It's Only Rock'n Roll
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It's Only Rock'n Roll |
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Stones
NEWS |
Tell Me Forum |
Hackney Diamonds |
Tour 2024 |
Mick Jagger |
Keith Richards |
Charlie Watts |
Ronnie
Wood |
Band 2
Tim Ries |
Show start : 9:30pm Show end : 11:38pm
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ron Wood convinced my colleagues that a good decision was made. I will simply never get tired of seeing this band which I saw for the first time 40 years ago at Madison Square Garden. The absolute best moment of the show was when announced that they would play the winner of the fan voted song as they have done in recent years. I was a bit confused when they started playing HANG ON SLOOPY! It was great - I wish they had played it for more than the 30 seconds or so that they did.
GIMME SHELTER gave me chills as it one of my all-time favorites. My life-long dream will come to fruition in about 5 weeks when I bring my family to Indianapolis and my 13 year old daughter will get an opportunity to see The World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band. I don't care that she does not care - it means a lot to me to bring her. 72 years old Mick is? It does not seem possible.
Photos by Bjornulf Vik
Jagger played the crowd for all he was worth. Miss You seemed a bit like a Darryl Jones bass feature; the other instruments were almost inaudible. Jagger kind of fudged the end of Midnight Rambler which is more seemly I suppose. The oldies were a kick, both Spend the Night and Satisfaction.
No Chuck Berry other than some of Keith's licks, and I think I missed the old stray Chuck tune. The audience helped out plenty with Honky Tonk Women. Ohio U. choir got the first notes after the encore leading into a fine Can't Always Get What You Want. Fun show. Charlie's still on his game and the guitarists got some good licks in and Mick seems ageless.
Photos by Bjornulf Vik
Mick used the catwalk all the time. I was right next to it, and it seemed that he stopped by on almost every song, often on the move out to the crowd using the extended stage. "Midnight Rambler" was a highlight, Mick doing great harmonica playing, posing, dancing, singing, working the large crowd, then at the end moving over to Keith thanking him for a great song.
This was the 2nd show of the tour. They rocked Ohio. People came from all parts of Ohio, and Mick thanked the Ohio fans for supporting them since their first Ohio show in 1964. That is 51 years ago folks! They will visit 12 more states in USA, plus one show in Canada on this tour. If you have a ticket, lucky you, if not, get a ticket. This is a performance not to be missed.
Photos by Bjornulf Vik
Well, The Stones NEVER agree with the naysayers! And neither do I!
First off, the entire stadium was jammed from the floor to the upper decks. I'm not exactly sure how the promoters did it, but Ohio Stadium was a madhouse. Was it the Lucky Dip low price ticket strategy? Flex-pricing? Last minute papering? Genius marketing? Or just the plain and simple fact that people still want to see The Stones!
Kid Rock blasted through an incredibly well-recieved hit-filled abbreviated version of his touring show in about 50 minutes. He's talented and so is his band which looks remarkably like the Stones' own traveling company complete with backup vocals and saxophone. He hit hard and hit fast and payed his respects to his elders. A perfect warm-up. With a nod to this "dream" gig, he announced that The Rolling Stones would be up next and was gone.
I'll leave the set-list breakdown to the others but here's a few of my observations: The opening video for this tour is fantastic and when Keith took his position for 'Jumping Jack Flash' we were off! What a great and loud opening number. While I truly love 'Doom and Gloom', its probably run its course as a live tune. Relevant during the last U.S. run two years ago, its feeling overcooked. Its simple deletion wouldn't be missed. Is it me, or was that the longest version of 'Happy' ever?! Keith just didn't seem to want to give this one up and it was wonderful! 'Start Me Up' has become an incredibly powerful monster of a live number! The choir brings me to tears on 'Can't Always Get What You Want." Every time. Goose-bump inducing brilliance.
And then you have 'Midnight Rambler'... On the '50 and Counting Tour', I felt that the addition of Mick Taylor was the sole reason for this song's magic. Now I realize that it is MICK JAGGER that makes this one the night's winner. He is as captivating and mesmerizing on this song as humanly possible. Is he human? I could watch this man play harmonica and prance and growl these lines every night for the rest of my life.
As the full moon peeked through the clouds during 'Sympathy', I realized that we were not going to get the over-dramaticly predicted rain and at that moment it hit me. The Rolling Stones are at their best in a massive outdoor stadium packed to the rafters. With the enormous video screens and the huge stage deck to roam, Jagger makes the entire building come alive. When he waves those hands or points those fingers or shakes those hips in any general direction of the crowd, full sections of people go absolutely bonkers. Its impossible not to watch him work his magic.
Its heart-warming (too corny?) to witness the love between these four guys on stage at this point in their careers. Sure, we get a few clunks from our hero's guitar every now and then. Even a look of chagrin. But then Ronnie will seriously come blasting in to the rescue. Or Charlie will kick it up a notch. Or Mick shifts directions and all is right with the world again. Our world.
The Rolling Stones are on tour in the summertime in America in 2015. In outdoor stadiums. Where they belong. Get a ticket and go. Drive, bike, or hitchhike. Or charter your private plane ;) The absolute power of The Stones in a stadium in undeniable.
Photos by Kurt Schwarz
I did not miss the special guest element of the 50th anniversary shows and tours, though that was always an interesting part of the evening. It was good to see the band work as the great band they are, in a mode that focused on music rather than celebrity. And as spectacular as he is, Mick Taylor was not missed. Ronnie handled everything extremely well, and even had a larger than usual, impressive presence during Midnight Rambler. Oh how I missed Bobby Keys! Karl Denson seems like a competent session player, but he brought nothing unique in his playing (listen to Beast of Burden from the 1981 tour, with Ernie Watts on sax--it is distinct and interesting). When it was time for the sax solo on Brown Sugar, Mr. Denson did well enough, but I was now reminded of how that soulful blare of Keys now belongs to the ages rather than belonging to this balmy night in Ohio.
So it was great to see the Stones back, Mick and Keith seemingly more at peace with each other on stage than ever, and the band doing what they do best playing to a large stadium. But these artists were known as some of the most innovative and creative musicians ever, and to play nothing but old songs (OK, Gloom and Doom is a mere three years old) seems like a waste of their well known talent. Springsteen, McCartney, even Willie Nelson have recently put out new material. As much as I enjoy the shows, I just think we could be getting so much more. The Rolling Stones Theatre in Branson, Missouri is yet to be a reality (and yes, I'd probably head to Branson for a few nights of that), but the stock setlist and lack of imagination tonight made me think Zip Code is certainly seeing the band take that direction.
Photos by Bjornulf Vik
The set list loaded with familiar tunes was performed with plenty of energy throughout. My hunch is that without the rarely played gems, it allowed the band to put more energy in to everything instead of being on auto-pilot in between the "different" songs.
Keith was solid and smiling a lot throughout. Ronnie took charge and appeared more comfortable with his role than I recall from the previous tour. And the large Columbus crowd was perhaps the most enthusiastic crowd I have been among for a Stones show in quite some time. Perhaps having thousands more reasonably priced tickets helped to bring out the casual fans. The crowd was clearly singing along with so many of the songs, with even the "wooo woooooo" starting on Sympathy before Mick sang one word, and even the "Have you heard about the Boston?" part on Rambler had a few thousand backup singers.
It isn't often that the more commonly played songs are three of my personal big 4 highlights of the show, but that's what happened.
The opener of Jumpin' Jack Flash included an extra part toward the end that picked up the energetic opening even more. Best version I have seen since the Licks tour, and a great way to kick of a great night. Tumbling Dice was beefed toward the end with less emphasis on the horns and more on the "woo hooooo" vocals which made this one of the better recent versions as well.
Gimme Shelter is always a highlight, but with Lisa and Mick both out the on walkway during their parts of the song and a strong guitar lead from Keith made this version one to remember. Keith played the main guitar solo a bit more soulfully than usual, more like the way he played it on his solo tours, and it mixed in really well.
My biggest highlight, once again (as it was every show I saw in '13) is Midnight Rambler. I wasn't sure it would come off as well as last tour with Mick Taylor on it, and didn't even watch the video clip from San Diego, figuring I would rather see it live for myself.
Mick's harmonica spot early on was nailed to the wall. Probably the best one I have ever seen or heard. Amazing. But he didn't stop there. It got toward the middle part, and Mick went in to one of his "possessed" dances. His energy and movement were like a 25-year old James Brown. One of those "THIS is why I do all I do to be at a Stones show time after time" moments. Keith was having a blast and everyone in the house was rocking. I'll put this one up there with the versions in '13, and that is saying a lot. Definitely the best part of a great evening.
Of course, this was my first show in person since the '81 tour without Bobby Keys, so it was a curious time when Brown Sugar came up. It remains probably my favorite studio song ever, but has rarely reached that level live for me. Karl Denson did a great job on the middle sax solo, even playing it (understandably) a bit different from the Bobby always did. Toward the end of the song, the Stones tightened it up a bit, and featured Denson much more on sax, rather than the usual endless horn part. It totally improved the song.
Let's Spend The Night Together was very well done, especially considering how rarely it has been played live since the Licks tour. You would have thought they played it as often as some of the others.
The choir was exceptionally good on You Can't Always Get You Want, and of course, Satisfaction wraps it up. I'm considering Satisfaction to be a special song on this tour. It was exactly 50 years ago that I was coming home from grammar school listening to this song, wondering if the Stones could keep up putting out all these great songs. To be seeing it live 50 years later adds to the fun.
OK - Time to backtrack to the Hang On Sloopy/Ohio song. While outside the stadium listening to the soundcheck hours before, it was muffled where we were. We heard them start a song, couldn't make out what it was, and then it stopped within one minute. We figured they were either goofing around or started a song and then gave it up. It turned out they rehearsed that, which we didn't know until it turned up.
They only did the opening chorus of Sloopy and then the crowd picked up on the "Ohio song" portion and was singing quite enthusiastically. At the time, I was disappointed because I think it replaced a third consecutive song from Sticky Fingers. But that bit pumped up the crowd even more, so I understood its purpose. Heck, I wish they had "really" done the song. But at least there was a unique Stones concert moment I'll have as another way to remember a great night.
Even with the set list filled with familiar tunes and no rare gems, this show ranks right up there with the 2013 tour. So glad I'm going to more!
Photos by Bjornulf Vik
We arrived at the venue about an hour and a half before Kid Rock started his set. The traffic around the stadium was chaotic, although there were plenty of police officers directing traffic. Finding a spot to park took at least a half hour (I'm not sure how they handle 100,000 for football games.) The surrounding area and campus seemed very nice, historic even. I was also pleasantly surprised that the weather cooperated after seeing weather reports calling for rain all week.
The mass of people that seemed everywhere around the venue in this college town really gave it a summer festival vibe. Speaking of people, I will say this was a fun crowd to be in, and had the least number of annoyances from other concertgoers in recent memory. I wish I could say the same about a recent Bob Dylan concert in Nashville...
There were the predictable mobs of people around the merch booth outside the stadium. There was a street evangelist admonishing the horde of people as they entered the building as well. I was a little worried as we entered because as we were driving to Columbus earlier in the day, I had seen tweeted pictures of the venue and our floor seats didn't seem to exist. When we got down to the field to our section (H), it was apparent that our row (13) was not there. I'm sure it had something to do with the sound towers that were adjacent to that section and space/sight line concerns. An usher directed us to a nearby booth where they upgraded our seats to Section E. I'd say we had about a 16-19 row improvement and were pretty excited about the turn of events.
Kid Rock came out to Journey's "Don't Stop Believin". They played the song up until the "born and raised in South Detroit" line, letting the crowd shout it out before launching into Bawitdaba (my name is KIDDDDD). The crowd really seemed to enjoy his show, although he was not my favorite, he was fairly entertaining. An odd moment happened when they started playing the Star Spangled Banner and he introduced a special guest that he said was the man who killed Osama Bin Laden.
The Rolling Stones came out to Jack Flash and all was right in the world. Similar to the 50 and Counting tour, the sound man really seemed to boost Keith's guitar for most opening riffs, solos, some leads, and other chords. I'm a fan of hearing Keith loud so him coming in hot is always appreciated. Some set list watchers on the internet may be disappointed at the more hit/warhorse focused set, but the crowd at the stadium that night loved it.
I always love them playing It's Only Rock n Roll to hear some of Keith's Chuck Berry fueled licks. Let's Spend the Night Together was more guitar oriented that I remembered, which made it fun. I liked hearing Keith's background vocals on it as well. I'm a massive Exile on Mainstreet fan, so Tumbling Dice was a treat. It was my first time hearing Bitch live. Keith's guitar overtook the horns in some parts, but I'll take the trade. On that song, his guitar was loud on the lead break and pushed to even more thunderous levels for the solo. I loved it.
Mick sang great on Wild Horses and we once again got some background vocals from Keef. Before the fan vote was announced the band launched into Hang on Sloopy. Being from Indiana, I was surprised with the O-H-I-O chant the crowd went into during the song, and I'm not sure the band fully expected it either. It was a brief and unexpected highlight. After that, we got Paint it Black, which while more often played and predictable than the other fan vote options was received better than the other choices would have been (I still voted for Heartbreaker...). Keith disappeared behind the stage for a bit during the middle of the song, but reappeared before it ended.
After Mick introduced the band, Keith began his two-song set. I always enjoy Keith's mini-set and this one didn't disappoint. Before They Make Me Run is one of my favorites that he sings and it was very good. Keith was in fine voice throughout. I hadn't seen the band play Happy before so that was a lot of fun for me as well. Mick reemerged blowing on his harmonica and I knew Rambler was next. That song is a highlight at every show it's played (with or without Mick Taylor I might add...). Mick played great harmonica and got to vamp and do a little dance in the middle that the audience ate up.
Miss You was next and featured great bass from Darryl. Mick, Keith, and Ronnie went out to the end of the ramp at the end, which was a lot of fun for the crowd. Gimme Shelter was amazing as always. Keith really nailed the intro. Lisa distracted him during one of his leads later, but it was still great. Lisa has to live to play that song every night. She really seems to enjoy going out on the ramp with Mick. Start Me Up sounded great, Keith was energized. Sympathy was next and I always love when the loud guitars come in. Brown Sugar ended the main set with Mick once again at the end of the ramp exhorting the crowd.
The two-song encore was You Can't Always Get What You Want and Satisfaction. YCAGWYW featured a choir (like the 2013 tour). It went over well, but came to an awkward ending that had Mick proclaim, "Where's that double time shit?" and the band started it back up for another 30 seconds or so. Satisfaction sent everyone in the stadium home knowing they had just seen the greatest rock band in the world. If it's the last time I get to see them in person, I'll go away with a great memory of the band. With that said, it wouldn't surprise me if they outlive us all.
A windy thunderstorm that passed through Columbus on Saturday at about 5:30 p.m., but afterward, the skies cleared for the rest of the evening, and the weather was great for the show, providing an excellent time for a packed crowd at Ohio Stadium. The crowd had to number more than 70,000, in the 105,000 capacity stadium, which had no seating behind the stage. The turnout, dispelled rumors that the show had not sold well. I was sitting in Row 14, on the right side of the runway.
Kid Rock was the opening act, and delivered an entertaining performance which included "Bawitdaba," "Cowboy," "Motherf**ker Quite Like Me," and the song "Forty," which notably has the following lyrics:
"I guess I'm freaky forty,
Well that's what my momma said,
But Bruce Springsteen is freaky sixty-two
And the Stones are almost dead..."
Far from dead, the Stones hit the stage at about 9:30 p.m., following the Zip Code tour, introductory video. The Stones launching into "Jumping Jack Flash". Mick Jagger was wearing a blue jacket and black tights, which he seems to have adopted since the time of the Stones last US tour in 2012, replacing his normal black pants, which he had worn since about 2000, which had replaced his former "bellman" black pants attire, with the side leg stripes, which had dated to at least the Steel Wheels Tour.
The Stones next performed a rocking version of "It's Only Rock and Roll," during which time Mick disrobed from wearing his introductory blue jacket. Next came "Let's Spend the Night Together," followed by "Tumbling Dice," which had a customary, "Tumbling Dice" themed video. Lisa Fischer, Bernard Fowler, and the horn section appeared on the stage for the first time during "Tumbling Dice".
Next up was "Doom & Gloom," with Mick playing his stunningly beautiful '52 style Fender Custom Shop Telecaster, with its unbelievable ash grain markings that extend like huge curved "crow's feet" from the bridge area of the guitar.
Mick announced that they were playing some songs from "Sticky Fingers". "Bitch" followed, with what was seemingly to me, one of the few snafus of the evening, when Keith's guitar sounded strangely out of sync with the song for some reason. This was one of the few possible blemishes, if my ears were not betraying me, on an otherwise outstanding, up-tempo show; of a type that the Stones rarely perform in an indoor, arena setting. This was a huge improvement from my perspective, from the 2012, "50 and Counting," US Tour. I am a big fan of seeing the Stones in outdoor shows as opposed to arenas, and unfortunately, have never seen the Stones in a club or theater setting.
To my dismay, the Stones chose not to play "Moonlight Mile," but instead chose next to play "Wild Horses" from "Sticky Fingers" next. While I love "Wild Horses," I have never seen "Moonlight Mile" performed live, and was hoping that they would play it. For me, there is always the hope that they will play Moonlight Mile on June 20 in Pittsburgh. On "Wild Horses," while Mick played acoustic guitar and sang "Wild Horses," the accompanying video appeared to be a Moonlight Mile themed video, with a rising full moon and pictures of the night time stars appearing on the big screens. Bernard and Lisa appeared very intimate together during this song.
Following "Wild Horses," Mick next began to introduce the "on-line fan selection song," but then, strangely, the Stones went into a very short cover version of Hang on Sloopy. Why the Stones chose to insert this abbreviated version of Hang on Sloopy into the set at this point, which certainly added nothing to the show, and seemed out of place, remains a big question mark. The song does not appear on pictures of the official Columbus setlist that have been posed on-line. Following this less than exciting, and less than one minute rendition the classic cover tune, Mick continued to announce the "fan selection song" for the evening, "Paint it Black," which was executed flawlessly.
Honky Tonk Woman was next with Chuck Leavell, uniquely doing his trademark stomp on the keyboards with his ass, instead of his foot. There were no special videos or other special effects for Honky-tonk, which historically, is a change from what has normally been the case.
Following the band introductions by Mick; Keith, armed with Micaber, his famous '54 Fender Telecaster, played "Before They Make Me Run" and "Happy," with Ronnie on pedal steel guitar on Happy.
Following Keith's set, Mick returned to the stage wearing a purple leather jacket that appeared red on the big screens. Mick's trademark harp sounded the introduction of "Midnight Rambler". Keith played his blond '57 Gibson Les Paul TV Junior, while Ronnie played a sunburst, Gibson Les Paul. Ronnie confidently played "Rambler," just as he had done prior to the return of Mick Taylor on the 2012 US Tour, contrary to the reports of some critics, who for some unknown reason, continue to take issue with Ronnie's playing on songs originally performed by Mick Taylor. Personally, based on the my viewing of concerts and videos of the "50 & Counting," US Tour, don't think Mick Taylor is the same guitar player that he once was, lacking some degree of his original fluid style.
Mick next ask the crowd if they ready to sing a little bit, and the familiar baseline of miss you began to rock the stadium. During Miss You, Mick, Keith and Ronnie were all, for a short time, all the way at the end of the runway, which during the "Bridges" and "Forty Licks" Tours, was considered the "B Stage."
"Gimme Shelter" came next. Mick donned an unbuttoned, fuchsia colored silk shirt over his black T-shirt, that again appeared to be red on the big screens. Mick and Lisa Fisher, who was wearing a black and blue flowing silk poncho, sang as they walked to the end of the runway, with Lisa initially preceding Mick on the catwalk. Keith was again playing the "Dice," Gibson LP TV Junior guitar, with Ronnie playing a black, Gibson L5-S, that he often played throughout the show. The Gibson L5-S is currently available for purchase in both signed and unsigned, Ronnie Wood signature versions.
Following a few seconds of relative quiet that followed Gimme Shelter, the familiar "call to arms" was heard with the beginning riffs of Start Me Up, sounded by Keith, playing his "Micaber" Telecaster. This was accompanied by a video on the big screens of dancing tongues interchanged with dancing triangles. Ronnie played one of his '50s era Fender Stratocasters during the song, with the three tongue logo guitar strap that says "Ed & Fred 02," where the strap attaches with a strap lock onto the top of the body of the guitar.
"Sympathy for the Devil" was next, accompanied by videos of fire on the big screens. Gone are the days of enormous and wondrous stage designs, with enormous bursts of actual fire from the roof of the stage, with the resulting blasts of hot air that would warm the decadent souls of the audience below in stadium shows of years past. Mick began "Sympathy," wearing a red shag cape, with floor length tails and black lining, that he eventually jettisoned after whirling it around his head. Ronnie again played the black Gibson L5-S with Keith was on the "Dice" guitar. At the beginning of the song, Keith ventured part-way out onto the runway, and after returning to the stage, Mick then went onto the runway during the song's second verse. Following Keith's guitar solo, there was a chorus of woo-hoos from the audience, with Mick, Bernard and Lisa singing the "what's my name" chorus line.
"Brown Sugar" followed with Ronnie playing the black signature model, Gibson L5-S again, with Keith on an unknown black guard Telecaster. During the sax solo by Karl Denson, Mick headed to the far end of the runway and eventually returned to the stage with Keith playing an extended solo at the end of the song, with the audience all singing: "Yeah yeah yeah...., Wooooo"!! After the song, Mick said to the crowd: "Thank You Columbus, you been a great f**king audience..., goodnight. The band then left the stage, with the Ohio Buckeye, silver with red stripe, Rolling Stones tongue logo, gracing the large screens.
The Stones returned to the stage and played the same encore as in San Diego, which will probably remain a steady encore on this Tour, beginning with "You Can't Always Get What You Want". Mick appeared for the encore in an open maroon, sequin front shirt over his black t-shirt, with a black ivy, flat cap, while Ronnie changed from his yellow t-shirt with abstract front design, to a blue t-shirt with the same design. Keith appeared in an open maroon silk shirt that replacing the open teal silk shirt he had worn throughout the show.
There seem to be a few sound problems with the quality of the sound of the Ohio based choir that sung the angelic introduction to the Song, which seemed to lack some degree of reverb, sounding somewhat harsh and flat, followed by crackling sounds at the end of the choir's singing, as if the microphones were manually unplugged. Mick played a red Gibson acoustic guitar initially, with Ronnie again playing the black signature model, Gibson L5-S, and Keith playing his '66 sunburst Fender Telecaster named "Sonny," capoed at the 5th fret in open "G" tuning. Ronnie moved to the catwalk with his guitar solo while Bernard and Lisa danced in the background. At the end, the song's tempo went up and up and up, at Jagger's direction and clapping, and ended in a jazzy finale.
Then came the famous riffs by Keith from 1965 and the Stones were into the greatest rock song of all time, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". Ronnie played his yellow Versus Raya 6 Custom guitar for the only time in the show, and never used any of his custom Zemaitis guitars, which he frequently played during past Tours.
Unbelievably the front section, concert security Nazis, wearing headsets with microphones, would not allow people to move down the aisle toward the stage, even at this point in the show. After the verses to Satisfaction had concluded, Keith admirably performed the "Satisfaction" solo ending intermixed with Ronnie (which isn't always the case in an indoor show) while Mick jumped up and down singing "hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey......., hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey......;" losing his flat cap in the process. The extended ending was shorter than the gold standard recording, "Live at Hyde Park," but was still greater and more intense than anything I saw on the indoor, 50 and Counting, US Tour.
Fireworks flairs closed the show, but sadly, there was no confetti or imitation rose pedals, sprayed onto the audience during Satisfaction, a deletion that the Stones should really reconsider, as that closing element is really a Stones tradition, beginning at least as early as 1972, with Mick throwing rose pedals into the crowd at MSG.
All in all, the Columbus Show was a very strong performance by still, the World's Greatest Rock 'N Roll Band!!! Absent any quibbling that I may have over the setlist; everyone in Ohio Stadium on May 29, got what needed.
Jumping Jack Flash opened the show with Keith's guitar just as loud as the exploding fireworks. Mick and Ronnie stalked the stage and Charlie took off right away, building as much momentum in the first song as the last song of the night. They tore through the 2 hour and 10 minute set with a steady ebb and flow of what makes the Stones great; chaotic dysfunction intertwined with the smoothest, most transcending moments you are likely ever to experience in a live performance. The stadium shows sort of amplify this for the Stones (their song catalog doesn't hurt either), and the sound system these days surpasses the arena shows for clarity. It was a cool breezy, night in Columbus and the crowd was on their feet the whole time. No real surprises in the set list, but I was happy as hell to hear Let's Spend the Night Together! It still sounds like it does on "Still Life" when they play it live and is always such a treat. Since this is the Zip Code tour, it would have been nice to hear more than two songs from Sticky Fingers (excluding Brown Sugar), but Mick Jagger doesn't like straying too far from the mega hits at stadium shows, so all we got was Bitch and Wild Horses. However, when Keith joined Mick for the chorus of Wild Horses it was one of those moments where time stands still and goosebumps appear on you forearms. It would have been nice to hear Can't You Hear Me Knocking, Moonlight Mile, or Sway though.
Keith disappeared during Paint it Black and I didn't see him on stage for most of the song. When he came back he appeared to be coughing a bit and had a serious look on his face. I don't know if he was backstage huffing oxygen or a joint, but he remained standing the whole rest of the show and sounded great during his songs. Darryl Jones seemed a bit disinterested in his bass solo during Miss You (a real highlight from the 2013 tour), perhaps he is more content to hang in the shadows. Their spontaneous rendition of Hang on Sloopy left me scratching my head at the time, but it appears that Ohio State has been playing that song during football games since the song came out in 1964. I was wondering why people were going nuts and singing along! So I guess the night did have one rare moment, they aren't likely to do that one again.
Bobby Keyes was sorely missed tonight, especially on Brown Sugar! Such a bummer that he is not around for this tour, as he is such an integral part of Sticky Fingers. The Stones carry on as usual though, laying it down like they always did. The choir and Ronnie's solo on You Can't Always Get What You Want sealed the deal. Then Satisfaction, fireworks and the black vans whizzing the Stones off to their next adventure. 'Til next time!
Photos by Darren Rappa
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