie and the other stage designers thinking a few months ago how they were going to top all the stages that came before. I think they did it!

Ottawa featured two warm up acts tonight, Les Trois Accords from Quebec who most do not know and Our Lady Peace from Ontario who! have been around more than 10 years. The audience were polite and mildly appreciative, probably secretly hoping the sound system was soon turned up before the Stones arrived, and oh by the way, when are they done? The life of a warm up band!

It was officially dusk at 7:50 PM but we still had to wait for nearly an hour before the Stones arrived. Finally the lights went out, the crowd roared in the darkness, the intro music began and we waited to see how it would all unfold. I was thinking to myself just then \"here comes show number 30! How will it compare to the previous 29 that I've seen?\"

With an enormous bang and a flash of flame from the top of the stage 8-stories high and from also in front of the jutting stage, Keith and the entire band hit the first chords of Start Me Up. No matter how many times you have heard it in concert before, I challenge anyone that calls themselves a true fan to say that it doesn't make the hair rise on the back of your neck.! It was a fantastic opening to the concert.

The next song was You Got Me Rocking. Ronnie was on fire tonight. His slide guitar was loud and hit the notes perfectly.

Shattered is a welcome return to the set list. It is slowed down just a little and the words were hammered out by Mick in fine fashion.

Tumbling Dice signalled the first big crowd pleaser. Everyone always gets rocking on this war horse and the 43,000 plus in attendance stretching as far back as we could see against the picture of the fair's ferris wheels and other rides were all up and waving their hands in unison.

Rough Justice is a fantastic new song from the band and it is even better live than on the single. Ronnie's solo is hammered out on the end of the stage, while Keith keeps the engine firing on all cylinders back by Charlie. These simple, but catchy words are going to be repeated for a long time to come if the crowd's reaction tonight was any barometer.

Back of My Hand! is an amazing new blues from the band and when Charlie and Ronnie join in on the second verse it really got the crowd rocking. It is fantastic they have gone back to their roots so honestly and with such verve.

The two-hit punch of Beast of Burden and She's So Cold is a great return to the late 70's and early 80's. Beast is extended and the duelling guitars were great. Mick spent a lot of time over on the right side wing during the show because the stands come closer to the stage at this end in Ottawa and he seemed to really be enjoying the accolades of the faithful. She's So Cold really brought back the happy memories of the Emotional Rescue album and everyone around us thought it was wonderful the way Keith and Ronnie played the guitars on it. Of course, the vocals were pretty good too.

The Night Time by Ray Charles certainly lived up to the reviews of earlier shows as it returned to the set list after its brief absence in Hartford on Friday night. Lisa Fisch! er is simply awesome, and blew everyone away with her torch singer rendition. Wow!

After the intros, Keith played The Worst and the new song Infamy. The Worst features Bernard on backup vocals for a change to the song and Ronnie played a great pedal steel guitar as background. Infamy has a great low register riff and it gets into your mind quite effortlessly. It's another great indication that the new album is going to really be good.

The beginning of Miss You signalled the start for the movement of the piece of the stage that automatically slides out all the way to the end of the track in the middle of the stadium floor. It really is something to see this in person, and I think it goes out further than the B-stage has ever been. The thousands of fans in the stands and on the floor at the back were ecstatic about it.

Oh No Not You Again is just fantastic and a great new tune for the fans. The riffs might be a little tried and true but that by no means diminishes their great impact.

I think it would be safe to say that tonight's rendition of Satisfaction is the best version that I have ever heard. It is wonderful that the Stones can reinvent a war horse like this and make it sound so vibrant. The guitar duel between Ronnie and Keith had to go on for at least two minutes at the end and the crowd were wound up and whooping and hollering on top of their seats as they couldn't believe how great that it was. I was blown away by it and can't wait to hear it again in this version.

Honkey Tonk Women finishes the four-song set out on the small stage and Keith really seemed to be enjoying himself, smiling and hammering the riffs. There is a huge orange and blue flecked hot licks tongue balloon that is unfurled from the bottom base of the video screen and it is finally filled with gas just as the stage reaches the end of its journey.

Out of Control came back from the Bridges to Babylon album and it featur! es the wild light show during the chorus, as well as the great wah wah pedal from Woodie as Keith cranks out lots of power notes. Keith came out on the wing in front of us and everyone was waving and bowing to him.

Sympathy for the Devil featured some events that I'm not sure how to explain. Following the second chorus, Mick took a break where Keith would normally play the first solo. But just as soon as he started it, Keith left the stage behind Charlie. Then Charlie too also left! I had never seen that during the middle of a song before. Then Charlie first came back, and started tentatively to play again. Then he stopped. Just as we were beginning to look around at other fans, Keith returned. He looked like he was ready to play then, so the group of Ronnie, Keith and Darryl stood around in front of Charlie and played a long solo break before Mick finally stepped in and did the final verse. We will have to wait for an explanation of what occurred.

As if to ! make up for this uncommon performance lapse, the next song was Jumping Jack Flash and it really rocked. My son said this was a great performance by Keith and he was right. I really liked the way that it was played with a great deal of conviction and enthusiasm. Keith came out on the walkway in the middle and took something from a fan and then placed it down on the stage before he continued with the song. His guitar was turned up way past 10 on the dial and the distortion was perfect.

Brown Sugar closed the main part of the set and all the fans were great on the choruses. It ended with a short fireworks show coming up from both sides of the stage and then Mick said "good night Ottawa" and they were gone off the stage. However, everyone whooped and hollered and stomped on their chairs as they were not going to let the band go away right away.

YCAGWYW was opened by Mick and Keith standing on the front of the stage and Tim Reis playing the trombone. The song was d! one in the standard fashion and Lisa really soared high on the chorus, setting everyone's ears on fire with the strength and range of her voice.

IORR is a wonderful closure to the show as it is played far longer than normal, perhaps seven minutes. Mick runs from one side to the other, smiling from ear to ear, as Keith and Ronnie just will not stop the Chuck Berry-like licks. Then finally, it is over and the group are taking their bows. It looked like Mick, Keith and Ronnie were trying to make Charlie take the final bow by himself but he declined. So it was left to Mick to make a short wave and then they were gone.

After a short one-minute break with just a huge Licks adorned on the video screen, there was then a 50-second fireworks show that soared high into the night-time sky. The house lights came on and we knew that it was over for another time. Our voices were hoarse, our feet were sticking to the plastic covering the football field, and we were hot and swe! aty, even though it was almost 11 PM. It was a fantastic show.

Mick appeared tonight to be trying to show there was no need for the clock to be turned back as he is still just as powerful, flexible and as much of a consummate showman as he always was. Keith was also in true form, hitting all the right notes, hammering the riffs and hamming it up with his classic moves. Ronnie was on fire. There was no other way to see it. I don't believe there is any need to be worried about his health on the strength of what we saw here. Finally, Charlie was steady and on all night, except for whatever happened in Sympathy for the Devil. It was so damn nice to see him still up there after the scare that he threw us last year.

I really loved the show tonight and think the On Stage or A Bigger Bang tour is definitely worth the effort to get out and see. You will not be disappointed. This band still has a lot to say and a lot of good music to give us. On the strength of wha! t they saw, Ottawa definitely doesn't want the Rolling Stones to take another 40 years before they return! Keith might still be around but I'm not so sure about the rest of us.

Review by Dave de Souza

Than you Stones by Ken Davidson

Our local Radio stations (especially Chez 106.1) did a great job of promoting the concert and gave away a lot of tickets and building up the hype.

Although I was unable to obtain tickets to the Rolling Stones here in Ottawa I am very grateful that they honored us with their presence.

The concert was the best thing to happen to this city (local radio station jokes about Ottawa being the city that fun forgot) in a very long time.

I do not know if you have a means of communication with the band, but if you do I would appreciate it if you could pass on my thank you to them.

It may seem strange that I am so pleased that they performed in Ottawa, even though I was unable to obtain tickets, but let me explain.

I have lived in Ottawa all my life, and I am very proud of my city, but we often do not make the list of venues for big events. Now that the Stones have performed in Ottawa (and from all accounts seemed to be very successful) I am sure we can continue to attract other big events, but of course I cannot think of any event, bigger than a live performance by the Stones.

So if you can please let Mick, Keith, Ron and Charlie know how much I appreciated them considering Ottawa for this tour, and I hope they will keep us in mind for the next time they plan a tour.

Review by Brad Dale

Start Me Up-Good opening choice for the stadium, though not one of my favorites... clearly though, the pumped crowd freaked on this one. Very tight playing by the band on this one.

You Got Me Rockin' - Much better than I've seen on past tours. Again, tighter, and a more angry attack.

Shattered - The crowd loved this one. I was really happy to see this, and Mick nailed the timing and vocals perfectly. Keith was having fun on this one.

Tumbling Dice - This is when the show really took off. The brass chimed in, Lisa was howling in the background. Complete debauched glory.

Rough Justice - This song keeps getting better and better. But y'know what would be amazing..... if they blended this song right into You Got Me Rocking... close chord changes and same instruments. That would be wicked, and something they normally don't do. Even though the song is new, a lot of people cheered and recognized it right away.

Back Of My Hand - Another highlight of the night for me. Mick is a premier blues singer.... the shot of Keith on the big screen with a cig. hanging out of his mouth sitting down, playing the blues like he's on a street corner in Chicago.... priceless. One suggestion for Mick... sometimes he has to look down when sliding and fingering the chords, and has to pull away from the mic, thereby dampening his vocals.... maybe a head-mike would help like he has for Miss You? But on the other hand, it just adds to the authenticity and raw feel for this tune. Either way, I love it. Mick was freaking on this one.

Beast Of Burden - The crowd loved it... it's not one of my favorites, but everyone jumped on this one. It's fun watching Keith and Ronnie trade licks on this one though.

She's So Cold - Nice vintage montage on the big screen. The crowd really responded to this one.

Night Time - BY FAR THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE SHOW. LISA SMOKED THIS ONE!!!!! I had goosebumps. Nobody can match the Stones on this one.

The Worst - Keith saluted Ottawa, and it's clear that Ottawa loves Keith. I could do without Bernard helping him on this one, though. Nice slide work by Ronnie, as always. But I would like to see Losing My Touch in the place of this Keith standard. Losing My Touch is an amazing song.... maybe a bit too slow for the stadiums though.... I dunno, try it!!

Infamy - A bit of a muted reception, not because the song lacked, but because it's brand new. I think this will be a grower as the tour progresses.... Theif In The Night would've been great here too.

Miss You - Good groove by the band, Ottawa loved it, the stage did the slide job, people freaked.

Oh No Not You Again - Pure punk energy. This song is suited to the B-stage perfectly. Much better than the Julliard version I had heard.

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - The crowd explodes. I'm really glad Keith went back to the Gibson ES-335 for this one over the Les Paul from years past. Though he did try to jump into his solo one verse to early, but aborted at the last second when Mick kept singing.

Honky Tonk Women-Stage retraction, Mick gets a MASSIVE white DD bra for his "collection" as he terms it.

Out of Control - I was so happy to hear it. I love the lead-in for this song... then the pure explosion of raw energy for the chorus. This has the best lighting cues of the entire show... I love the searchlights. Then Ronnie's wah-wah leadout. A true highlight...a lot of fans didn't know what it was, but by the chorus, they were rockin'. That's just the casual fan for you, LOL.

Sympathy For The Devil - Good, but, I don't know if something was wrong with this one. It sounded like Charlie's drums kept cutting out. At one point, he got up from the kit and went backstage for 20 seconds or so. It almost seemed like the band got lost in this one. Then, the song turned into the samba like the album version. Keith was backstage, then out, then backstage again. Ronnie was standing in front of the drum kit kind of shaking his head and laughing. It was like the guitars and drums were on a channel that kept cutting out. But Mick, being the showman that he is, kept the crowd pumped on this. The screen zooms in on a well endowed blonde in the crowd, and she makes the most of her 4 seconds of fame. This was my first show of the tour, so I don't know if anyone has any input on the arrangement from other shows.

Jumpin' Jack Flash - One of my favorite Stones songs. Extra vicious tonight, NO HORNS...the way it should be. The guitars sounded like a bunch of wasps in a coffee can. Dirty, angry and dangerous. Keith and Mick really worked the crowd here.

Brown Sugar - Ah well, you've heard it once, etc. etc. Keith jumped on the opening chords really fast after JJF ended, but Charlie came in a bit too late... Mick smiled and walked over to the kit, making the drumming motions with his hands... Charlie waited an extra bar to kick in.... Keith was like, WTF??? But the boys took it as good fun. We got an extra long Keith riff for the opener. Ottawa did enjoy the who-who-who-whoooos!!!!

You Can't Always Get What You Want - Nice encore opener. Again, not one of my favorites, but very well executed. What's your favorite flavor??? Special shout out to Lisa...just the rising angelic voice at the end.

It's Only Rock 'n' Roll - Interesting to see this as the closer.... I don't know if its got the power to be, but it does add some variation to the warhorses. Mick ran the entire length of the stage, the crowd loved it.

Now, I loved the show, but here's the thing.... the boys could do with a BIT of variation... maybe eventually for the tour. There is a lot less balladry on this tour, probably reflective of the forthcoming album's supposed direct/stripped/harder rock edge/tone. But, don't add Angie, instead, substitute WINTER. And y'know what... I'd love to hear Loving Cup and Moonlight Mile Ditch BOB, and put Loving Cup in. Even a little bit of Stray Cat Blues. It seems that with the recent resurgence of the 80's rock stuff (Killers, all the new brit bands) the Stones are mining their 80's catalogue a bit more. Any y'know what, that's ok, but man...Loving Cup and Moonlight Mile on a hot summer's night.... it wouldn't get any better. All in all, an amazing night. The two highlights for me? Night Time Is The Right Time and watching Keith take a big drag from his cig. and exhale right into the camera on the video screen, with a big smile the whole time. A huge knock knock to the politically correct stuffed shirt Ottawa establishment. Pure rock and roll. And I don't even smoke.

Comments by Don Robinson

Review by Bill White

As Mick noted, trying � without much success � to stir up some semblance of an enthusiastic response from the tens of thousands, this was the first major Stones show in Canada, after that warm up at The Phoenix, where I was lucky enough to see Bob Dylan last fall.

The Ottawa crowd cheered in its inimitably half-hearted fashion and I could tell right away that Mick was not impressed with the less-than-intense response. Keith, the workman, didn�t really care a whole helluva lot � he�s too busy slaying his guitar All Down The Line � and Ronnie gamely did his best to whip things up when he could throughout the proceedings. Clearly, this one became merely A Job but dammit, this was the World�s Greatest Rock�n�Roll Band and the show was magnificent anyway. Awesome, in fact. I simply couldn�t believe people were actually sitting in their seats up in the stands for most of the concert...

I�ll save the blow by blow account, but it was an interesting program, this Stones show. Brilliantly paced, chock full of rockin� songs and even the City of the Dead rose to the occasion in parts � Honky Tonk Woman and YCAGWYW, in particular.

Technical glitches provided some of the roadblocks necessary to create impromptu drama. �You Can�t Always Get�� was supposed to start with a trombone solo � they had the image up on the big screen and everything; only trouble was, there was no sound � oooopsy! I could just imagine the video director yelling �Find another image onstage � quick!� There was another point when the spotlight guys on stage right had to do some tricky open-close-open switching � on Mick and Lisa, if memory serves � and that ended up happening backwards. Then Mick�s headset microphone stopped working during �Satisfaction� (!!!) on the B-stage, which was about 30 feet from my seat (!!!) but then, ironically, it was �Out of Control�, one of the new songs, that provided the band with the opportunity to reacquire the momentum to get back into the groove.

In fact, the new material was surprisingly strong. After absolutely botching his Tumblin� Dice solo (and it was a truly remarkable cock-up), Ronnie unleashed an amazing display on pedal steel for �The Worst� and could do no wrong from then on. Mick showed his own prowess on guitar (slide, no less) for �Back of my Hand� and �Infamy� is yet another classic rocker.

�Night Time is the Right Time� provided the other surprise of the evening. This fantastic tribute to Ray Charles came right out of nowhere � the whole place, as Bill Graham used to say, just swerved; the most sublime performance in the show. Lisa stepped into the spotlight and held 43,000 people in the palm in her hand � fully deserving first place in the line-up of Mick�s band intros that followed. She had fun later on too, teasing Bobby Keys (God bless him, back for another tour) in a slinky long black dress, slit up to the top of her thigh�!!

The other comedic high point for me was Mick�s subtle lyric change in �Shattered�: �bedbugs uptown� became �bedbugs in Hull� (the city in Quebec, on the other side of the River from Ottawa, for those of you who aren�t geographically inclined), but I suspect I was one of very few people who picked up that alteration � it was brilliant!

I found the video intro to be way too industrial/commercial and heavy on Hypgnosis (that�s Pink Floyd�s cover art company, boys and girls) stylings � not to mention way too long, but that�s just me� Overall, I was disappointed (as I�m sure he was) that Mick had to try to whip up such a lame crowd; his dancing lags out of rhythm a bit now and then, but there�s nothing like seeing him charge � and I mean full-on charge � from one edge of that stage clean across to the other like he did during the closer �It�s Only Rock�n�roll.�

And Keith? Well, it was great to see him get to EmCee a portion of the show for his two vocal leads from the new LP. Not only did he carry that off with aplomb, his singing was actually pretty damn good�! I had my binoculars trained on him more than anything else for pretty much the entire concert: dunno, maybe it�s the way he plays guitar � so efficient; sparse, even; making it look so easy � the way he saunters around, even disappearing backstage in the middle of songs (!!), or wandering up to Darrel or someone else for a musical conversation� all the while nailing down the backbone of the best rock band you�ve ever heard.

Like fine wine � and Dylan�s on this hot streak, too: getting better all the time. All you people with tickets for the other shows are in for something really special�!

Review by Andrew Smith

I was quite happy to see them play the amount of Some Girls that they did. When Mick bursted in with the "Shadoobis" in Shattered it was overly rocking. The Ray Charles tribute, "Night time is the right time" was just awe-inspiring, the band was at there peak and the woman who was singin with mick sent chills down my spine. Following the uplifting tribute, we were introduced to the stones and the musicians.... and Keith, they then proceeded to play 2 song which Keith sang lead on, his Dylanesque vocals were awesome, he's a great artist. Of the songs on some girls that they played, Miss you was the most effective and crowd pleasing, when we (me and m'lady) saw the stage move out on that song we went nuts, especially when we realized that we were about 20 feet from the stage at that point, it was another overly rocking moment. Although i do recognize the appeal that the studio version of satisfaction has to the public, i got sick of that song quite fast, possibly due to the other stones songs that blow that song out of the water, but live, it was one of the highlights for me. Going back to the main stage with honky tonk women was cool. The stones were extremely tight on Jumpin jack flash and mick really played the crowd on this classic. You cant always get what you want was a really good song to start the encores with, the crowd, including me, was howling the life-lesson chorus line. They finished off with a bang with the rock anthem its only rock 'n' roll, mick ran the entire length of the stage, the guy's pushing 65 and hes in better shape than my Mcdonalds-loving ass.

I truly believe the sad truth that true rock 'n' roll will be dead once the stones, paul mccartney, the who and the remaining touring rock 'n' roll bands stop playing, its sad, but there is no more real rock n roll anymore these days, all thats left is half-rate copies. The spirit will live on though.... or maybe a new rock n roll band can take the torch and start a new revolution of rock and keep it alive... I plan to do this with my rock band look for us in the next 10 years "The Dynamos".

Concluding this review, for me, seeing the rolling stones was like travelling to the moon, equally as rare and equally as thrilling I'd have paid $3000 to see this powerperformance.

The Conversion
By Brian S.

It was a hot summer day in Ottawa, Ontario. There was a little bit of a breeze... and to think they had called for rain. I think Mother Nature knew not to mess with the weather when the Greatest Rock & Roll band in the world was due to play in just four hours.

It all started of course, with a few of our favorite libations at the Irish pub on Bank Street, before finally boarding the shuttle bus that would carry us to Frank Clair Stadium. Arriving after a short seven minute shuttle ride, we were now in the presence of huge throngs of people, all there for the same purpose. The red tongue logo could be seen worn by people from ages four through seventy. They'd all come to relive a bit of their youth, or to see what the actual fascination over this band was.

We came upon our first sighting of the stage from outside of the stadium. It was a massive piece of construction between five and eight stories high with a large screen pointing at us from the side. On the screen, the first back-up band, Les Trois Accords, entertained us and the few thousand who were already seated in the 43,000 or so seats set up for the evening.

After finally getting into the grounds of the Central Exhibition, which was also ending on that day, we took the long walk around to enter our seats on the south side of the stadium. We arrived at our seats just in time for the next act to play which was Our Lady Peace. They gave a rousing forty-five minute set or so, finishing just before 8:00 pm.

The stadium was getting fuller by the moment. The chants from our side started up to the other side �North Side Sucks. The rivalry usually saved for Ottawa Renegades football games even happened at concerts. This had been going on as long as I can remember and always cracked me up since we were all there to cheer for the same team. I guess the rivalry has been more like the Southsiders, who are the rowdier, beer drinking types, vs the Northsiders, who are the coca-cola type crowd, or 'rich snobs' as I heard someone saying.

Looking at my watch, it said 8:30 pm...the show was supposed to start now.

At 8:38 pm the stadium flood lights were turned off. The now sold out crowd began the hootin� n hollerin', as everyone awaited what was to come.Fireworks went off atop the corners of the stage, the guitar riff started for the song �Start Me Up�. The crowd was now off their seats, standing up, and swaying along to the music. They joined in singing when the chorus came around.

After a couple more songs, they broke into �Tumbling Dice�. This sent the crowd into a real frenzy that would not stop for the rest of the night.� Rough Justice�, which is one of the songs off the new album, was very tight and seemed as polished as if they had been playing it for forty years and not just three shows. It was not really recognized by a lot of the fans, myself included, but this was my favorite of the new tunes. �Back of My Hand� was a classic bluesy number with Mick sounding incredible. Keith looked like a typical Southside of Chicago bluesman playing in a little smokey blues club,his bandana on his head and the obligatory smoke hanging from his lips as the smoke swirled around his face.

Mick grabbed the mic and said they were now going to do a song from the great Ray Charles. They broke into �The Nightime is the Right Time� with Mick and backup singer Lisa Fischer doing an OUTSTANDING duet. Personally, this was one of the hi-lites of the show for me. On the giant screen behind the band was a montage of clips from the great Ray Charles.

�The Worst� and �Infamy� were two numbers done by Keith. The crowd went crazy and started chanting his name after Mick introduced everybody. Keith took the the mic. �Thank you Ottawa it has been a long time.� Most of the crowd knowing the last time they played here was way back on April 24, 1965 at the YMCA Auditorium.

The drum set moved slowly towards the front of the stage, the band seemed close and tight together as they started into �Miss You�. Suddenly the stage started moving forward about forty yards or so, to the center of the stadium where the mini stage lit up. The band continued to rock, driving the crowd deeper into a frenzy. Another new song was played...�Oh No, Not You Again�, then the classic �Satisfaction� with the crowd drowning out the band on the chorus.

Another classic, �Honky Tonk Women� again had the crowd trying to outdo the band,as the mini stage started slowly moving back towards the main stage. �Sympathy for the Devil� again drove the crowd crazy through the chorus. The backdrop and lighting were fantastic. �Jumping Jack Flash� seemed to fire up the whole band as they started a mini jam session, with Keith and Ronnie trading licks back and forth.

After two hours plus the energy still coming out of these guys was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.

I thought that was the last song before encores with the energy that they put into it, but they broke into �Brown Sugar�. That finished the regular set with the band taking a couple of minutes to recharge before coming back out for the encores of �You Can�t Always Get What You Want�. Again,it was another huge crowd pleaser with every person in the stadium belting out the chorus. The final song of the night was �It�s Only Rock & Roll� and the boys gave us all they had left.

Those of you who thought this tour would be nothing more than a bunch of geriatrics up on the stage, you might feel differently now. If you were not convinced of the total opposite by this point, all you had to do was watch as a sixty-two year old Mick Jagger ran full tilt from one side of the stage to the other while the band was cooking on the stage.

As the crowd went crazy, screaming and yelling for more after the encores, a fireworks display went off from the stage that made it seem like Canada Day. The stadium lights came on and everyone knew that the show was finally over.

Looking around I noticed many like myself now finally getting a chance to sit down. We looked totally drained of energy as if we'd all been up on the stage performing with the boys. After sitting for fifteen minutes or so I finally had the energy to get up outta my seat and join the throngs of people leaving the show totally spent and �Satisfied�.

Growing up not as a very big Rolling Stones fan, I've been a music fan since I was a little kid. I've seen well over one thousand concerts in my life... going back to my days of working at Barrymore�s... way back when.I have to admit that this was probably the greatest concert that I have ever seen in my life.

For Sonny T. I hope that the concerts of all the greats up there are as fantastic as this one here was in Ottawa on this date of Sunday, August 28, 2005, cuz I know you will be rocking along in the front row.

To the GREATEST ROCK & ROLL BAND in the world thank you and you now have a new convert.

IT�S ONLY ROCK & ROLL BUT I LOVE IT!!!

The Stage