by Stoneface
Yesterday morning I didn't have a
ticket to this show at Soldier Field. There were several reasons I had hesitated; $450.00
premier seats, all the presale/fanclub crap, saw them 3 times during Licks, the greatest
hits setlist, the quick sell-out in
I get down to the
There's nothing like walking through
the tunnels and gates and then suddenly there you are in a Stones concert with all the
spectacle and ambience and excitement, first look at the new stage, etc. Los Lonely Boys
are on stage and the lights are low. They were actually a good warm-up choice as their
sound is warm and their vibe is kind of Los Lobos meets the Bodeans - kept the crowd in a
good mood. I found my seat and then walked around which was pretty nice down on the field
and on the lower concourse. The new Soldier Field is fugly on the outside but spectacular
on the inside. It's deep with an almost sheer canyon wall effect looking up at the decks
and boxes above. The spooky steep parking garage Bigger Bang stage only intensifies the
effect. As I was walking around I chatted with a couple women with some great Stones
stories, one had seen them in
The Stones took the stage at
You Got Me Rocking - skeptical about
this one but they tore it up. I was into it and the 50,000 crowd loved it. Keith's first
solo blew me away - didn't think he could play like that. Ronnie is on.
Rough Justice - Rocks. Jagger is
into it. Ronnie is on.
Tumbling Dice - a classic.
Beautiful. Reworked a little at the end with Jagger and the backup singers.
Shes So Cold - Rocks. More
controlled than the speedfreak 1981/82 version. Guitars are good. Mick still muffs the
lyrics but he's getting there. Cool and fun video montage backs it. This one will stay in
the show.
Ruby Tuesday - Wow! A nice surprise.
Crowd goes nuts! Keith on acoustic and into it. Everybody is into it.
Shattered - Crowd is into it.
Jaggers good. Ronnie is competent.
Bitch - Smoking hot! Keith all the
way. Definite highlight!
Nightime - piss break. Doesn't do it
for me. That constant "night and day" from the backup singers is about as
annoying as Ronnie playing that little chiming phrase over and over and over again during
JJF. Crowd loves Lisa though and the song went over so maybe it's just me.
Intros - Hometown hero Darryl Jones
gets a big ovation.
The Worst - short and sweet.
Beautifully done. Bernard sings with Keith. Another musician stands next to Ronnie at his
pedal steel and accompanies him on piccaloe or clarinet. Very nice.
Infamy - Didn't do it for me. I
don't get this tune yet. Most in crowd are sitting down. Seems directionless.
Miss You - uninspired. I think
they're a bit distracted with getting into position on the moving remote stage and then
rolling on out into the crowd.
At this point I move to the remote
stopping point about five seconds before everyone else. I am now 10 - 12 feet from the
Stones - they're playing straight at me. Closest I've ever been to them. Man they're small
and skinny. They look cool as hell though. I didn't even have a ticket 3 hours ago.
Afuckingmazing!
One note about the B-stage, that
canopy over Charlie must be a real drag for the fans in the upper decks, don't know how
they can see em. They must have climate control or something for Charlie inside that
caccoon. Also, they ought to mount some speakers on the B-stage because you can barely
hear them when you're right up next to it.
Oh No Not You Again - Great! Rocks
really hard. Mick is really into it. Crowd loves it. Time trip back to 1978. Definite
highpoint.
Satisfaction - Crowd goes bananas.
Keith has changed at this point. It's like he just lost himself in the music and wasn't
playing for anything else than his own personal passion and love of his band and his
craft. Fuck he was into it. What power!
Honkytonk Women - Crowd going nuts.
Ronnie sadly has backed off and is spending most of the remaining show clowning around. It
was like his right hand was raised in the air more than it was on his strings.
Out Of Control - Surprise. Mick
really into it. Takes a while to sell it to the crowd. Closing jam is extended and rocks
hard. Mick really blowing and keith and Ronnie turned up loud. Dug it.
Sympathy For The Devil - crowd loved
it. Wish Mick would sing the full song. Keith and Ronnie weave a crude approximation of
the Ya yas version but are drowned a little by the backing singers and entire crowd going
Whooo-Whooo. Nice lighting and dramatic Mick entrance on an upper catwalk. Nice
pyrotechnics.
Jumping Jack Flash - Highpoint.
Keith owns it. Hammered Ronnies annoying chime into the ground. Charlie is awesome!
Brown Sugar - Crowd pleaser. Where
is Ronnie? (He was there in body but not in notes).
You Can't Always Get What You Want -
Good encore. Ronnie is back with a nice but abbreviated solo.
It's Only Rock And Roll - Believe
the hype! Truly great closer the way they are playing it.
Show started at
Complaints about Ronnie aside as he
was actually very good about 3/4s of the show. I had a fantastic time. Tommy is right I
think about the possible merits of a more limited setlist - they may really polish and
crawl into these tunes as the tour continues. They know how to put across a stadium show.
Everyone was pumped. So I took my time leaving the stadium, walked across glimmering
Undercover
Just got back from
I agree with most of Stoneface's
review.
The bass was way to loud and
reverberated during "Ruby Tuesday".... very distracting.
I thought "Bitch" was a
little confusing.
I nearly cried during "Tumbling
Dice" it was so wonderful.
"She's so Cold" was
perfect.
"Shattered" was the best I
have seen it played in a long time, maybe since 81.
"Infamy" was the song I
hummed all the way home. Keith's solo songs were very enjoyable.
Good job on "Oh No, Not You
Again" Keith rocked playing his fast rock and roll riffs reminicent of "Bye Bye
Johnnie".
"It's only Rock and Roll"
was a highlight, nice and long, not in a hurry like on the B stage last tour.
Keith missed his solo cue in
"Sympathy for the Devil" it was kind of humerous to see him struggle to regain
control of his solo.
I thought some of the solos were a
little confusing.
I agree "Miss You" was not
as great as the Voodoo Lounge" tour.
"Satisfaction" was better
than I have ever heard it before. It went a good 5 minutes, not hurried at allo.
All the songs were nice and long, no
rushing to get them over.
Keith played his heart out. Once
again, he put more effort into this concert than the two times I saw him last tour. Last
time I saw them (
Overall a very good show.
I know I sound critical... I expect
perfection from them I guess... they made a few mistakes.
I would say I have never seen Keith
so involved in the concert. He played like he had something to prove.
Mick did not encourage the crowd to
sing along as much as he did last tour. I felt last tour he encouraged the crowd to sing
too much. I want to hear him sing the words, not the crowd. He did encourage the crowd
during "Brown Sugar" and "You Can't Alway Get What You Want." Not much
of a singalong for "Miss You" as I have seen before. I missed the "Hey
Hey" of "You Got Me Rockin" because I was smoking a joint.
"Honky Tonk Woman" was
great. Once agin Keith proved he is the master of the "whompin" guitar.
Mick was great. He sang very well
with all the expected intonations. Ronnie had some high points, I agree he coasted a
little on some songs. Keith was on, so there was not much room for Ronnie sometimes.
The guitars were loud like we hoped
they would be. Very little Chuck levaell (?). He was stuck over in a corner barely
visible.
Bobby Keys was not around much. The
trumpet on "Out of Control was great. The horn were down in the "mix" i
thought.
They sounded like a guitar band, all
the "fluff" was mimimized this time.
Good and Loud!
The moving stage was weird, I was
closer than Stoneface so I could not see them perform. The sound came from behind me if
when I tried to see the band. Keith gave my section of the crowd up close interaction
while the stage passed by.
Good concert. I am glad I got
tickets to see them in January. It was worth the $450.
A memorable night.
What do you think Stoneface? Am I
accurate or way off?
Stoneface
It's nice to read your observations
Undercover. Can't argue with any of them. For me the Stones can be kind of overwhelming (a
good thing) and I keep trying to watch Keith, listen for Ronnie's
interaction/contributions, watch Mick, listen to Charlie, check out Lisa, etc. so I
definitely miss things or perceive them differently from others.
I didn't notice the bass on Ruby
Tuesday but I'm sure my being positioned in a different part of the field had something to
do with it. I was swept away by the crowd reaction and my own associations with this song.
I honestly could barely hear them when I was at the B-stage but the rush of being so close
made up for it.
When they played Bitch I basically
just listened to Keith blast the song, as I could hear his playing perfectly - Mick was
good on this too.
Infamy just hasn't hit me yet. Many
people with inarguably refined taste have posted about how much they like that song. I've
just got to live with it awhile.
Yeah Sympathy was kind of a
shambles. Did you hear Keith stop playing early into Honkytonk Women? He just stopped and
leaned down to someone in the crowd with a huge grin on his face and greeted them + handed
them a pick. He got up walked back near Charlie and then struck a sustained chord which
held for a few seconds and was back in the song like he never stopped.
I'm really glad you note Keith's
intensity last night too! I looked at some detailed reviews over at Shidoobee and that
seems to be the opinion of many who were there.
Good, interesting review. Thanks.
Chicago
by Fleabit Peanut Monkey
HOG Butcher for the World,
Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders
- Carl Sandburg
Dandelion, Ridgely, and
(especially!) Marilyn have already brought up the pertinent facts, so pardon me if I
repeat their thoughts.
We returned the day of the show,
bringing a lovely flower Dandelion picked out, a big daisy. We searched and found the
tombstone. It was depressingly small, covered with dead grass clippings and mud-stained. I
felt sad, and outraged. This giant of a man rests here untended. There should be a
goddamned statue here, a mount rushmore sized bust of his noble brow. Instead a 2"
black marble marker reads: McKinley Morganfield The Mojo is Gone The Master Has Won and a
little guitar, a bass actually, four strings. God damn it, Muddy played a telecaster. We
started cleaning the stone, fetching water and tissues and making it look presentable. The
first Mrs. Morganfield, Geneva, is buried beside him, and her stone which says "The
wife of Muddy Waters" has bird dirt on it. We cleaned it too. Then we went into the
office to buy more flowers, but all they had were artificial ones. The director gave us a
list of other celebrities buried at Restvale: Earl Hooker, Hound Dog Taylor, Magic Sam,
Charlie McCoy (mentioned in "Down The Road Apiece"),Walter "Shaky"
Horton, others. We got directions to a florist nearby & returned with an azalea, two
geraniums, and a yellow rose, and some carnations for the other bluesmen. Dandelion
arranged the flowers, along with the streamer from Milwaukee and some dandelions, around
Muddy & Geneva's tombstones. A graveyard attendant came over, and in a gravelly voice
said, "you got him lookin' good!" I told him I'd come from PA. He said,
"yeah, I guess he was a legend, huh? He gets a lot of visitors." That made me
feel better. Muddy is not forgotten. But when we looked for Hound Dog Taylor, we found
only a cement foundation, no stone. We left the carnations and went to report the theft at
the office. "Oh, he might not have even had one," we were told. "A lot of
those blues musicians couldn't afford tombstones." So Hound Dog Taylor, of Hound Dog
Taylor & the Houserockers, a vicious slide player who legend has it had six fingers
& cut the extra one of in a bar one night because it kept getting caught on the frets
of his guitar, who died in 1958, lies in an unmarked grave, remembered only on a xeroxed
typewritten list of "famous musicians and singers" buried at Resvale Cemetery,
176 West Adams St, Chicago IL.
Come and show me another city
with lifted head singing
so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.
Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on
job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the
little soft cities;
Fierce
as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning
as a savage pitted against the wilderness,
Bareheaded,
Shoveling,
Wrecking,
Planning,
Building, breaking, rebuilding,
Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with
white teeth,
Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young
man laughs,
Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has
never lost a battle,
Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse.
and under his ribs the heart of the people,
Laughing!
Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of
Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog
Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with
Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.
Against her better judgement and
innate sense of decorum, I insisted that Dandelion take my picture in front of Muddy's
grave. But I AM a tourist, I protested -- why shouldn't I act like one?
We drove into the city to Chess Records, 2120 South Michigan Avenue. The only address in
the city I know by heart. We had missed the last tour of the studio; the nice receptionist
of Blues Heaven told us she'd given eight tours that day due to the Stones concert that
night. It didn't matter to me; I wasn't in the same room, but I was in the same building,
where Little Red Rooster, Hoochie Coochie Man, Around and Around, and a thousand other
incredible songs had been recorded between the 40's and the 60's. I took a picture of the
address above the door. Tourist!
We made it to the Billy Goat at 6:30 and immediately met Marilyn. It is so WONDERFUL to
meet board friends in person. Marilyn showed us the incredible photos she'd taken in
Florida in '99 AND '97, and I showed her the ones I took in Pittsburgh. Ridgely joined the
party. A gang from Undercover posed for photos bestrewn with yellow security tape. Some
nice folks from Pittsburgh told me how much they liked my review of that show, which made
me feel great (if a tad full of myself!) Ridgely, Dandelion and I spent a pleasant hour
chatting, then we went to the United Center.
Our seats were great, 16 rows up from Woody's side of the stage, looking down on the left
end of the omega ramp. Jonny Lang was already playing when we sat down.
Jonny is the best opening act for
the Stones I have seen yet. If you haven't heard him, he sings like Joe Cocker, plays
guitar like Albert Collins, and is all of 19. This kid has a brilliant career ahead of him
if he avoids the pitfalls of fame; he is one of the few new performers I can picture
lasting decades instead of a few years. Besides being supremely gifted musically, he's
tasteful, doesn't overplay, gives his band room to stretch out, and is handsome (although
his face hasn't completely cleared up yet.) He spoke about how honored he was to open for
the Stones, said they would be out to "blow the roof off the place" soon, then
introduced some special guest stars for his last song, Leah Wood and "Lizzie
Jagger". Looking and sounding really great, the girls danced and sang backup on
Jonny's hit, "Lie To Me". Dandelion has long wanted to poll the posters here
about whether or not I am a DORK for getting Leah Wood's autograph in Pittsburgh, but I
think I'm just ahead of the game. She sounded great Monday. "Lie To Me" earned
Jonny a resounding ovation as he left the stage, and the road crew began to change the
equipment for the main event.
Beside us, the annoying pig woman
of Dandelion's post was replaced by a friendly lady in her 40's who asked us what to
expect. She wanted old stuff, she said, not new songs, but she said it in a nice way which
didn't make me hate her for being a prole. Oh, we said, you'll get plenty of classics. We
traded stories about other shows. She'd seen them 5 times. Dandelion and I tried to read
the setlist on Charlie's plexiglass baffle with her opera glasses, but to no avail. I
would just have to wait to see whether they did "I Got The Blues" or not.
Soon "Ball of Confusion" started playing on the pre-show tape and we knew it was
TIME. The lights went down and the crowd went nuts, immediately. Everyone was on their
feet, from floor to rafters. The intro film started and the fever pitch of anticipation
was raised. That film is SO good. As the Stones on the screen approached and became flesh
and blood, the United Center EXPLODED. There is just nothing to compare to that first
moment, when anticipation gives way to realization, when everyone's expectations are met.
I looked around me and saw the same expression on everyone's face. Whether it's your first
show or your one hundredth, the RUSH of being in the same room with them is
overwhelming.There is a sweet satisfaction in knowing that there is NO PLACE on earth that
you would rather be.
After all of the horror stories about the abysmal sound at the UC, I was glad that I could
clearly hear all of the elements - Keith & Woody's guitars were balanced , Charlie's
drums pounded in my temples, Darryl's bass massaged my spine, and Mick's vocals, an
arrogant sneer in JJF, riding over top of the maelstrom. With a few momentary lapses, the
sound was good throughout the show. The horn section filed out onto the ramp and I knew
Bitch would be next, as it was in Pittsburgh. As mentioned elsewhere, there was a bit of
confusion in the middle, I think caused by Mick. He turned and looked for the horns to
play the mid-verse riff earlier than he should have; they reacted and played it, 4 bars
late; Mick started singing "feeling drunk" when he shouldn't have, and stopped;
none of these flubs hurt the song a bit, and just revealed the Stones to be human after
all. They all made eye contact and got their bearings, ending the song like a well-oiled
machine, Mick's hand fluttering over the crowd, directing the music and conveying a
benediction at the same time.
The show progressed, too damn fast, and it was obvious that (bitched-up Bitch
notwithstanding) the Boys were in rare form. I started sneaking down to a landing a few
feet away from Mick's stage-right preening platform and snapping pictures; I was careful
not to obstruct anyone's view and to return to my seat after I got the shot, and all
seemed well. Dandelion has already mentioned that blatant obnoxiousness from a drunk in
front of us caused security to get tighter mid-show. The big guns were called in to
replace the laid-back staff of the first half. A middle-aged woman, let's call her Ilsa,
She-Wolf of the SS, started turning back everyone who tried sneaking down to the little
landing. I followed her down as she busted people, hoping to elude her by staying behind
her, but she caught me....however, KEITH was heading toward us at that moment, on the ramp
a few feet away. I ignored her, politely, and took a picture of Keith as he smiled and
laughed at us.
"Under the smoke, dust all
over his mouth, laughing with white teeth,
Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs,
Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has
never lost a battle,
Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse.
and under his ribs the heart of the people,
Laughing! "
It's hard to believe that Carl
Sandburg did NOT write those immortal lines about Keith as he threw his head back and
howled on the landing.
The show went on. Mick donned a
long silvery jacket and announced "a sort of soul ballad called "I Got The
Blues". The tempo was a bit rushed, and the sound changed a bit, but it was still
achingly beautiful. Mick's vocals were perfect-- pained, soulful; at the bridge Keith
chimed in: "every night you've been away/ I've sat down and I have prayed/that you're
safe" - it was another moment of transcendence. "In the silk sheet of time/ I
will find peace of mind". Incredible.
The show continued. The best
"Some Girls" I've heard, "Paint It Black" incredible as always,
Keith's set a down-in-the-groove JOY. The B-stage sound was unbalanced for Rt. 66, Keith
WAY too loud in the mix, but it was dialed in by the galloping end of
"Imagination" (during which Keith SIGNED AN AUTOGRAPH!!!! How cool is THAT???)
and was perfect for "Midnight Rambler". The song was, as always, astonishing.
Mick & Keith stood shoulder to shoulder as it shifted into overdrive for the end, and
they walked to the front of the stage together.
The end of the show went by in a blur. Dandelion and I very carefully & stealthily
edged back to the landing, blending in and arousing no attention; a girl followed us down
and got busted by Ilsa, and, in a very grade-school manner, said "THEY don't belong
here EITHER!" What a BITCH! We returned to the aisle, and as soon as Ilsa turned her
back, we RAN to the landing and into newly-vacated seats. We watched "Sympathy"
from this lovely vantage point.
Ah, what a great show, what a
great tour, what a great band. Here's a fervent prayer for more moments like this to
enrich our lives.
by Nothing
Blues (Septemebr 25,
2005)
My
thoughts on the Char Bar, Buckeye Fans, and oh yeah, did you hear they played
Sway?.............
*Checked
into the
*Great
vibe from all kinds of transient Stones fans (even though the town itself was kinda dead.
Big OSU game and apparently to them that was the only thing going on in town..."Oh
there's a Stones concert tonight?")Quite the opposite of
*Checked
out the Char Bar, as we did in 2003. Great old place with the original oak bar that it's
had for eons. Opened the place and had the first draft of the day, as the old man tending
bar politely informed me. If you're ever in Columbus, check this place out, great juke box
and a downstairs restroom that, to get to, you have to go down some steps and navigate a
scary old room that looks like something out of The Shining.
My
thoughts on the show:
*Late
start, but nice surprise with Brown Sugar as the opener;
*BOMH
sounds great with Ronnie and Keith sitting on Charlie's drum riser, and then after the
second verse they join Mick out front and the song turns into a full gallop;
*ONNYA
and Shattered really lit up the B-stage. Played beautifully. In my opinion, this
"sliding stage" gimmick is nothing but a distraction. There's like 30 people
walking behind it, pulling cables and carrying equipment as they make their way out to the
center of the arena. Kind of took the magic out of it for me. For fucks sake, just walk
out there and slap hands with the fans.
*Virtually
no interaction between Mick and Keith.
*As I
posted earlier, Sway was great. Short and to the point, which was probably good for the
first attempt. No lengthy jamming, which was probably a good idea, all things considered.
The
*Miss
You sounded spectacular and for once, I was glad they played it. Sounded raw and dirty,
much like the version on the LSTNT movie. Captured that gritty NYC vibe.
*Blondie
played quite a bit of acoustic guitar offstage and out of audience view;
*Many
bitch about why they play YGMR. Well the fact is, they know it very well, Mick don't fuck
up the lyrics, and Keith and Ronnie hit all the breaks and solos perfectly. It sounds
great in concert, and that's probably why it remains.
*The
band didn't start until
*late
phone call to 2000 Man, right before showtime, who informed me of the Sway rumors. Damn,
that guy got his shit together huh?
*Charlie
kicked some serious ass tonight, as did security, to the poor fucker who jumped up onstage
and was grabbing at Lisa.
*
*I
loved this setlist...it FUCKING ROCKED like a Ramones show. Aside from "the
Worst" there were no ballads...and that's fine with me. Don't feel the need to
patronize me with the token ballads, country, or reggae tunes. Rocking out works well with
me.
That's
about it...I'm letting the liver dry out for three days until the Pgh show. Safe travels
2K...Rolling Rock Brewery added an extra shift this weekend when they heard you were
coming to town!
To read the entire thread, click here: http://www.keno.org/gasland/get.asp?M=172061&P=0&T=172061
MSG, 2006
by Turner (
This
was a very enjoyable show due to the fact (which has been reported here many, many times
already) that The Stones have turned up their guitars! Hallelujah! In some ways it felt
like seeing them for the first time. While The Stones still play it safe in terms of
arrangements, the loud guitars made this a night to remember, and I am more than glad to
eat some black crowe.
I
cruised into the city around
I was
wishing they wouldn't play You Got Me Rockin. Be careful what you wish for! I was afraid
of YGMR when I should have been afraid of Love Is Strong! Well, I knew several Gassers
would be happy with this tune, but I was left kind of scratching my head. Mick did play a
mean harmonica though. Next up was Rocks Off, which I don't think I'd heard since the
Voodoo tour. It was, of course, awesome. My wife was psyched as she loves this one. I did
notice one thing though. This was the laziest bunch of white people I'd ever seen! My
section was pretty dead, and it looked from my high vantage point like there wasn't much
dancing going on below either.
When
they pulled out Mick's electric piano I got ready for Memory Motel, but instead we were
given Worried About You. I was fine with it cause I've heard MM many times and I don't
think I've ever heard WAY. I felt bad for my sister-in-law though because she really
wanted MM. I loved Mick's singing on WAY, and Ronnie ripped off a very respectable solo.
So far it felt like the whole concert was the Mick Jagger show. Ronnie and Keef really
seemed to be in the background in terms of stage presence. But who cares as long as their
guitars are turned up!
Next up
was Rain Fall Down, one of the few songs I really love from the new record. (I really
lucked out with the new songs, they played my 4 favorite ones!) Very Funky tune. After
that was a great performance of Midnight Rambler. Even Chuck's piano was great sounding on
this one. You could just tell The Stones were well greased after so many months on the
road. Then we had a solid version Tumbling Dice on which Ronnie had another great solo.
The first part of the show ended with a very groovy Gimme Shelter. Actually being able to
hear The Stones' guitars makes a huge difference.
Keef
came on for his two songs and did an awesome This Place Is Empty and a solid version of
Happy. You know The Stones when they play Miss You and I'm into it! It was a very tight
version which didn't seem to go on as long as previous years, and that made it much better
for me. Rough Justice and Get Off My Cloud were great choices for the b stage and both
rocked. Honky Tonk Women was another one that was great simply because I could hear the
guitars.
After
the b stage retracted came the warhorses which were all very solid. I could definitely
live without Sympathy, but we all have songs we feel that way about. YCAGWYW and
Satisfaction wound up the show and I sprinted out to
So the
bottom line for me is that The Stones have made a major improvement simply by turning up
the guitars. It kinda pisses me off I saw so many shows without that, but that's life. I
don't have many complaints about the setlist which I thought was pretty interesting even
for a hardcore fan. And it was great to hear Ronnie solo! I did come away with the
impression that Mick is the whole show now though. Keef just didn't seem to be much of a
presence on stage. This isn't a criticism, it's just an observation. The only real
criticism I have is that The Stones still seem to be trying to recreate records onstage
instead of being more creative, but that didn't really detract from my enjoyment. Even my
fourth level seats were pretty decent. So all in all I had me a real good time.
Looking
forward to attending the summit on Friday at Stouts. LYL I will keep in touch with you.
Anyone who has any details about the summit would be doing me a great favor by e-mailing
me the info.
PS - TM
I went to your seats but you weren't there!
The
experience of taking in a Stones show at MSG and just as important, doing the pre show
partying with cool Gassers like Keefer, Human Riff, and Payphone Al etc. turned out to be
very much like I thought it would be. An unforgettable fucking blast! Ah but there would
be some great surprises in store before the night would end. Hell. At times I would
surprise myself.
I flew
from D.C. to
Had
lunch with Keefer, Human Riff and his friend Matt near
By
Everybody
was having a good time. And thanks to Payphone Al (my smoking buddy for the day) the first
of several cool surprises took place on the sidewalks outside Stouts. The buzz had a new
Super form by the time we returned to Stouts for more beverages. Pay Al is a great guy.
Thanks for the 'sidewalk of dreams' stroll, Al. And the good conversation all day long.
Time
came for us to leave for the show. It was at that time a hand came towards me and the
owner of the hand announced he was, 'Torn And Frayed'. Wish we could have talked longer
T&F. Still it was good to see you.
I was
double fisting two beers, walking back to our seats in sect. 202 when Keith riffed JJF's
opening chords. A great opener.
So many
have already reviewed the songs I will keep it short and sweet. Love Is Strong was a cool
surprise for me. Anytime Mick is on the mouth harp I am happy. And it was a first for LIS
this tour.
It made
Keefer and Human Riff's night that WAY was played. I was hoping for some more fast paced
surprises and I am not really a big fan of 'falsetto Mick' songs. But their excitement
made me happy for them. I would have been acting like them had 'Bitch' or 'Respectable'
made the setlist.
Keefer
was "the man with the plan" for the highlight of the night! While Keith was
setting up for ,'This Place Is Empty'. I followed Keefer down to the floor and the B
stage. How we got past security/ushers I am not going to reveal. But the plan worked. And
the disposable camera in my coat pocket suddenly became priceless rather than disposable
to me. Oh security would tap me on the shoulder about 3 times to make me show my ticket
during the B stage performances of Miss You, Rough Justice, GOOMC and HTW. Then have me
move on. They did the same with Keefer. I lost sight of Keefer after awhile. But I
remained in the B stage area at times no more than 15 ft. from our Rock Gods!
The
moment of the night for me was after being distracted by an usher and moving over to a
spot with less people. SUDDENLY and surprisingly (because I was gloriously wasted by now)
I looked slightly to my left to see Keith Richards and Mick Jagger only a few feet above
me and no more than 20 ft. from me. Keith looking in my direction. That image I do not
need a camera for. It is etched in my memory forever!
I would
snap some decent shots from down there (remember the type camera though) Still, some fine
personal souvenirs.
After
the B stage. I was dissappointed to find the the sale of beer was discontinued. Went back
to sect 202.
(BTW I
remember talking briefly with Jack Flash. At what point of the show that was I don't
know.) But he needs to update his Gasser photo. He now looks like he should be in a Rock
band. Long wavy blonde hair. And could pass for 18. Good to see you Jack.
So I'm
back in 202. But somehow I am not with the rest of my party. There were 6 empty seats. I'm
assuming those are the ones. My memory gets fuzzy from here on. I remember some wild young
lady kissing me over and over as the concert continued. She would tap me on the shoulder.
And when I turned around she would kiss me. This would happen about every 5 minutes. I
remember people were laughing and having the time of their lives. I remember dancing and
really getting into the final songs. I remember initiating some loud outbursts from our
part of the Garden before the encore with a loud southern WOOOOOO! I was high fived for
leading a couple of rows in singing the last five songs. Again, details are fuzzy at this
point on for me. But I know my section was having a great time! I was in Rock And Roll
Heaven. * And I was getting kisses too! I hated to see the show end.
My bite
of the Big Apple was a sweet and one I will never forget it. Hope all of you going to
tonight's show have as much fun and get a similarly great setlist.
To read the entire thread, click here: http://www.keno.org/gasland/get.asp?M=182039&P=0&T=182039
Rentschler Field
by Pavlov’s Dog
Just
got home from the show, No free wi-fi in the hotel so I am writing 15 hours after the end
of last night's concert: first I gotta say WHAT A BEAUTIFUL BUZZ!
Rentschler
Field is a brand new football stadium set down in the middle of an old airport. The Stage
stuck above the
The
gates opened and we were among the 1st in. Quickly we bought our merchandise and a good
thing too. By the time we paid for 2 shirts and 2 programs there was a mob behind us
waiting to buy. Beers were $ 7 so I decided to go thirsty and we headed for our seats.
Ours were Field seats, Section B5, about 50 rows back from the stage. To our right one
section over was the runway for the moving stage. The night was perfect, temp around 80
but low humidity, a light breeze and only a few scattered wispy clouds. Being this was
Maroon
5 went on around 810 PM. I didn’t know these guys or their music. They were ok but
that’s about all. They cleared out and then the real anticipation began, After about
45 minutes the lights went out suddenly and the crowd roared to life. Then a small
pinpoint of light appeared on the giant video screen which grew and grew and then became a
video montage and then BANG! Giant Flames, fireworks and a blaze of light, the first notes
of Start Me Up and I am numb. The crowd is going wild, however. Mick is wearing a glowing
fuschia tux jacket and matching fedora. They launch into You Got Me Rocking. Mick is ine
fine form, dancing and swaying. The crowd is clapping, already really into the
performance. Mick says hi to the crowd and says that they love
Mick
starts introducing the band. I can’t believe we’ve reached the halfway point. I
kind of realize Back of My Hand is not going to happen. Keith comes up and mentions that
he’s one of the locals, as he lives in
Mick
reappears with the wireless headset and I know what this means. They launch into Miss You.
The crowd goes wild as the stage begins moving forward. The band is nailing this
musically, not rushing it at all, but vocally, of all the songs Mick sang last night this
is the only one I felt he kind of phoned in. Anyway who cares, the stage is moving and
there is pandemonium. People are swarming the aisles, standing on chairs, screaming and
waving their arms. They are now at the far end of the stadium and the people who in
Section 110 who paid $ 99 have a front row view for Oh No, Not You Again. They next tear
into Satisfaction. This is a lean muscular version and no way can you be bored of this
song with this performance. The crowd is in a frenzy. Behind me are a couple with their
teenage sons. They are really enjoying themselves. Across the way is aold timer with ZZ
top beard and long frizzy white hair. It’s heartwarming to see generation after
generation of fans all singing in unison. The stage then begins to retract to a solid
Honky Tonk. Mick modified the lyrics slightly and I still don’t exactly know how. The
crowd is really pumped up and then the lights go down. Then they come back on with a
really cool blue and purple motif and quietly commence Out Of Control. Until you’ve
heard this performance don’t prejudge the song. This is a GREAT live tune.;crunchy
funky keyboards, muted bebop brass and wailing guitars. The crowd didn’t quite
appreciate the performance as much as they should have, as the song is not as well known.
This song sets up Sympathy really well . Mick is perched high atop Charlie’s drum
kit,. They really bite into this. Massive flames shoot into the air and you can FEEL the
heat a hundred feet away. I now know they’re winding up and I don’t want it to
stop. They plow into a solid JJ Flash and then pause then they erupt into Brown Sugar. I
never thought this song could be much without Mick Taylor but man they blow it up. Mick is
running all over the stage getting the crowd into round after round of Woos.
Mick
thanks
In the
parking lot I hear a young girl say to an other: they looked like they were in their
20’s. I feel truly blessed!
I FUCKING LOVE THE ROLLING STONES
Good Times in
by Keefer,
My wife
and I arrived at the pre-party gig around
We left
for the parking lot around 5 and were settled by
Everyone
has probably seen the setlist by now, so you all know that I told Mick before the show to
drop YGMR and the cover tune. After we had a long argument, Chuck decided that we would
compromise. So IORR was number 2 and Nightime stayed. I’m not going to detail every
song, but I will say this. If your skeptical, like I was, about the sound mix, don’t
be. It is true about the guitars being way up in the mix. The sound was AWESOME!! After
years of hearing the warhorses done in the same manner, it was really cool to hear them
actually play & sound like the Stones we know on a lot of them. No setlist complaints
from me. When you get PIB, GOOMC, ADTL, Midnight Rambler (as predicted) all in the same
night, you feel very lucky!! I was on the floor, right next to the catwalk, in the second
row of the second section back (right at the back of the B-stage when it was fully
extended). Great Seats!!! Only (LOL) $175 for those. I imagine they would be the top
ticket price at most other venues. I thought the B-stage worked very well! They were right
in front of me as they played Miss You on the way out, and HTW on the way back. I
couldn’t see too much of GOOMC or ONNYA but Mick and Keith did come around back a
couple of times. I had a perfect view of Chuck at that point, and he played very little
during those two songs. He just smiled a lot, waved a couple of times and tried to be
noticed. Mick is still unbelievable as a frontman. Constantly moving, and lots of energy.
Ronnie & Keith were Hot!! Excellent work between the 2, and Charlie was on as usual.
Outside of a few rough spots ,(nothing serious or anything I really remember) an
outstanding performance!!
A few
notes about the venue. They were not prepared to handle a crowd this size . With only one
way in or out (that I saw) of the main parking lot, traffic was a fiasco. Much more so on
the way out. The beer situation inside sucked. Instead of waiting in line for an hour, I
hopped the fence of the “VIP” area and tried to buy a few in there; only to be
escorted out and told that the next time I was going to be thrown out of the stadium. (I
really was hurting noone, was inconspicuous (so I thought), but the 2 young guys
weren’t happy, so I didn’t have to be told twice.) I just went back and sipped
on my trusty flask. Forget about any type of concessions or using the bathroom unless you
waited for an hour. Everyone I met, including the staff at the venue, was top-notch. Are
there any unfriendly people in that part of PA? Sadly, I did not have the privilege of
meeting any gassers. Oh well, still plenty of time for that. MCI anyone????
I’m
still on a high from last nights show, and the thought of tomorrow while preparing to root
for the Redskins this afternoon. Does it get any better than that?? I feel very fortunate
to be able to go to these shows and I did think about the “Gasland Gang” from
time to time.
October 5, MCI
I left
for the 2 hour ride to
Anyway,
after a heated discussion with Mick about the setlist, it was apparent that he was dead
set on playing YGMR. I was expecting some help from Chuck on this, but he wasn’t
around (according to another post, he was having dinner w/a friend). Sensing that the
battle was being lost, I informed him that the only way YGMR could stay was if he agreed
to play Bitch. A few minutes later, the deal was done and I was on my way to my seats.
The
I have
to interrupt here and tell you about the 2 women sitting next to me. Can you believe they
were sitting down during Bitch??? WTF are you doing at a Stones show on the floor if you
are going to sit down at all, let alone during a classic like this one. Buzzkill!!!! I
couldn’t look at them the rest of the show.
Right
after Bitch, came Mr. Pitiful and the intensity of the crowd immediately dropped. This was
the low point of the show (if there was one) because they followed that w/ Keith’s
set, and so you had 3 in a row that the crowd really did not respond to. But, Mick
returned and they began to play Miss You. That is when I made my move for the side of the
B-stage. What a great move that turned out to be, because I wound up 20 feet away from the
side as they played ONNYA and a killer version of Shattered. That was the highlight for
me, as Mick, Keith, and Ronnie all took turns coming over to my side. I must say that
after that experience, I really didn’t care what happened the rest of the show. That
was amazing.
As far
as the band goes, they were on fire throughout!! I can’t describe it any better than
many others have in posts about other shows. Excellent all the way around!! Anyone who has
a chance to go to a show, DO IT!! You will not regret it. Yes, it is a lot of money, but
well worth it IMO. Next stop Philly 1 & 2, hope to see you there.
October 25,
Man,
talk about a fast trip. The minutes in
Upon
entering the building, I went to find Mick to make my setlist recommendations. Now, he was
not expecting me to attend this show, so I knew it would be a surprise for him to see me.
I was a little surprised myself at the warm greeting I received, as we had not spoken
since our little conflict in
My
seats were very different than any of the shows I have been to so far, but were also very
good. We were on the extreme side of the stage (Keith’s side), 5th row about even
with Charlie; a very unique perspective of the whole show. There was a walkway about 15
feet away that both Mick and Keith took turns coming over to a couple of times. You can
really pick up a lot of the interaction between band members from this vantage point that
would not be seen from most locations. Anyway, here are a few notes about the show:
From
where I was sitting, the sound was fantastic! I don’t know if my location had
anything to do w/that or not. SSC continues to be a song they play well and should be done
on the B-stage a few more times. What can I say about Dead Flowers & Bitch besides
AWESOME. 2 of my favorite songs, and I’d be happy as hell to hear them every night! I
had a very good view of the crowd in front of the stage, and IMO a lot of stiffs out
there. I mean, when they play gems like these, you have to be on your feet dancing (or at
least moving). Night Time is not a crowd pleaser, and Keith continues to put people in
their seats or send them to the pisser by continuing to play The Worst every night. He
needs to come up w/another tune. As I said once before, when they play the cover tune
followed by Keith’s set, it takes a lot of the electricity out of the crowd. They do
pick it back up w/Miss You going out to the B-stage, but why lose any crowd enthusiasm at
all? I think most any song would go over well on the B-stage, but shouldn’t they do
something special out there? I hardly call YGMR, HTW, MY or ONNYA something special. Why
not throw in a couple of gems in place of YGMR & MY? Out Of Control sounded good, but
personally I would prefer another tune. PIB works much better IMO, and I thought they were
on to something when they did PIB & TD together late in Philly, but I guess Philly was
the exception. The last four were predictable (songs; not order) but all sounded great and
I knew what to expect. Maybe it was just me, but Ronnie seemed a little reserved to me. It
didn’t seem as if he was playing much on a lot of songs, but just the opposite for
Keith. He seemed to shine on every one! Mick was Mick, I mean this guy just brings it
every night! I had an awesome view of Charlie banging away. Not that I didn’t
appreciate Charlie before, but I do even more now after having such a good view of him all
night. I was a little disappointed in only getting 20 songs, but overall a very fine
performance.
This
concludes my 5 shows in 19 days dream come true. I will go back to all of the
responsibilities of life that I have put on hold for almost 3 weeks now, but I’ll be
thinking of my next show while doing so! Payphone Al, sorry we couldn’t have that
post-show drink. I’m holding out hope that you’ll make an appearance in
10 people away at the Forum-my review
by Out of His Head (March 9, 2006)
Yeah,
the Forum on Monday...Where to start, where to end?
saw the
Stadium show in
OK so
I'll start with the highlights of my evening. I hooked up with a buddy, I used to work
with and we rolled a couple joints, smuggled in a bottle of Jack, and for the first time
in years, did a good size line (with much reluctance). I was so incredibly excited by the
time we got to our seats, they were amazing. Against the rail on the lower level, right in
front of the fucking b-stage, in a relatively small forum (my favorite kind venue for
them).
Queens
of the stone whatever did the worst opening performance I have ever heard, they even
brought out one of the ZZ Top guys for a song. He played blues with a quiet amp, they
played...I don't even know what kind of music you call it, but it sucked, and didn't mix
well. Thank god I was fucked up in the best possible way about to see god (keith), and
Mick is like better than any year I can think of going back to 63!
OK
first big surprise after it really set in how close I was (I had similarly good sites at
the Bowl), was "Sway". I wen totally apeshit, Sticky was always my favorite
album. In my more troubled days, Sway was my, well getting really high song. That was an
experience. It never ceases to amaze me how well Ronnie can play Mick T's material but in
a less elegant, more dirty stonesy way. Yeah, ROnnie is every bit the god Mick T is
regarded as.
Worried
About You...yeah Mick has NEVER sounded better, period. Same with Night Time at the bowl.
Far
Away Eyes, in my druggie days Sticky was my bag, then it was Exile, now it's Some Girls,
and that's one of my fav's never thought I would be treated to it live, sam ewith LIV and
my old namesake dead flowers. Again, Ronnie is a god on the slide.
OK now
the B-stage, MISS YOU, RJ, and Respectable. 3 of my absolute fav's, and I counted... I was
10 people away from the band. 10 people. I've never been that close to anyone but Dylan. I
actually made fucking eye contact with Mick Jagger, twice (first song and 3rd song). I was
watching a collection of performances the night before of '64 and I started with London
Years, Englans Newest, RS Now...I grew up with them album by album starting when I was 17,
I'm now 28. I don't know how to put in words, what that was like. Needless to say, I was
falling over the railing screaming with my hands in the air. I've never had an experience
like that before at a concert. It was exhilirating.
Great
Midnight Rambler, another fav. Good Sympathy and everything else, but I was in a daze by
the end, in fact my post b-stage memory is pretty fuzzy. I couldn't post for the past few
days because my job is never ending, and I've not had time to really sit down and come to
the full realization of what an experience this was.
Only
thing that could've been improved was if they did Paint It Black. This tour is so hardcore
on that one, it's like Metallica doing it.
I want
to share this with all younger fans, if you have na opportunity to see them this tour,
whatever the cost, whatever you have to do hell knock over a liquor store, just get there
and spend every penny. If I had it to do over I would've dropped 10K to get closer on the
bowl shows and I was already in kickass seats.
To read the entire thread, click here: http://www.keno.org/gasland/get.asp?M=185834&P=0&T=185834
Thanksgiving Show -
Denver
by Keno (November 2005)
Part 1 - Preshow
Well, no, I've never spent a
Thanksgiving like the one I spent this past holiday weekend, for more than one reason, and
you all know the main reason why. True, if you read this board enough, you know I was
bitching about the Stones playing on my favorite holiday. I still wish they hadn't, but by
about a week before the show I truly was over that, as my family did accept the fact that
I could not miss the only Stones show to take place within about 600 miles of where I
live. I also started to realize that the Stones planing a show on this day wasn't as much
as big deal for the people who lived within an hour's drive of Denver, and that is who
they are really putting on the show for anyway. Those of us who lived far away were really
the only ones affected (other than those locals who had to work it). But hell, the locals
could still have their turkey dinner with their families in the afternoon, and then head
on out to the show as a bonus afterwards. Hell, I could have done that too if I lived
closer, and then even brought some of my family to the show with me. But that wasn't the
case for those of us who live far away from
Thanksgiving morning didn't start
off too good for me at all, as I awoke sick. Since I wasn't able to get to Kalistongue's
home the night before, I planned to leave around 9 in the morning on Thanksgiving, as I
wanted to get to her place with at least an hour to spare before the Bronco game came on
(I guess most of you know that I'm as big a Bronco's fan, as I am a Stone's fan).
Kali had some meds she gave me that
helped me out big time, it took the edge off how I felt, and watching my team win helped
too. But the game went into overtime, and Kali wanted to hit the road, as it was getting
close to 6 PM and we were suppose to meet LoveYouLive, Payphone Al and a few others at the
Brown Palace in downtown Denver, about a half hour drive away. I told Kali that as long
the Bronco's won the coin toss that they would win the game within minutes and we could
head out the door. Of course I was right, the game was over within 5 minutes after OT
started. We got to the Brown with plenty of time to spare, as we had no plans to catch the
opening act at 730, and we stayed there to after
No, because of the holiday, most of
the out-of-town Gassers who normally show up for the
Me and Kali had met PA last tour,
but this was our first meeting with LYL, yet it didn't feel at all like a first meeting
(I'll get into that bit about hanging with fellow Gassers in Part 3). Awhile after we were
hanging with LYL's friend Jullien (she posts at Shidoobieland once in awhile but I can't
now recall her handle there) and 3 of her friends in from
Because I was still sick before the
show, I didn't have a single drink at the Brown, other than a coke. In fact, I didn't eat
any food at all the entire day (how many can claim that on Thanksgiving?). I only drank
some ice tea when I watched the football game, yet I wasn't hungry at all, even after we
went up to one of the rooms at the Brown just before we left for the show and smoked a
joint.
We got a chauffeured ride to the
PCenter in a stretched SUV. LYL was sitting next to the driver and asked him if he was
busy, he said he was very busy, as the show was a sell out and the fan club was staying at
the hotel.
When we got to the PCenter it was
already pushing 830 and I was getting nervous that the Boys would hit the stage early
(like they did in
This would be my second Thanksgiving
rock show, the first one I attended was in NYC at MSG, with Elton John (in 1974?). That
was the night that John Lennon surprised everybody and came on out to play - his last
public show, and nobody knew that night beforehand that this was gonna happen. So there
wasn't anyway I felt the Stones could top that Thanksgiving concert - and they didn't, as
I love Lennon as much as I love the Stones. The only real bummer with this year's show was
that the Stones didn't do anything special things for their fans on this special night, in
fact we only got a mere 20 songs to hear. Why they can't play somewhere around 30 songs
each show I'll never understand.
Our seats were in the third row from
the B stage, which also was the last row of that section. The mixing boards were right
next to us, so as LYL pointed out, we were in the best place sound wise. This also made it
excellent since no seats were to our right, and me and Kali had end seats. So for the
first half of the show I was able to stand in the aisle leaning on a barrier with a great
view of the main stage (I moved up to the front railing next to the B stage when they
played there and didn't move back from that point for the rest of the show).
The Stones were running late, so we
chatted with the fans around us in the sold out PCenter. LYL was in front of us to our
left, next to him and directly in front of us was a couple, who like me, moved to Colorado
many years ago. They were from the
Not so Great
Let me get the few negative things
that happen out of the way first. Out of the 20 songs they played, two didn't sound right.
The first one being the opening number, "Start Me Up". I'm not one of those who
thinks they should not open with this number, in fact I think it's the best spot for this
song. Yet of all the songs they played on this night, this one was close to stinking up
the house. They didn't sound right, when they first started to play it I could not even
tell after the first few notes played which song it even was, and it didn't sound any
better as they went along. Guess they needed to warm up at bit. But after they got passed
that, all of the rest of the set sounded a lot better. Yet there were still a few
disappointments. "You Can't Always Get What You Want " also was missing
something - and it was that great guitar playing riff you hear upfront in the beginning of
the song and then through out most of the rest of it, played by Keef. He barely played it
at all in the song's beginning, but he sure was not out front with it, and then the riff
wasn't heard again for the rest of the song. Mick still sang the song great, so it was an
enjoyable tune to hear even without that great riff.
The other disappointments were in
the songs they selected to play and some that they didn't. I knew beforehand there wasn't
anyway they would play the two songs I badly wanted to hear - "Sway" and
"Moonlight Mile", but where was "Paint It Black"? Or even worst, where
was "Back of my Hand", the one new song I wanted to hear over all of the other
new ones. Instead they played "Rain Fall Down", which sounded okay at best, but
nothing at all special, either.
Getting back to Keef and his guitar
playing again. Him being my favorite Stone, it is the Riffmiester who I watch most of the
show. After the show was over, those who had seem several of this tour's shows, all felt
Keef had one of this best days of the tour on this night. The two newspaper reviews I read
the next day also felt Keef had the best of shows, too. So how come that wasn't the case
for me? Was I watching him too closely? Shit, I always watch him the most! One thing I do
know for sure, of all the Stones shows I've seen in the past, he played his guitar the
least for this one. When he was playing, yes, it sounded fine, I even said to LYL that I
felt he played his acoustic very well for "Ruby Tuesday", but then LYL (who was
one of those who felt it was a great nite for Keith), noted that was one song where he
would stop playing for a bit of the time. There was one song where his guitar playing did
shine bright, "Satisfaction", and I'll report on that one later on. But
everybody else felt Keef was at this best, so maybe it was just me, let me just blame it
on those damn plugs I wore!
The last thing to bitch about was
that I used a new brand pair of ear plugs for this show and damn if they were not a good
brand. I usually don't use my plugs for the first and last songs, even though I've been
warned by my doctor that just listening to one song without them could do my hearing more
harm, but sometimes you gotta take chances in life and to hear at least two songs 100%
clear is worth the risk for me. But thanks to these terrible plugs I had, which totally
ruined the sound, as soon as the the Stones hit the B Stage, off came they came for the
rest of the show. Lucky for me, my ears were not ringing too much after it was over!
The Great Stuff
Overall, it was one great concert,
no question about it! Like all great shows, there are several highlights that stick out.
Since we were right up front by the B stage, well no question, that was the best part of
the show for us. I wasn't that overwhelmed when they started out playing "Miss
You", another song I rather not care to hear yet again, but then about a third of the
way through it, the stage started to move towards us! In no time at all the B stage was
right there in front of us, about 10 feet away, and suddenly "Miss You" didn't
sound so bad!
This was the second closest from
which I've seen to the Stones play, but the closest that the entire band was to me all at
the same time, since Charlie was always way in the back behind his drum kits, so it was
the closest I've ever seem him play - what a treat indeed!
Again, my eyes were on Keef for most
of the time they played the B stage, but yes I took a long look at all of them from time
to time. I also looked behind me at Kali at one point, and from just reading her review, I
guess she was so frozen in excitement that she didn't even realize where she was standing
at that moment. She noted she moved up to the second row for the B stage, when she
actually was standing in the first row, as those folks in that row were all up at the
front railing alone side of me. I also noticed the kid behind her with a gigantic smile on
his face, with his dad beaming from ear to ear (dad and son were having a blast at this
point).
There really is a special energy you
feel when you are this close to the Stones. They do go out of their ways to play to the
people in front of them (perhaps more so while on the B stage). Too bad Kali missed it,
but Keef damn sure did look our way - right at the end of "Miss You". Yet I
never saw Ronnie look over to us, yet Kali did, but you know how it goes, there are 5 guys
playing right in front of us and you can't look closely at all of them at the same time.
Right after "Get Off Of My Cloud" (what a trip to have this one played from 10
feet away!) Darrel Jones looked right at us with a big smile on his face and pointed at
us. I believe he was pointing at Kali's red tongue tattoo above her left breast, that she
was trying to show off to Ronnie at the time.
During the B set I was as close as
anybody could have gotten to them, and it brought back those wonderful memories of the
Yes, nothing could top the B stage
for us, but from that point the entire concert just seemed to get better. In part perhaps
because the few songs I didn't want to hear were already done with, and maybe because I
was plug free at this point, too.
Other show highlight were: 1)
"Night Life" - the cover I didn't want to hear. Don't get me wrong here, I still
would have rather heard a Stones number instead, and the band didn't play this song in any
special way at all. But it was Mick and Lisa who make this number work - big time. 2)
"Honky Tonk Woman" - the fact it started out being played ten feet in front of
me helped it to be one the best songs of the night. 3) Ron Wood - Holy shit! Ronnie is
100% back, he could not have played any better, period! I've seen Ronnie play live since
his days in the Faces, and I don't think I've ever seen a better show put on by him. He
played most of the lead guitar parts for the show and sounded great on most of these
songs. He added a acid like guitar riff to part of "It's Only Rock n Roll", that
I had never hear before. Since he wrote most of this song, could it be that was the way he
at first want the song to sound, before Keef added in his guitar to it? More than likely
no, since I've seen him play this number before in the past, chances are he just added
this bit in at the moment, as he didn't play it for too long - but I did like it, yes I
did! 4) "You Got Me Rocking" - they didn't play this song! I believe that they
have skipped this one only two or three times on this entire tour and maybe only a handful
of times in the last several tours combined, but they skipped it on this night at the
PCenter!! Yes!!! You all know how much I've been bitching this tour about this song being
overplayed - so they skipped playing it for me on this night - I thank you Mick for doing
that, you are the man! 5) Mick Jagger - This guy hasn't changed at all since when I first
saw the Stones back at MSG in '72. He still is all over the stage and he is still the best
thing about the Rolling Stones. He is the main reason why the Stones are still the
greatest today. 6) Kalistongue and Keef - This was one of those things that you had to be
there to dig. When Keef had his chance to sing his two numbers, the first one up was
"Slipping Away", and not a favorite of mine. So I looked around at my fellow
fans at this point. Yes, the usual beer and bathroom runs was on by many, but you had to
see Kali when Keef was singing. Holy shit, the look of love was all over her face, I don't
think any other humans on the planet Earth were so at peace as she was at that moment, she
was most definitely in Nirvana and that look she had shinning from her was so strong that
even I loved this song that was filling my ears for once. 7) The crowd - Yes, from what I
was hearing, the show was actually sold out a few weeks earlier and only some behind the
stage seats were left at show time. Yet I was worried that after everybody was filled with
turkey, that nobody would feel up for a rock concert - but I was wrong and I should have
known the Denver crowd would not let the Stones down. Yes, everybody stood the entire show
(okay, a few did sit for Keef's second song) and many of us did a lot of dancing, too.
Being in the aisle was great and I could dance that much more - plus - while the concert
was on my sick body didn't feel any pain at all! 8) Keef Richards and Satisfaction -
"Satisfaction" was the very last song of the night, and Keef came to life on
this one, more so than on any other song he played. He looked like he did in the old days
in the way he played his guitar for this one, talk about hitting a grand slam! I'm not
sure what it is with this song, but every time they play it is sounds better. It was the
band's all around best played song of the entire night!
Then it was all over. Way too soon,
but still, everybody at the PCenter was feeling fine! Yes, we all had something to be
thankful for on this holiday! (Part 3 is next..)
After Kali got a $35 T shirt, me,
her and LYL left the arena and headed where Payphone Al and Ari were waiting for us in the
parking lot. The air was crisp but not too cold (except for PA who was in from Florida)
and we decided to walk on back to the Brown, via the 16 Street Mall. I always loved this
street mall and I've never seen it so empty, with almost everything closed for the
holiday. We got back to the Brown and sat again in the lobby. I could not help but notice
all the families with preteens (wearing Stones shirts) who were there and had been to that
show, it really was still a family holiday for many Stones fans after all.
Yes, the show was great, and as I
said to a person after the show who asked me if I had a good time "A Stones fan
cannot go to a Stones concert and not have a good time!", well, that is fact!
But as great a time I had at the show, hanging out with my fellow Gassers was just as much
a blast! Us Gassers are all so alike that it is scary in a way and it don't matter about
other issues and how we might feel about them. Whenever I meet a Gasser for the first
time, it never seems like it is the first time. There is none of that awkwardness you
sometimes get with people when you first meet them. There really is that Stones family
connection there that makes your time together so much fun.
Friday morning me, Kali, LYL and PA
went out for a late breakfast. The food was great (maybe because I hadn't eaten anything
in two days?) , the waitress was very talkative - Let it Bleed was her favorite LP
and "My Sweet Neocon" her favorite song on the new album - because of Mick's
harp she tells us, and the service was very slow. That turned out to be a good thing, as
it gave us extra time to talk. We talked a bit about our board and how it was different
than the other boards and why we dug that fact, and of course while talking about Gasx3,
several of you came up, including the two dogs here, our only rat, our only admitted
Gasland Republican, the board's Elvis freak, and that teen jumping flash kid, just to name
a few of you (were your ears ringing?). PA asked me who was the oldest Gasser, and I
didn't have an answer for him, other than to note that there were several of us
grandparents posting at the board.
After breakfast we said our
good-byes in the parking lot and a sadness came over me. As a kid growing up I had two
best friends who were Stones freaks like me. Within two years of moving away from New York
both of these guys died and that was it for me as far as having close friends who were
total Stones freaks like me. Until 1996 anyway, when I started to meet people online who
were as addicted to the Stones as I was. Then I started the land of Gas in '98 and it was
never the same again! Now I have all kinds of fellow Stones junkie freaks like myself to
talk to - even if it is only online. I guess that was why I felt a bit sad in the parking
lot as LYL and PA headed to their rented car for a sight seeing drive up in the mountains.
Talking online to you fellow fans is cool, no question, and why Gasland is still going so
strong after all of these years. But still, nothing beats hanging in person with these
kind of special friends. So whenever I get to do this, it is a special thing to me and as
enjoyable as the show itself.
After I got back to Kali's place I
was ready for the long ride back to my home, gave her a hug good-bye and wondered when we
would get together next. On the drive back I wondered some more, on when my next show with
the Stones would be. I was offered a free pass to the upcoming MSG show on January 20,
2006, but it is highly unlikely I will be able to make it. Yet so many many Gassers will
meet there before that show, and that alone is a strong reason for me wanting to go, real
bad.
To read the entire thread, click here: http://www.keno.org/gasland/get.asp?M=178499&P=0&T=178499
Some thoughts on the vet.
by FilthyMcNasty
Some
thoughts . . . .
1. Ken
Kep is a prince of a man.
2.
Tickets were horribly oversold for the front half of the floor. The seats represented on
the tickets I purchased didn’t even exist! No fault of the guy I bought them from. He
sold his to me because he had the opportunity to “upgrade”, and the new tickets
he bought were double sold! Horrible events apparently ensued. I ended up 24 (!) rows back
from where I should have been, but at least I was in the middle. This is no way to run a
high gloss entertainment corporation. That said, I suppose I should add the obligatory
“I doubt it was the Stones’ (per se) fault”.
3. One
of the souvenirs are these flashing Rolling Stones tongue necklaces with little red lights
in them. When the stadium lights go out and all these little lights are going off over the
stadium, Crowd as special effect!
4.
There could not have been a better night to attend an outdoor show. The temp was perfect
and there was an awesomely bright 3/4 moon and only the barest whisps of clouds to the
back of the stadium.
5.
Start Me Up is a really really great stadium song. People who bitch about the Rolling
Stones playing Start Me Up in a stadium are crazy. If I go to a stadium to see any band
ever again they better play Start Me Up.
6.
Don’t Stop is pretty damn good. It had an extended coda with extra Mick vamp vocals
and a real Tumbling Dice rising kind of crescendo.
7. Wild
Horses was surprisingly enjoyable and touching, with great Keith guitar. One of the two or
three best performances of the evening.
8.
Stadium shows are an acoustical nightmare.
9.
Here’s a surprise: Midnight Rambler was the best song of the night! Imagine! REALLY
long, really evil, nice extended change from the slow part to the final chorus - Mick
harmonica in all the right places except for the slow section.
10.
Ronnie is a bad ass. He did this really funny hop in the middle of his solo on Let It
Bleed that got him halfway across the b-stage. Ronnie sober is a joy to behold - he looks
like he just woke up from a Rip Van Winkle nap and realized, “Hey, this is not so
bad, I’m in the Rolling Stones!” Hearing Ronnie was a problem, but that’s
not his fault. For my money, next to Mick he was the most vibrant of the bunch. Go Ronnie!
You rock!
11.
Love Train is just so damn cool. Brotherly love indeed!
12. I
can think of no musical reason on Earth why Blondie HarryChapin (ha! cradle cat) should be
playing guitar on stage with the Rolling Stones and I would like somebody to explain it to
me.
13. Slipping Away is great. For Keith to take off his guitar and just stand there and sing is an utterly Keithian thing to do - It is arrogant and defiant and his entire personality comes through whi