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 : 8:30pm Show end : 10:50pm
Pre-show info and live comments:
Hamburg Germany 09-Sep-2017 Stones No Filter live show updates
The samba-stirs of Sympathy sounded around Stadtpark, and I wondered whether this would just be the intro music that stops before they perform a different song (much like the 2012 gigs), but no, Mick strutted out, uttered a quick ‘yeah, yeah, yeah’ to find his pitch, and then he introduced himself. Undoubtedly, he is a man of wealth and taste. Everyone I spoke to after the gig appeared to have differing opinions on Keith tonight. For me, a more subdued Keith is a better Keith. Less posing means he can concentrate on playing more, and I think anyone who listens to Slipping Away from the tonight’s mini Keith-set couldn’t fail to testify to this. I thought it was just perfect.
I was treated to four songs I had never heard before: Just your fool, Ride em on down, Play with fire and Dancing with Mr D. The latter of which was a little messy, but I hope they stick with it. The price of trying rarities is that mistakes are bound to happen. But as someone who would love more variety in the set list, it would be wrong of me to complain about these minor errors. Instead, I focus on the positives: the different ordering of the classics, the double-hit of a blues combo from Blue and Lonesome, and the sight of both Ronnie and Keith on acoustics during the ballad ‘that came out of nowhere’ as Mick pointed out.
On this note, I love Mick’s seemingly off-the-cuff remarks. Maybe I interpreted this wrong, but I think, due to the (lack of) crowd reaction when he announced ‘Under My Thumb’ as the vote winner, he half-scolded, half-joked, ‘OK, we will do a different one then’. To be fair, he does have to work hard to get a reaction – I guess no amount of trying will get a mobile phone to clap back. But when the phones are down, the crowd was good. Finally, I think a 22-song set is needed if the stones are going to manage to play all the hits and some lesser-known numbers, but I worry that this may be a bit too much for them for a whole tour. I saw Charlie’s drumming on Satisfaction and his legs were going so fast – hitting double bass-drum beats every chorus; that’s going to take a lot out of him. So, I can see the number of songs dropping off, but I think after this gig, I understand the reason why this happens more than I ever have before.
As I look forward to Barcelona later in the tour, where I get to take my girlfriend to her first stones show, I am so pleased to have attended the No Filter tour opening night. Ticket prices, set list gripes, pit layout complaints, they all fade to nothingness as soon as the Stones hit the stage. That feeling is like no other.
Photos by Bjørnulf Vik
Arrived friday afternoon in the pouring rain which didn’t seem to stop until a few hours before show-time. Dry conditions definetly made ticket searching a lot easier and tix were around in abundant supply! After a two-hour wheelin’ `n´ dealin’ ordeal with all sorts of people, I got some scalper-sum to bleed and capitulate in giving me a ticket for a little more than half the price. I took up my seat (I’m short, was tired, am getting old…) in T4 at 7 p.m. and felt at ease for the first time that day after slowly sipping single-malt from the flask I managed to smuggle in. I dug where I sat basking in the whole crowd, the venue, the trees, the blue sky/rednd clouds, the pond behind back-stage, everything really except the warm-up band which just wasn’t my cup of tea…
Was very surprised but delighted when lights went out at 8.30 p.m. because The Rolling Stones were supposed to take to the stage at 9; and then was really surprised when they started with Sympathy! Not a bad way to start a show („Please allow me to introduce myself…“) but I thought the number all in all lacked the groove it normaly has when performed later on. IORR and TD I also found to be a little off, the band clearly trying to find solid ground and not really succeeding at it at first. That changed with OOC and the two blues numbers that followed, them really nailing Ride `em Down!
Loved Play With Fire especially the sound coming from Keiths 12-string!! Was intent on finding a choir with my binoculaurs for YCAGWYW but was ultimately unsuccessful (playback, right?); and regardless of what you may have read so far in the tellme section Dancing w/ Mr. D. was really good, Keith and Ronnie excellent here, a very fine breaking-out and undusting of a song last performed decades ago!
Would have preferred ADTL instead of UMT and wasn’t all too crazy about this version but Paint It Black and HonkyTonkWomen got things back on the map for me although I honestly believe something was missing on HTW (Bobby Keys, of course!!!) and there may have been a bit too much of Chuck Leavell in there too…
The only really negative thing I have to point out was Keith singing on his two songs…my goodness, he was sooo amazing on Cross Eyed Heart a couple of years back…C’mon Keith, you can do better on vocals than last nite!!
Midnight Rambler was good but no way near as good as it was in Berlin in 2014 with Mick Taylor (I’m just sayin’…)
Miss You really gave Daryl Jones an opportunity to show off how damn fine of a bass player he really is, his little solo was funkin’ tasty!!
And from there on home it was The Rolling Stones as we know them and have come to LOVE over all these years!! And those cats complaining that Keiths playing is sloppy and that it’s gonna take a few shows for him „to really play!!“ can just go and take a hike! For an opening night this was as good as it gets even if the flow, the pace was off at times; it was a truly wonderful concert and we all who go to a show or more should just be grateful and feel priviledged to be able to attend a Rolling Stones gig and forget for two hours plus about the doom and gloom out there…
So, that’s it for me; won’t be seeing anymore in the coming weeks and thus I want to thank you for reading this, thanx a many to bv for your amazing website, and last but by no means least: Thanxxxxxxxx to THE GREATEST ROCKNROLL BAND IN THE WORLD!!!!WE LOVE YOU TOO!!!!
Photos by Bjørnulf Vik
Therefore, when we realised that Sympathy For The Devil would be the opener, we really couldn't believe what we were just about to see and hear: indeed that was the first of the many surprises in store for us.
As for several other songs, especially in the first part of the concert, Sympathy For The Devil seemed to be played at a lightly slower pace than usual, but the excitement of being there was so overwhelming that no one really bothered to care.
Talking about the sound, in the venue you could immediately notice that the sound of both guitars was really thick and crisp: Keith Richards' was big, and Ronnie Wood's was huge! Guitar soundwise, this has to be the best Rolling Stones concert out of the 23 that I have attended so far.
After the opener, the concert progressed with "It's Only Rock'n Roll" and "Tumbling Dice", which to us long - time concert goers were business as usual. Then was the turn of "Out Of Control", which appears to have became a stable since the "14 On Fire" tour. It rocked big time as always, even if maybe was played a little bit slower, as already mentioned. Ronnie Wood played most of the guitar solo parts, and did it brilliantly. In fact, his whole performance was superb, and he definitely must be reckoned as a driving force of the band.
After "Out Of Control", Jagger announced that was just about time for something more "romantic", which turned out to be "Play With Fire". Even if we knew that it was rehearsed at the soundcheck, we were still skeptical as to whether it would really be included in the set list, so when it started it got really emotional. And what a rendition it was! Definitely so much better that in 1989, where due to the overuse of the keyboards it sounded like some song by Sade. In Hamburg the arrangement was much more afherent to the classic sound of the song as we all know it, and it definitely was the highlight of the concert. Can't wait to hear it again at the next gigs that I will be attending on this tour!
Then the boys played "You Can't Always Get What You Want" - which therefore got an early spot in the set list just like in the "Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle" tour in 1989 -90. That was another surprise of the night, since we all were expecting this song to be performed as an encore. As Charlie Watts missed a beat right at the start, the whole song was about to collapse, but as always the band managed to work nicely around it.
It seemed to me that, especially in the first part of the gig, the band had problems with the monitors on stage, and Charlie looked to me really annoyed because of that. However, this could also me a misunderstanding from my part, as no one of my friends at the concert noticed such thing.
By now we had already entered the most interesting part of the show. Mick Jagger announced a number last played in 1973, and of course was referring to "Dancing With Mr. D". As soon as Keith Richards started playing the hypnotic riff of that song, Mick Jagger started dancing as he only can do, and transfigurated into Mr. D himself. The sound of both guitars was huge, and the slide solos by Ronnie Wood were nothing short of excellent. Both Mick Jagger and especially Charlie Watts had problems with the cues at the song, particularly after the bass break in the end of the refrain. Even in that faschion, the song was indeed another highlight of the concert, mostly due to the fantastic sound of both guitars.
Two blues covers from "Blue And Lonesome" followed: "Just Your Fool" and "Ride 'em on Down". It was really lovely to listen to these performances, from which you could easily tell that the Stones managed to achieve the target they had set when they first started playing together in 1962, I.e. to became the coolest blues band of London.
When it came time for the song "chosen" through the app vote by the fans, everyone of us was expecting "Under My Thumb", as most of us either voted for it and had never had the chance to listen to it live. And the Stones didn't let us down! The song was performed at a pace more similar to the album version than, say, to the wild rendition of the 1981 - 1982 tour, but once again both guitars sounded great and Keith Richards made a fine job with the solos. With "Under My Thumb" I already got - just in this show - my 5th "new" song live, and that's indeed quite remarkable for a guy who's been attending their shows again and again since 1995!
"Honky Tonk Women" was business as usual, albeit very well performed, and then was time for the band introductions which lead to Keith Richards' set.
The first of the two songs sung by him was "Slipping Away", by a long shot the best of his latter day ballads. And what a lovely performance it was! Both vocally and instrumentally Keith was really into it, and gave us the impression that he became very emotional during the song, just like us did. That was another defining moment of the show.
"Happy" followed, and the title itself sums up our state of mind during the song and throughout the gig!
Despite the quality of the set list and of the performance, the crowd of Hamburg still kept very mild and was not so responsive as, say, the crowd in Italy or Spain. The boys then tried to shake it up a little bit with "Midnight Rambler", a song that never fails to deliver. Once again, our boys pulled out a superb performance of the song, with great interaction between Jagger's harmonica and Wood's guitar. And of course Mick Jagger turned into the Midnight Rambler himself, giving, as he always does, an incredible performance.
But in order to rock Hamburg's crowd once and for all, that was still not enough. In fact, this result was achieved only with "Miss You". Despite that horrible synthesized "harmonica" by Matt Clifford, and despite this song being usually considered as the most boring one by the long time Rolling Stones' concert goers, they make a good case in keeping it in the set list, because it's the one song which really wins the audience over before the warhorses victory lap in the final part of the show. And, moreover, it also gives Darryl Jones the chance to display his abilities in bass soloing.
From then on, with the audience finally fully engaged, everybody was expecting the usual string of warhorses we all know so well. But the Stones still had one more surprise in store for us: out of the blue, as a lightening strike, Keith Richards struck one loud, crisp, powerful, and unmistakably recognizable chord: that was the start of an epic rendition of "Street Fighting Man", which matches the one performed four years ago at Hyde Park, that was the highlight of the shows that took place there in 2013.
After "Start Me Up" and "Brown Sugar" (featuring an excellent sax solo by Carl Denson) it was time for the encore, and the boys came back with a stunning, powerful and moving performance of "Gimme Shelter" (arguably the greatest rock song ever penned). Once again, the guitars' sound was big, and Ronnie Wood shone once again playing the riff in the two - guitar attack with Keith Richards. Moreover, I have to say that I prefer the performance of Sasha Allen over Lisa Fisher, because with the latter I often had the impression that "Gimme Shelter" had turned into comedy music. But this is a serious tune, which deals with fear and suffering, and in my opinion Sasha's interpretation is more effective in conveying the real message of the song.
Last but not least, "Jumpin' Jack Flash" followed, and totally rocked the house: Just like "Midnight Rambler", the Stones can never go wrong with this song.
It indeed was a memorable night. Sure, a few performances were still a little bit rusty, and someone may question a few dumb notes in some of Keith Richards' solos, but the mere experience of being there when this guys are playing their heart out is so powerful that eclipses any of these details : after all, that is the real magic of the Rolling Stones!
Anyway, since we all know that the Stones usually pick up steam on their way as the tour progresses, I'd say that we're in for many more great concerts by these guys, and I can't wait to attend the other three gigs left for me!
Photos by Bjørnulf Vik
There were plenty of innovations that give me hope that the Stones will hit their groove soon, and that this tour will be a special one. That's if someone can remember to revive Keith: He could barely walk, and his playing was rudimentary. It seems they finally sat down after at least a decade on autopilot and gave some thought to retooling the show - or at least rearranging the deck chairs. First up were the four giant video screens that looked like self-supporting picture frames. Very cool. The catwalk has also been extended on either side. Mick was out there a lot, but not the other guys. The lack of goofy videos was also noted with approval, though a loop of some demonstrators showed during the early part of "Gimme Shelter." The relatively simple staging reminded me of the North American No Security tour from 1999, which holds a high place in my memories.
Hamburg has had a dismal summer, and it rained on and off for most of the day. Thankfully, no storms were threatening during the show, though it was getting chilly by the end, about 10 degrees. There must have been a condensation issue on the catwalk, because Mick asked a roadie mid-song to take care of the issue, and a team of four gofers duly rushed out a half-dozen times during the show to wipe it down. None of the Stones seemed affected by the cold, though Charlie preemptively wore a long-sleeved dress shirt.
The 2:20 show kicked off just after 8:30 pm not with an introductory video but with the prerecorded percussion of "Sympathy for the Devil." I could be wrong, but I doubt the Stones have ever begun a show with "Sympathy" - and I guess it's been a good decade or two since they began with anything other than one of the uptempo warhorses. The upside is that we get a crap song over and done with, and we have none of the choreographed moves involving the support musicians and singers. The downside is that it's a long, boring, outdated song. You want to begin the show with a bang, not with a stale dirge. Anyway, I am glad they are trying new stuff with the sequencing. Matt loses much of his raison d'être now that "You Can't Always Get What You Want" has been moved way up the list with no choir. "Gimme Shelter" takes its place in the encore, by which time Sasha's voice is clearly a little tired.
I shouldn't get too excited about the sequencing: Next up were "It's Only Rock'n Roll," "Tumbling Dice" and "Out of Control." Mick noted, in German, that it was the 18th time the Stones have played Hamburg, and he mentioned something about Pink Floyd. Later on, he said (in English) that they arrived by boat today because "we were told by some friends in Liverpool that Hamburg's a good place to get a start in a career." I was worried they would reprise "Come Together."
Two enthusiastic tracks from Blue and Lonesome led into the rarities portion - "Play with Fire," with Keith and Ron sitting down with their acoustics, "Dancing with Mr. D," and "Under My Thumb." "You Can't Always Get What You Want" was somewhere in that mix. Maybe it was my imagination, but "Under My Thumb" seemed quite Motownish, quite "Ain't Too Proud to Beg"-ish. And I could swear Charlie was playing a disco beat just before the breakdown of "Midnight Rambler," which barely hit 11 minutes.
Some things don't change. We got a dire bass solo on "Miss You." Afterwards, Mick asked, "What will Miles say about that?" Who cares? It's supposed to be a rock concert. "Brown Sugar" benefited from minimal backup singing by Sasha, none of the silly affections used by Lisa. Chuck and Matt were as far apart as possible, barely on the same stage. The crowd seemed a little older than usual for a European show, not surprising given the extortionate pricing.. Hopefully the average age will move down as the tour progresses, and I'd really appreciate it if all the smokers could stop following me around.
Photos by Bjørnulf Vik
With 82,000 fans inside the venue, and another 15,000 people outside the fences, in the park, according to the Hamburg police, we were around 100,000 people who followed this great show. As the field is open and flat, there was no echo, the sound was outstanding. I was in the "No Filter Pit", Ronnie side. This pit is just like the tongue pit they had during the arena shows earlier since 2012 and on, except it feels like the No Filter pit is may be a little bit smaller. It hold probably around 300 fans on each side, with a nice connection under the T-shaped walkway, so that you may change from Keith side into Ronnie side if you like. In Hamburg the Keith side was more packed, as usual. Quite a few fans who arrived into the pit had Lucky Dip tickets, by the way.
So many great songs tonight! I wish they could keep the exact same set list for all of the No Filter shows. There is nothing to be removed, every song should be in there, according to my taste.
"Play With Fire" is simply magic. The first time I got this song live was at Shea Stadium in New York 1989. It was magic then, as they had a red fire flying in the sky during the song. Now there was no red fire, but Ronnie and Keith were on fire, each of them sitting with an acoustic guitar just in front of Charlie. Mick with his perfect deep voice on this song, and Charlie kept the perfect pace. How I love this song. Please please play it every night!
"Dancing With Mr D" was another highlight for me, it reminded me about my "Goats Head Soup" days back in 1973. It was very special to have that album, playing it song by song, over and over, as it was the third real studio album I bought following "Sticky Fingers" and "Exile", and then after all these years having one of the hidden gems brought back from the early 70's. What a treat!
The crowd was friendly and warm. No pushing around. The only annoying thing was a guy with a large pillow tongue waving in the air at all times. Then later on a scarf. I think it is quite offensive and ego minded to block the view from anyone behind you, for half of the show, simply because you want to wave with something large shaped. Well I moved over to another space and got rid of the blocked view, still many others probably had the same problem.
As the show went on, it never felt long, but I do keep track of the number of songs. As we were up to 18 and 19 songs, there were still a few ones missing. I was sure there would not be space for "Gimme Shelter", as they walked off stage after 20 songs, but there it was, as the first encore. So great!. There should never be a Stones show without "Gimme Shelter"...
Another favorite of mine in "Street Fighting Man". Now it is back in the set, after having been for a "rest" at times. It is a monster Stones song with so much power from Ronnie, Keith and the rest of the band, I just hope it will stay on there forever, just keep playing it, and I will be following the shows as long as I live.
So did I miss any songs? Well the perfect show do include "Memory Motel", may be I have to go to Boston to get it. There are other songs of course, but then I have to accept the fact that some songs have to go. No, the set they played in Hamburg is just perfect. Keep it that way. Twentytwo songs. Two hours twenty. If felt like a short set because time flies when you are having a great time. Thanks for a great show!
Photos by Bjørnulf Vik
What a set list and opening with ....."Sympathy for the devil" what energy!!! Simply indescribable !!!!!
They just blew me away and as they say this came from "Out of leftfield" an American baseball Anomaly for our European fans as "It was simply NOT normal" to open up with this song as they did and then............................."Dancing with Mr. D" which they rehearsed but haven't played in 30 + plus years........WOW!!!!............. HOLY SH%^T !!!!! I never thought they would actually play it!
Talking about "Playing with fire" another ...WOW!!!! and great acoustic by Keith which reminded me about the Bigger Bang tour when Keith was outstanding with "As tears go by" almost night every night and hope it stays in the setlist.
Well.....If this is the opening setlist then imagine what "The last Tango in Paris" will be like on October 25th......Cant wait for the "60 Crutches" tour in 2022
Photo by Hendrik Mulder
Then it was quickly heading to the hotel and grab some food before going to the venue in the Stadtpark. It was still raining quite a lot when we entered the venue, but then it cleared up around 5 pm and it stayed dry the rest of the evening, even with some sun. There was a tight security at the entrance, but all in all it was not too bad to get in. It was a bit messy to get into (and out of) the Silver Pit, but once inside it was very good there. At 7.15 Kaleo from Iceland came on stage and they played a very solid set; this is a very good opener for the Stones.
At 8.30 sharp it was show time! A very short introduction and then immediately into the intro of Sympathy For The Devil! Great opening song, and never done before like that, I think. The show followed with It's Only Rock 'n Roll, Tumbling Dice and a great Out Of Control. The sound was absolutely fantastic, and the band was on fire, playing very concentrated, very well! Then the first surprises were on: Just Your Fool and Ride 'Em On Down from the last blues album. These songs work very well in a large audience, so please keep them in. Of course, some songs were expected from the rehearsals earlier the week and yes, there was Play With Fire, not played since 1990 and a great version it was. The show continued with You Can't Always Get What You Want and the next surprise and great song Dancing With Mr D (not played since 1973).
The web choice was a slow, but very groovy Under My Thumb! So far, it was such a great set and such good playing by the band. Next song was Paint It Black, followed by Honky Tonk Women and the Band introductions. Keith Richards was playing a wonderful Slipping Away and then Happy. No surprise from his side, but man, was he playing great tonight! The highlights were not over yet, a rocking hard and long Midnight Rambler was played, followed by the crowd pleaser Miss You. Next surprise in the set was Street Fighting Man, followed by the war horses Start Me Up, Brown Sugar and Satisfaction.
Then the band went off stage to come back with the encore and with one of the best versions of Gimme Shelter. There was one song more to close tonight’s opening show, Jumping Jack Flash and then fireworks! We clocked 10:50, 2 hours and 20 minutes of rock history. What a memorable show, such good songs and they played so well. The sound was great, the huge screens were great, with very good visuals. I know, it’s only rock ‘n roll, but I like it…
Photo by Hendrik Mulder
A simple, straightforward, clean show with surprising set list and a very good second hour. It seems the Hamburgers (people of Hamburg right? …) are not familiar with accommodating an 82,000 people gig. The entrance was a challenge and most of the local staff didn’t know anything about anything. One guy in front of the No Filter Pit wanted to send me back to the entrance to collect a wrist band (!!!) while another one standing 20 meters behind him was delivering them upon checking your tix.
Go figure…. luckily it did not listen to him. It had taken me like one hour to get from the entrance to the Pit section.
The No Filter Pit is such an intimate experience in the current set up. We can move from Keith’s side to Ronnie’s side and you really enjoy the concert in a “club show” atmosphere. Much more than with previous set up, I don’t know why. Of course all the usual faces are hanging out there from all over the world. It’s a bit like a family reunion in that Pit!
The talk of Stones-land for the next few weeks will be the “opening with Sympathy”. That was surprising, unusual and contributed to a very good start for that tour opening show.
The first hour was a bit strange, great set list including 2 titles from Blue & Lonesome (a bit rushed…) but at the same time it seemed a bit slow in executing, definitely too slow on Under even if the version is great….
Hahahaha!!! Our guys are still human, after a period of rest, they need to get back in the mood and it took then an hour or so. I actually enjoyed seeing that, this show will remain like no other, surprising set list and a bit of a mess during the first hour. But then the second hour (and counting..) was right on track.
Sasha is doing such a good job there, her voice is to be heard loud and clear and it’s charming. What a great contribution she does to the band. She is fantastic.
My latest Stones shows were the 3 Buenos Aires last year so I have to say that with such a benchmark, the Hamburgers (the people from Hamburg, right?… J) seemed a little bit sleepy. Hey, it’s impossible to beat the Argentinians at a Stones show. In Buenos Aires I felt I was lucky to get out alive but yesterday, the most difficult thing was to find your way in and out in the muddy tracks of Stadpark.
After the show I saw some familiar faces at the Park Hyatt. Bernard Fowler was trying to escape a conversation with a fan who was asking him if he was following all the Stones shows…. Hahahaha!!!
Oh yes, we were soooooo lucky the rain stopped for the show!
Photo by Hendrik Mulder
Other highlights were Play with fire with beautiful guitar from Keef. And Mick laughing at the end. MR D blew me away.sometimes messy but Great Then the 2 bluessongs.. sounded so great. Iorr rocked.
I think Keef was a bit nervous when he started his set. Slipping brought tears to my eyes.. and Happy made me very Happy. Street fighting man rocked like hell as Start me Up did. Jagger singing I dont stop sounded like a statement to the World. great.
Miss you dont work for me. guess i have heard it too much.
Thought the crowd was a bit lame. overall a fantastic concert and a night i will never forget. Top 3 of my 33 stones gigs since 1976.
Looking forward to Lucca Amsterdsm and Arnhem.
THANK YOU STONES WITH ALL MY HEART
Photo by Hendrik Mulder
Mick's vocals were clear strong and excellent throughout. Daryl's bass had issues early on, but this was sorted by Miss You. Some of the songs endings were a bit chaotic, first night issues maybe, but that's what makes it live! Dancing with Mr D didn't quite live up to the version Brussels Affair. That would be asking a lot! The set list including two from Blue and Lonesome album was good for including new stuff, and a couple of rarely heard songs which is a bonus.
I loved the concert, but slightly disappointed by lack of energy from the crowd. It had been raining most of Friday, and Saturday in Hamburg, but it cleared for the show, and it should have been an opportunity for everyone to join in. The South Americans really know how to behave at a rock 'n roll show. I have seen the stones several times since 82, and the sound ,and visuals on this show were very good, apart from the bass probably the best. I still remember Bill's bass at Wembley , it shook my ribs literally.
Not much energy from the audience , Back of silver pit maybe not the best seat in the house.
A very special weekend.
Photo by Hendrik Mulder
Now Munich hoping no rain in show time like Hamburg.
Photo by Hendrik Mulder
I think the biggest surprise was the insertion of "Street Fighting Man" in the warhorse run; I didn't expect that at all. Really great version as well! I also enjoyed the other rarities very much, I loved "Dancing With Mr. D.", "Play With Fire", "Under My Thumb" (nice relaxed and sleazy version). So happy that "Midnight Rambler" was still in the setlist, this time Charlie played a very groovy Disco beat for a couple of bars in the middle segment; I have never heard it played in this style before: fantastic version!
Surprisingly, the song that moved me the most and gave me goosebumps was "Slipping Away". I am not a big fan, but this time it was perfect, very, very beautiful. I had the impression that Keith was moved as well, he had misty eyes, I think he even mentioned it in the song and then laughed if off...
Finally, as someone else said it before: A Rolling Stones concert boosts your high-energy level like nothing else in the world. And the band proved it again. A great, great concert... THANK YOU ROLLING STONES!!!!!
Photo by Hendrik Mulder
I saw two shows of the 14 On Fire tour and this topped them both. The setlist was awesome. The band played as if they already did 20 warm up gigs. The sound was outstanding, you could feel every drum beat Charlie did. Got the No Filter Pit tickets from Lucky Dip and still can't really believe what happened yesterday.
The new set works perfect for big crowds and gives many well known songs new fresh air. There was everything you could ask for, any Rock'n'Roll music fan would be satisfied with that show. We got blues, we got the great working cool songs that felt like they were on an album released in 2017 like Dancing With Mr. D, Play With Fire or Out Of Control, and of course we got all the great songs that made the Stones what they are today.
As I was at the front I was not really looking at the screens, but judging from some videos on YouTube the stage worked well with the songs and made the whole show feel very professional and up-to-date, another great Stufish production.
The mixed up set list surprised everybody. Sympathy as an opener - that's new. It worked great, I think the audience loved it. Mick would not have to spend all his energy in the first song as he does on songs like Jumping Jack Flash. Gimme Shelter was the first encore after a very short break (at least it seemed like one minute) and Jumping Jack Flash finished the nearly 2.5 h loung show - a great change - and it may have worked better that You Can't Always Get What You Want and Satisfaction.
Thank you for a great night, Rolling Stones, I will never forget that evening.
And, as the stage screens said after the show: "Bis bald" - "See you soon"!
Photos by Hendrik Mulder
But first the understandable need to go through three separate security checks to finally enter the site - slow, deliberate, occasionally a little frustrating, all necessary ingredients for a European show in 2017.
And for me the requirement to get a T-Shirt at the event - the mass convergence of bodies to the souvenir stalls, the pressure to get to the front, log-jammed like sardines until the stall front is finally made. The experience is at best uncomfortable - once served try getting out as the bodies seize every opportunity to fill the space left at the front. And for the smaller framed ladies in that mass of bodies it is more than uncomfortable, for them it must be positively frightening at times. Surely there's a better way in 2017 ?.......
The show - foremost amongst everyone's thoughts at the outset was the weather....it had rained and rained in Hamburg during the day.....the site had no shelter. Thankfully the rain held off throughout the show - maybe Keith had done his ritual "no rain tonight" performance that afternoon.
My thoughts on the show:
Interesting as well to see the stage crew looking as though they were drying the stage floor with towels on a couple of occasions - maybe dew was having an impact underfoot.
Overall for me it was a very good show, the band playing at their consummate best, the crowd responding well. Augurs well for the tour.
Photos by Hendrik Mulder
Die hard fans with field-tickets gathered early (14.00-15.00 hours) behind the fence of the silverpit at a long distance of the 4-tower stage. Visitors with reserved seats arrived much later. There was some heavy rain, but most of the time – and during the show – the weather was fine. Kaleo was the supportact that proved that the soundquality was very good. They started at 19.15 hours, the Stones at 20.30 hours. The intro of Sympathy fort he Devil was the first surprise (is this really the openingnumber?) and more highlights were to come, especially Dancing With mr. D, with a heavy funky undertone: ‘Down in the graveyard…’ ’Play with Fire was beautiful and the Blue and Lonesome-numbers were very good. The videoscreens were overwhelming and necessary for a crowd of more than 80.000 people of whom just a minority could have a good look at the stage.
The Stones played 22 numbers and yes tickets are expensive, but what a show. At 22.50 hours everybody in the audience watched the firework with the music of the Stones still ringing in their ears. To be continued.
Photos by Rene Spork
But the show itself was really a blast. I was already thrilled to attend an opening night because I only had been to Omaha-style shows. Being a bit of a setlist nerd, I expected 19 or 20 songs at the max. In fact, some parts of the show were so unexpected, I only realized the longer setlist when I got home. SFTD as an opener was really, really unexpected after four years of SMU and JJF. I thought it worked nicely, though Keith sounded really crappy.
Because I could not resist to listen to the soundcheck before, I kinda expected some of the songs. Some, but not all. I was really delighted to hear Out of Control, Under My Thumb, the blues numbers (sounded really tight), Dancing with Mr D (maybe they finally give us Soul Survivor and Let It Loose in 2025) and of course Play With Fire, which was done perfectly (Mick announced it as a "romantic ballad", but I think it's more of a psychopath song).
Under My Thumb was OK, maybe still a bit too fast for Keith, and nowhere near the opener versions from the Tattoo You tour. I would have prefered ER to win because I always thought it is a tune where Mick really shines. Nice to hear Paint It Black live, but I could have done without some of the warhorses. It was a great idea to move GS to the encore, but like other warhorses it sounded a little rusty to my ears (mostly Keith's playing, he seemed to be not in the best shape). All in all, a fantastic show with (for Stones standards) a whole bunch of surprises. Plus it was the first 22 song setlist since the Olympia club show 2003 in Continental Europe with some much longer songs, so it was a kinda Voodoo Lounge revival setlist.
Normally they only play 8 or 9 songs before Keith sings his two numbers. In Hamburg, I counted 12 songs before Keith stepped up to the microphone. I have to say that Keith was focused all night. No posing, no bullshit, no filter. He was always focused and concentrated. That doesn’t mean everything was perfect. He messed up a few solos, intros and different parts, but let me hold on to the positives: he was boss on “Just Your Fool” and “Ride Em On Down”, always keeping the rhythm with style and groove. He sure knows how to play the blues. He also kept the main riff on “Dancing With Mr. D” going without errors, and interestingly he played the riff in open G and not with standard tuning like on the record. On “Play With Fire” he laid down some fine licks and chords on his 12-strings acoustic guitar. Although I guess not too many liked it, I personally thought he sang great on “Slippin’ Away”. It’s a beautiful and underrated song. And by the way, I couldn’t see that neither Ronnie or Keith smoked a single cigarette during the entire show. Never seen that before! To me it shows that the No Filter edition of The Rolling Stones is one professional, serious, and well-prepared version of the band.
After Keith’s set, I thought the band would fall back to the old, well known set list structure from 2014-16 tours – so it was a very nice surprise that they’d put “Street Fighting Man” in between “Miss You” and “Start Me Up”. It was a razor sharp version with loud guitars. Regarding guitars, by the way, I thought Ronnie was louder than Keith during most of the show; but on “Street Fighting Man” Keith was as loud as he should be, playing flawless and leading the band like in the old days. It was also great to hear “Gimme Shelter” as an encore, before ending it all with a great version of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”.
It was emotional to see the band walking out to the end of the catwalk to receive well deserved applause from 82,000 people. In 2 hours and 20 minutes they gave it all; they gave us a 22 song long set with many rarities and brave choices. It’s incredible really, when you think about the fact that we are talking about The Rolling Stones anno 2017. (And to those complaining about the set list: on the European tour openings in ‘97, ‘99, ‘03, ‘06 and ‘07 they never played more than 21 songs at most.) I noticed that Mick was getting a bit tired at the end of “Satisfaction”, but who can blame the man? He is 74 years old and more energetic than most people are in their 20s. I wonder if they can perform with this pace and stamina for the rest of the tour. It was a strong, solid opening show that makes high hopes not just for this tour but next year as well.
One little complaint: If they call the tour “No Filter”, I don’t get why they hire Matt Clifford to play synth strings on so many songs (“Paint it Black”, “Gimme Shelter” among others), synth harp on “Miss You” and deliver a pre-programmed choir on “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”. They don’t need that. The band is good enough as it is. I also don’t get why Bernard and Sasha can’t be on stage for the two first songs, when you clearly hear them singing.
Great Mismanagement, Desinformation and Chaos, the only thing that functioned well were the toilets. We had to go through masses of people with "normal" tickets to get to the silver pit, near to a panic situation. One hour to get a beer, no way to buy something at the merchandise shops until you would stay one hour. We were 6, and always anybody lost in the masses, and no chance to communicate by mobiles as net was blocked. So it started with a high level of aggression and frustration, as well in our surrounding.
However, show was great, especially changing of setlist after felt 100 years of same or similar, expectable sequence, and very good acoustics.
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