It's Only Rock'n Roll
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It's Only Rock'n Roll |
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Show start : 9:27pm Show end : 11:33pm
However the Stones played Moonlight Mile - the first time I've heard it live - so that made the evening for me all by itself. And they played it with some emotion: a delightfully mellow interlude. I'd guessed this was coming as I'd heard the intro practised a couple of times during the sound check.
The Citrus Bowl stadium is not easy to get to from downtown (or probably anywhere else) and surrounded by an area that looks like a post-apocalypse theme park. Not a good walk-to venue. Like the old Wembley they seemed to make it without enough toilets and other facilities - and hard to get water.
But what really pissed me off was the appallingly bad security. I had to empty a water bottle into a plastic glass by my seat, and I was close to the soundboard. Yet all through the gig the main exit aisle near me was full of people from way back who the security failed to clear. Now I don't mind too much except when people try and push in front of me, and the security tackle the easy stuff and fail on the difficult stuff. In a real emergency - well don't rely on them in Orlando.
The Stones seemed to me to have taken-up where they left off in Atlanta. Energy; enjoying themselves visibly; having fun with each other; feeding off the heat, the atmosphere and crowd. It was another high energy performance. I read this morning that some thought Keith looked and sounded tired. I didn't see that - but if he was maybe he'd been too long at Disney parks over the last couple of days. Charlie certainly looked great. Mick and Ronnie were Mick and Ronnie - like teenagers on speed.
The audience was much was younger than Atlanta, many from south of the border (including a good sized Argentinian contingent), making the audience more lively and energetic - some a little over energetic due to the booze.
I thought Keith intentionally slowed and mixed-up the intros to a couple of numbers, grinning to the rest of the band as he did so. He also did an emergency stop at the end of Happy: much tidier than Atlanta and almost caught out Charlie.
Mick was joking about his (alleged) womanising reputation. Ronnie was playing frenetically at times. Charlie solid as ever; eyebrows raised and smiling when Keith or Mick threw a curved ball mid song.
Highlights - All Down the Line (great slide); Moonlight Mile; Rambler (super from Mick, Keith and Ronnie); She's So Cold (an interesting "overwhelming vote"); Shelter.
Several solos stuck out - including Tim Ries on Miss You (bringing a slightly jazzy, funky feel) and Karl on Brown Sugar (Keith was grinning at him as he nailed the Bobby Keys tone and feel).
Lowlights - few in the performance. We left just before the end of Satisfaction to avoid what must have been a mega cue for buses out of the war zone, but could hear the music perfectly as we walked down the road - you could have heard the concert without a ticket and probably got a decent recording.
This was my 4th Stones gig in Florida and the first outdoors. Luckily the sun didn't shine too much during the day so the temperature was only 8.6 (that's 30 in Euro degrees), and the Rain didn't Fall Down. Next stop Nashville Tennessee: the Bobby keys tribute and the Stones.
Photos by Bjornulf Vik
21.30 The show began with a video showing different album covers them and ended with the zip code of welcome to orlando. Then came the fireworks that exploded with jumping jack flash and Richard facing the runway, and in my opinion was a very turned on heavily oiled and touching show with incredible richard Ronnie Wood did some solos that became noticeable and stand throughout the show. I saw them very lit very oiled and above all happy happy, smiling and laughing running between them.
The beautiful moments was when the Argentine public was noted, Argentine flags flying at the end of the show, Ronnie shaking, Jagger was an incredible moment that reminded me of the Prudential Center when Jagger traps Argentina flag on Start Me Up, here you step videos and minute to go what to see.
Photos by Bjornulf Vik
As a career Stones fan (30+ shows across 2 continents dating back to 1981), this was the sloppiest show I have ever seen. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing—the Steel Wheels shows from 1989 seemed a bit too crisp and rehearsed but this "Zip Code" version of England's Oldest Hitmakers is playing with a kind of ragged, jazzy feel not seen since the "Love You Live" era.
"Jumping Jack Flash" was a rousing opener and Mick looked regal in a gold-tinged pink Oriental-themed jacket. He made a sly joke about visiting Disneyland but not before noticing that "Cinderella left her pants in my room." Something tells me he wasn't kidding.. "Doom and Gloom" is fun and a solid late period song but I would have liked to have heard a deep track in its place. "Saint of Me?" "Hot Stuff" as a nod to the humidity? Or how about a new song? "D&G" is 3 years old at this point!
It was clear that the boys lost the plot line of "Bitch" a few bars into the number but the improvisation was fun and they recovered. Charlie, as usual, was rock solid and Mick hasn't lost an ounce of virility since I last saw them in Boston during the "Bigger Bang" stadium show. He bounded back and forth across the length of the baseball stadium like a li'l red rooster on catnip.
Mick has worried in the latest round of interviews about how the "slow numbers" on "Sticky Fingers" would go down in a stadium. The rapturous response of "Moonlight Mile" proves he needn't worry. It is a tender ballad that held the audience breathless and revealed new layers of subtlety and true musicianship of the band.
"She's So Cold" was a sped-up rave and Jagger shimmied around the stage in fine voice. "Midnight Rambler" has only darkened in its ferocity over the years, with Jagger lightening the mood by jetting to the middle of the stadium to lead the crowd in some lusty "Oh yeahs!" Despite the naysayers, only ONE Mick is needed to pull this off, with all due respect to Mr. Taylor!
There are may instances like on "Miss You" where Keith struts around the stage waving to the audience with a guitar slung over his shoulder as an accessory while Ronnie does the heavy lifting and that is a bit unsettling to see. Just when you think the old man has lost some zip on the Zip Code tour, he comes roaring back with note-perfect vocals on "Before They Make Me Run" and "Happy." He then decides to sprint the length of the stadium a few times himself, proving he is not the only Glimmer Twin with the ‘moves like Jagger!' UNBELIEVABLE!!
It was great to see Lisa Fisher take command of the center portion of the stadium for "Gimme Shelter:" too bad she had microphone trouble. "Brown Sugar" was juiced up and sloppy before the band went into high gear for "Satisfaction." I flew up and back from NJ for the show and it was worth every moonlight mile traveled! Long live the Rolling Stones!
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