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 |
Live pre/post show comments:
So T & his wife drove up to Boston to meet my wife & me for the show at Gillette. And did we see a show! The Stones, who I’ve had the privilege of seeing about a dozen times dating back to a raucous show at JFK in 1981, have never been better! They played all the hits of course, but they also treated us to songs I’d never heard them play live, including several off their new album Hackney Diamonds.
I’ll leave the details to other reviewers, but suffice it to say this was the best show I’ve ever seen! Thank you T and thank you to the Stones for keeping this show rolling! Last night’s show was a show for the ages! Chris Snow
Thankfully the pit is not too crowded yet.Get a good position at the front by the walk way.
The Rolling Stones came on much earlier tonight.As usual a great reception.And Keef delivered the first note to Start me up perfectly.Get off my cloud followed….wish Keef could sing part of this song like he did on the Alexis Korner version.Mick started to warm the crowd up nicely on this number. Loved the weaving between Ronnie and Keef on Bitch.The Riff Master’s solo was mind blowing.
Angry just gets better as a live number and could easily be switched to an opener.Ronnie on back up vocals is like a chilli sauce on a fine steak.Perfecto. I had voted for Emotional Rescue and my wish was granted.Strong falsetto vocals from Mick ,and a delightful bass from Daryl.So glad they played this….maybe they might replace it with Dance part 2 for Orlando.
Wild Horses ,Wow.Just love Lord Keith on back up vocals.What a delight.It doesn’t get much better than this. I was looking forward to my first taste of Mess it up live.What an unbelievable performance.Another classic live song.Up their with the Love train performances.Keep it in the set as a regular one.Keep leaving out Miss you.
Mick instructs us to put our phones away during You can’t always get what you want.The now badly behaved lot with their over priced beers do exactly the opposite. They got to keep their You tube friends happy.
The Pit was initially well spaced,and civil.The atmosphere got ugly on a couple of occasions.A scuffle broke out and four burly cops waded in and removed the guy.The partying guys from Argentina ruffled a few feathers.As a survivor of several River Plate gigs this was just the tip of the iceberg.Good luck to my Argentinian friends…never stop partying.
Band introductions are always entertaining.Some Mick joke about Ronnie stashing stolen paintings in his out house made me laugh.
The highlights of every show for me are Keith Richards songs.His interaction with Mr Ron is so magical and natural.Tell me straight is probably the best song he has ever written as a solo tune.And I hear rumours of other written masters for the next Rolling Stones long player. Little T and A is raw ,crude and perfect.The audience loved it.
Sympathy and Honky Tonk Women and the band are in over drive.A great response from the Boston crowd.Mick is so energetic and Keith is the Maestro genius behind the axe.
Midnight Rambler,awesome.Fine harmonica by Mick.
Gimme shelter kicks off with Keef sat in front of Steve’s drum kit.The gorgeous Miss Haynes has made this and Sweet sounds of Heaven her songs.Breath taking vocals and antics with Mick.She is on the same level as Lisa in her prime.
Always like hearing Paint it Black.Maybe next time switch it to a curve ball ace ,such as Dirty work . Jumping Jack Flash should be the National Anthem,never tire of this classic.
An encore of Sweet sounds of heaven (still don’t get the full version),is beautiful.The blue stage lighting is perfect.And Keith is not so much in a hurry to start Satisfaction.
Another blow away show.Fabulous concert.If your pondering as to whether to attend a show,bite the bullet and go for it.The boys are rocking away the years in top top form.Hopefully after this tour,they finish the next album and grace the boards in Europe and South America.
Foxboro or Boston? Foxborough, to give it’s proper name, is a town founded over 300 years ago some 25 miles outside of Boston. Far enough that some fans took over 2 hours to reach the show from downtown. The town is named after a British politician of the late 18th Century who was a supporter of the French Revolution, the abolition of slavery, and the American Colonies (as they were for much of his life). I’m sure Paul Revere would have liked him.
For reasons lost on me, the New England Patriots football team’s stadium is here, in the sticks. There is almost no public transport (I think one train went to and from Boston to the stadium station for this gig, and then arrived 1 hour late). So there are many car parks and a traffic nightmare on leaving. Again, there was a one hour or more wait to exit the parking for many. But that gave people plenty of time to reminisce about this great show.
It’s a memorable place for me, being the location of my first Stones show in the US (and my first outside the UK) in 1994. 30 years later they played 7 of that setlist. Mick mentioned that the Stones were the first band to play Foxboro (to be accurate the current, Gillette Stadium in 2002) and that we were at the 100th concert in that stadium. A lot of history, like the whole of New England. For a Brit, driving around is like seeing a mixed-up map of the UK, with many towns having familiar names, but in a mixed-up geographical order.
As dawn broke on show day the cloud was low; it was cold for a New England summer, and there was heavy rain. Early people in the queue must have got very wet. But then, as predicted on the better weather apps (like yr.no) and TV channels, it dried up; the skies cleared (mostly) and there was a modest but welcome increase in temperature. Perfect conditions for the audience.
Not so great for the band, who were wrapped-up for some of the show. Ronnie particularly seemed affected by the conditions: was shaking his hands and sitting down beside the drums at one point. Mick, with his athletic on-stage regime, and Keith, sporting a leather jacket and also moving around a lot more, shrugged-off the chill. None of their performing was impacted of course: these guys are so professional. At one point I thought Mick was taking extra care of his voice in the cool air, and gestured to Bernard to cover a bit more. Bernard is so good (experienced and skilled) that you would never know without close watching.
The earlier rain may have caused some dampness and softness in the carpet on the catwalk as at one point several of the Stones crew, led by the now famous Opie, removed several pieces of carpet mid-song. Mick commented on that adjustment: I wondered if anyone told him it would happen, or if he asked for it. You’d like these guys next time you need a new carpet – they were so, so fast and efficient.
The crowd seemed as enthusiastic as in New Jersey, and the stadium looked pretty full even at the rear of the GA section. The Pit was less crammed than on many shows, and the people very friendly with minimal hassle. Just the occasional person trying to invade your (small) space as if they have priority. I was standing in the Pit on Ronnie’s side, maybe 8 people back from the rail and 8 from the catwalk. It was a very pleasurable place and the sound was almost perfect.
After New Jersey 2, I wondered if the Stones could match such a great show. Well, on all measures except the riskiness of the setlist they did. The crowd helped by getting really engaged, but the band seemed to be energetic and very happy from the opening (no improvisation) riff of Start Me Up. There were lots of smiles and brief words amongst those on stage.
Emotional Rescue won the song vote. It’s a more funky, bass-heavy, version that the last outing in Oslo in 2014 (or Hyde Park the previous year), and it took a verse or two to really settle down. Mick can still hit the falsetto notes perfectly and Darryl played a quite complex bass arrangement and had a solo spot. Mick of course again mentioned the upcoming US election, and also that “the jury has decided” – a reference to the Trump trial verdict announced as we drove to the show. Mick looked around, with his inquiring, quizzical look, for an audience response but may have been disappointed with the low level of interest.
Together with Mess It Up, Emotional Rescue was the only setlist change from New Jersey 2. Those two provided more a funk feeling at times. Bitch was a really rocking version which, combined with Start Me Up and Get Off Of My Cloud brought the stadium alight.
Rambler, again replacing Miss You, was a storming version. Keith was superb and in control, including of the last pace change. Ronnie seemed a little subdued, perhaps the cold. Mick included a few lines from Robert Johnson’s Hellhound on my Trail. The quintessential blues rock opera, Rambler is such a highlight of any show. Yet it is not over-rehearsed and doesn’t have too rigid a structure. The pace changes, from the Chuck Berry rocking pace at the start that gets everyone dancing, to Mick’s pleading from the end of the catwalk. Wonderful to behold.
Tell Me Straight had a second outing, and sounded really excellent. Keith, playing a delicate song on an Open-G (I think) tuned Telecaster was superb. As regular observers of the riff-meister will know, he employs the old blues technique of changing the vocal phrasing and even the bar structure of songs from time to time. The other musicians on stage need to play close attention, and do. Bernard I saw watching very, very closely to match the vocal phrasing. This song deserves to be played at every remaining gig on this tour.
Dice had a bit of a mixed start. I think there was a problem with the setting on Keith’s guitar, and although his hands played the riff I could hardly hear it. By mid-song that was fixed. Ronnie’s guitar also had a different tone on his Start Me Up solo: who knows why? But watchers for slips and mistakes from any of the extended band had a bad night – the playing was so good.
Writing this I realise that I really enjoyed every song: they were so fresh, like the weather. The mix of vintages and styles works very well – you’d think setlist compliers Chuck and Mick have done this before! The sound was so good I could pick up the three backing singers for Wild Horses, and every instrument so clearly. Nothing was extended too long: Keith’s second solo in Sympathy seemed so right at the time. The sax elements, courtesy of Tim and Karl, almost blew us away although they missed the Miss You solo spot I’m sure. Matt C’s keyboard was more noticeable, and Chuck continues to extend elements of his playing as the band grows in confidence this tour and needs less underpinning.
Steve remains the rock that holds it all together, taking instruction on song endings from both Mick and Keith. Chanel has become a real star, make no mistake. People near me were standing open mouthed during her duets with Mick. She seems to be relaxing a bit more – it’s a very big ask to spend 2 hours on stage with this so experienced band. Remember Chuck has played with the Stones for 42 years; Darryl for 30; Bernard for over 40; just to pick 3 of the team.
There have been many Stones shows in the Boston area (aka eastern Massachusetts), from their first in Worcester (pronounced Wooster back home); through the small Orpheum Theatre; to the massif of the Gillette Stadium. After this one I heard no complaints and saw much joy in the faces of the departing fans. By now the trucks will be on I-95 heading to the sultry heat of Florida. Lets hope the band energy is maintained down south.
Bjornulf says, just relax and enjoy the music. These guys are professionals, after many a long year. As the Mandalorian would say, this is the way.
All the same, I can’t deny that I am a deep tracks fan, that I am deeply struck by Mick Taylor’s hanging notes, that I need variety in my musical diet. I’m not part of any Taylor vs. Wood argument – they both are virtuosos. Their show together at the The Cutting Room in NYC deeply sated my lust for down-in-the-vein tracks played live à la Exile.
In fact, I think the band should offer a Ronnie set. And of course, Taylor should be invited back as an alumnus for the whole show.
So without these accommodations, as well as demands elsewhere in my life, I can’t follow them around this year. But I will definitely show up in Pit B and cheer in the resonance when they come to my hometown.
And resonate it did!
First, a warning about parking at Gillette. It’s a complete nightmare. I was ensnared a mile away from the stadium on arrival and after not moving for 20 minutes, ditched my car on someone’s front yard for $40. A quick shortcut through the woods and I was in front of Rodman’s. The return trip through the woods at 1AM, was quite the trip.
On with the show!
Start Me up sounded fresh and reworked. Not one of my favorite warhorses, but, ya know, they have added lots of new licks to this track. Sizzling solos. The stage spectacle is dazzling. This band is at the peak of powers, at complete comfort as professional musicians putting on a flawless performance (and production) for 2 hours starting at 8:45PM (a little earlier than usual). It’s a great opener, and got me rocking (sorry Bob).
Get Off My Cloud was similarly updated, and struck me a punk anthem. Hey, you! Get the f**k outta here! Sometimes I feel like this. Direct and punchy. As Bjornulf would write, “perfect.”
Bitch had that grinding groveling sound. This song is pure resonance, poured over the crowd like hot syrup. I had to wipe the saliva off my chin afterwards.
Now time for a first listening – the band gave me four first hearings tonight, all from Hackney Diamonds, their ode to London, just as Some Girls was one to New York. Angry came off as pleasantly elaborated from the studio version. The thing that struck me was how Mick carried the new song with confidence, something that was lacking at times with Rough Justice or Don’t Stop. Hackney Diamonds impressed me as being about a love of music, as opposed to the rock by numbers approach of A Bigger Bang. It sure looked like the band was having a lot of fun performing this. And the audience, from where I was in Pit B, clearly agreed. A stunning run of 4 songs.
But wait, it got better! The next track was the vote song and it was a great choice – Emotional Rescue, rarely performed except for the 2013 tour. This version was a lot better than I remembered from 11 years ago. Done in a great funkhouse style, this answered my prayers in Buddhist shrines all over New England to drop Miss You in favor of this diamond. Weak in my knees, indeed! ER gave Darryl the spotlight to pump out some juice. The Stones need to revisit the funkjam and wah-wah sounds of their mid-1970s period.
I was so glad they played this instead of Miss You. They should rotate Miss You out with this at least half the time.
Next was Tumbling Dice, which has been performed in the same exact manner for the last 25 years. To me, this gem has lost it’s bluesy edge and is need of rework and freshening. It’s too pop and over-produced. Pity as Exile is my favorite album and this was the only serving from that disc. Slow it down a bit and ramp up the blues. It’s a cool number. I just wish I could enjoy it more.
Another 1970s track followed – Wild Horses. This was the transformed electric version; they’ve been playing it this way for 6 years now. And it’s deeply stirring. It makes me remember great loves from my past. Some of whom have passed on. I find this to be the most moving of their songs in the performance repertoire. I went over the edge a little on this one. I mean a lot. Aren’t great musical performances evocative?
Mess It Up was the second Hackney song of the set. And it has a great set of opening lyrics that Mick just dives into to. It’s great to see the new material flow so effortlessly from Mick and the band. The song sounds better live than it does in it’s over-produced studio version
You Can’t Always Get What You Want is now a gospel standard. The band needs to play more songs in this genre. And luckily for us, there was another coming down at the end. Mick as preacher.
Keith came out to great applause. He walked out on the catwalk, his furthest during the show. He gave his head, heart, groin roll and toss salute. Effusive praise showered him. Was he embarrassed? Glowing, he strolled back to his microphone and belted out our third Hackney song of the set, Tell Me Straight. This sounded closet of the 4 to the studio version but it was the rough edges and elaborations that got my attention. Great solos by him and Ronnie.
Little T&A is always a favorite and I was glad I could catch it on this tour. “The pools in, but the patio ain’t dry” is just one of the catchiest lyrical quips in the entire canon.
The next part of the show is the warhorse set from the 1960s. They were all well played, especially the first four – Sympathy, Honky Tonk Women, Midnight Rambler, and Gimme Shelter. Graphics cranked out on their expansive stage. Marching little Voodoo Lounge figures. A devil’s mask transforming into something. A tree? No corn to speak of.
HTW is an anthem of sorts. If you don’t sing to this one, you’re probably in the wrong place. Rambler was an homage to Boston, of course, and its famous strangler. There’s nothing like watching Jagger working the crowd on Rambler, like when, while dancing, he points into the crowd with both arms, index fingers extended, zapping the crowd with energy. The crowd responds in return, emphatically. And you have to think to yourself, for Mick, this is normal.
Like many other numbers, I thought Rambler sounded refreshed and reworked. Ronnie and Keith traded lovely solos. I needed to get me some Shelter as I started to go weak at my knees from dancing in the Pit. The last two songs of the warhorse set Paint It Black and Jumping Jack Flash were an endurance session for me. I remembered to pace myself. Is it easier for these guys to perform than us to observe and participate from the floor?
Sweet Sounds of Heaven is the gospel crescendo and festival at the end of the show. While I admire the studio version as transcendent, this looser live version was a great show with Chanel. They played off each other, juicing each other for a memorable moment.
Satisfaction was the closer. The Argentinians in the pit raised their country / tongue flag and started hooting. Whipped up finale. Band takes a bow.
I came to get Satisfied. And left that way.
Defiance has long been the fuel for the Rolling Stones. From the brash bluesy rock that separated them early on from The Beatles, through the narcotic outlaw machinations of the late ’60s and early ’70s, into the later eras of decadent sleaze, the Rolling Stones became notorious for shattering the rules and the mores of civilized society.
They also fell prey to the trappings of wealth and fame, going through long spells of playing greatest-hits sets that were inevitably enjoyable but rarely daring.
Returning to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on Thursday night, the Rolling Stones, miraculously, sounded dangerous again. Before the band had completed its third song, one guy next to me passed out after smoking a joint. He needed to be removed from the premises; two others behind me started a fist fight. In other words, Foxborough felt dangerous, like rock ’n’ roll shows used to feel before the perversions of “platinum” tickets and “VIP access” separated the commoners from the elites.
The Stones reclaimed their rebellious spirit, thanks in large part to releasing the excellent Hackney Diamonds album last year. The band is using it as a springboard into a tour in which Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, both 80, and Ronnie Wood, 76, not just playing well, but performing as if they realize that the style of music they serve up is no longer the coin of the cultural realm. But they aren’t about to let their legacy be washed away by the waves being made by new pop titans.
The very predictable show opener “Start Me Up” hinted at the direction the Stones would go through a two-hour concert. The song’s energy was high and frenetic, with Wood and Richards playing off of each other in a very loose and natural way as Jagger rallied the stadium (which was far from full, but held a respectably large crowd) into partaking of what was promising to be a rock ’n’ roll bacchanal.
The Stones then veered into the insouciance of 1965’s “Get Off of My Cloud” before uncorking the steamy tensions of “Bitch.”
Three songs in and the Stones had covered roughly thirty years of rock ’n’ roll milestones: an exhilarating lineup of indelible riffs, choruses, and lyrics; unparalleled attitude; and sharp, provocative performances.
While Jagger (in remarkably excellent voice), Richards (in remarkably upright position), and Wood comprise the heart and soul of the Rolling Stones, a lot of credit for the show’s success must go to the cast members surrounding the triumphant trio.
Drummer Steve Jordan had the unenviable task of following — since nobody will ever “replace” — the beloved Charlie Watts, who died in 2021. But, because he was the percussionist in Richards’ solo band the X-Pensive Winos, Jordan has a great feel and understanding for the Stones’ sound. He is well aware of how everyone else in the band keys in on the drummer’s work.
The sax tandem of Karl Denson and Tim Ries, keyboard players Chuck Leavell and Matt Clifford, bassist Darryl Jones, and singers Bernard Fowler and Chanel Haynes all contributed mightily to the effort — each had his or her moments in the spotlight.
But the essential dynamic for the evening went something like this: Jagger and everyone else except the guitarists performed with impeccable precision while Wood and Richards played with a sense of wild abandon. The guitarists were not sloppy, but neither were they particularly clean and crisp as they traded lead and rhythm parts. That jaggedness is what injected the pricklier, rougher tones into the songs.
“Angry” was the first of four songs plucked from the Hackney Diamonds album and it was a solid inclusion in the set. That wasn’t the case for “Mess it Up,” a newbie that was sandwiched between classics “Tumbling Dice” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” “Mess It Up” became the diamond that got snuffed, because the Stones pumped real life and blood into “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” a song that for many years seemed lost in a fog of nostalgia but it has recently reconnected with its original dread.
In the early goings of the 19-song concert, the Stones played the slinky “Emotional Rescue” for the first time since 2014 (it was the night’s song chosen by fans by way of online voting). Jagger nailed the tune’s signature falsetto as the rest of the band captured the spectral creep of the number.
The loping ballad “Wild Horses” was another top-half stand out, especially with Richards contributing world-weary backing vocals.
As has become custom for the Stones, the concert’s midpoint is marked when Richards steps up to sing a couple of songs. In Foxborough, he started with the plaintive “Tell Me Straight” from Hackney Diamonds, working up nice instrumental conversations with Wood. Richards then just opened up the engines for a blast through the still-raunchy “Little T&A.”
The second half of a Stones show has for years been a predictable affair, and setlist wise that was the case on Thursday. Performance-wise, it was was a different story.
Richards gave a clinic with his solos on “Sympathy for the Devil” and “Honky Tonk Women,” methodically sculpting riffs and exploring tones that sounded fresh as they reiterated his lasting influence on generations of guitar players.
“Midnight Rambler” ran the gamut of wiry small-combo blues to woozy full-on psychedelic splurge. Haynes and Jagger struck libidinous sparks on “Gimme Shelter” before the Stones revisited the garage-rock glory of “Paint It Black.” Few other bands could hold all of this variety together with as much natural flair.
The Stones closed the regular set with what seemed a very intentional revue-style read of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” as Jagger took on the role of rubber-limbed dancer as the band behind him deployed big, sweeping feel-good waves of music.
The encore offered one last mighty display of defiance with the soaring soul of “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” a Hackney Diamonds track that has earned its spot in the canon of Stones classics. Jagger, aided by Haynes, sang it with a passionate verve, knowing that once again he and his mates — old as they may be — stole fire from the gods.
Seeing Richards projected onto the huge screens flanking the stadium stage as he fired off the opening riffs to “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” was the rock ’n’ roll equivalent of viewing the “Mona Lisa.” We’ve all seen and heard this before, but the Stones still make it precious.
Earlier that day the weather was rainy and overcast but thankfully cleared by show time. Mick first mentioned the weather was a, "bit chilly, we'll survive." Of the outdoor shows this year it was the coldest of them but not unpleasant.
Mick mentioned from the stage how they were the stadium's first concert, which was on September 5, 2002. They also had a show on September 20, 2006 and July 7, 2019. There were also two private shows at this stadium on Tuesday October 25 2016 and Monday September 20, 2021.
Mick also mentioned how the event tonight was the 100th show in the stadium's history.
I noticed during an early part of the show Mick was unhappy with the flooring on the catwalk and stagehands quickly burst into action taking off the catwalk carpeting.
Mick also commented on the Boston Celtics making the NBA Finals. When introducing Ronnie, Mick joked that Ronnie has the garden paintings in his lockup- a reference to an unresolved museum heist.
Mick also thanked people traveling a great distance mentioning the nearby states of Maine, Rhode Island and Connecticut. After taking the special event train ride in from downtown Boston south station in 2019- I again chose this option, now purchasing a ticket in an app and getting a wristband upon arrival at the station but this year the train was an hour and a half late because of a broken train but after switching to another train everyone arrived in time. I was sitting next to a couple who traveled from Honolulu, Hawaii.
Shortly after the show I heard a helicopter taking off. I overheard someone from the stadium event staff mention that 8 minutes after the show the plan was for the band to be quickly airlifted to their accommodations.
My guess is Midnight Rambler replaced Miss You because of the Boston reference.
The night before the show at the SHIDOOBEE pre party in downtown Boston the special guest was Bill German and he lectured for over an half sharing stories about the band from the early 1980s.
Photo by Bjørnulf Vik
Photo by Bjørnulf Vik
Photo by Bjørnulf Vik
Photo by Bjørnulf Vik
Photo by Simon Emmerson
Photo by Simon Emmerson
Photo by Simon Emmerson
Photo by Simon Emmerson
Photo by Simon Emmerson
Photo by Ariel Jablonki
Photo by Ariel Jablonki
Photo by Ariel Jablonki
Photo by Ariel Jablonki
Photo by Ariel Jablonki
Photo by Ariel Jablonki
Photo by Rama
Photo by Rama
Photo by Rama
Photo by Rama
Photo by Rama
Photo by Rama
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