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 |
Show start : 8:47 pm Show end : 10:53 pm
Live pre/post show comments:
Amsterdam The Netherlands show live updates - Thursday 7-July-2022
It was a cool, wet, breezy day in Amsterdam, hardly a summer show day. Early entrants found it cold even with the stadium roof on. Perhaps that’s why Keith reverted to wearing a woolly hat rather than the more elegant bandana. The band all seemed to be wearing at least 3 layers of clothes when they came on stage to Street Fighting Man. In the middle of the “Keith side” Pit there was plenty of space but by show start time it was warmer. The Golden Circle, next behind us, was rammed when we tried to traverse it.
The travel logistics worked very well for us, helped by moving towards the side exit to watch Satisfaction and the final bows. Thanks to driver Yousaf, the travel organiser, and their creativity on finding a close-by pickup. We were back in our city centre hotel 20 minutes after the band walked off the stage to rapturous applause.
Having the roof on creates a real challenge for the sound team. The hardness (= reflects sound very well) of the roof itself was insulated by many wide inflatable bags suspended way above out heads, I’m sure intended to supress the echoes. It worked well at the front of what felt like a very loud gig. I could hear some echo on songs like Start Me Up, with an arrangement of hammer chords followed by pauses: not sure how it sounded towards the rear.
The setlist remains 60’s heavy. This time Lets Spend The Night Together was aired for the first time this year, an opportunity for music director Chuck Leavell to kick off a song. He was playing some great notes this evening, clearly not stretching his skillset in this role: maybe I heard more due to the sound mix.
The returning song “vote” selection was Sweet Virginia: conveniently people chose a song also not aired this year. My question remains: exactly which people comprise the electorate for this vote? Like a British prime ministerial selection (this was the day Boris resigned) it’s a little opaque. Mick played harmonica, perfectly replicating the Exile intro, and also the acoustic guitar. I was surprised to see Ronnie and Keith on electric. Tim Ries played a masterful sax solo. Overall a very refreshing outing for SV.
I’m love that Out of Time has become a setlist fixture. Surprising numbers of the audience know the words and sing along. How must it feel to have lyrics you wrote, probably pretty speedily, over 55 years ago resonating from a crowd of 55,000 people. The smiles on Mick and Keith’s faces give you the answer.
Can’t You Hear Me Knocking appeared for the second time this tour, in its now slightly abbreviated version. As we heard in London, Keith drives this like he had just recorded it. When a song is totally reliant on his playing he seems to concentrate into another universe and his playing is really brilliant: you see this on Rambler and in his solo spot. Karl gets a brief sax solo before conductor of ceremonies Jagger points to Ronnie to kick off a superb solo capturing elements of Mick Taylor’s original whilst adding his own flavour at his best. I’m afraid that at the start of another couple of solos on other songs he wasn’t quite there key-wise but that should not detract from a fine Ronnie Wood evening.
Rambler was another great performance on the night. Keith excellent throughout; great Ronnie solo; Mick improvising and adding some words from Hellhound on My Trail. I cannot imagine Mick is too bothered by hellhounds after all the pleasure he has given people over the last 60 years. He ended the song with “and it hurts”: I’m not sure why this makes a difference, but it does!
Keith’s vocals, not just in his solo slot, continue to shine – and he knows it. Silver was super and Happy certainly delivered the goods the title suggests. Miss You’s bass excursion, and sax jousting, also worked well.
Bernard, no surprise, continues to provide a critical element to the whole show. His comments when interviewed for the new “My life as a Rolling Stones” documentaries were particularly perceptive. Stones manager Joyce Smyth mentioned a couple of very profound comments in the same documentaries, one noting “when this finishes we will never see the like again”: so, so true and it will be a Sad Day indeed.
Back to the show, and the vocals, the sharp-eyed noticed extra microphones by Bernard at the start. It turned out that the three backing singers from support band Ghosthounds were brought on for a few songs: they even warranted being brought forwards for a bow during band introductions. Around me people thought that the additional depth they brought for those songs, like dice and HTW, really added to the show. Sasha seemed enlivened by the extra folks to her right. We still couldn’t hear much of her vocal highlight on Shelter – it is not clear exactly why.
This was show number 43 or 44 in the Low Countries/Holland/The Netherlands (for a small country they have plenty of names!). Mick said it was their first show in Europe outside the UK and showed some pictures of the ensuing riot in the venue. Their first excursion was to the USA was two months earlier. Keeping with the data theme, the two “new to this tour” songs make it now 34 songs so far, for which I am most appreciative. Half of those were released in the 1960s.
It was a hugely appreciative Dutch audience, some of whom were working hard to keep the beer industry alive. A few of them have mastered the art of carrying 8 beer “glasses” in a cardboard tray above their heads through a crowd without spilling more than a few drips. I usually worry about being stood in the middle of people from the tallest nation on earth – average height of men 6ft. This evening that was not a worry and the crowd was great and added to the enjoyment for the Stones themselves I suspect, especially when Mick made many comments in Dutch that I could not understand at all!
In summary, even if it sounds a bit boring and repetitive, another great show from all concerned. The bandwagon heads a couple of hours south and west to Belgium next.
At some points during the show, we had five backing singers - three on loan from the increasingly tedious opening act Ghost Hounds. A quick bit of math indicates that's more people than actual Rolling Stones, which is an unfortunate visual. I know it was probably just a piece of fun, but the Stones should be more disciplined about their casting decisions. A lot of fans might not have realized this was a rare occurrence and will spread the word about the personnel overload.
Apart from that, I really enjoyed the redo, not at all bleary or worse for wear and tear after arriving a few hours earlier by a couple of trains from Leipzig. Mick said he was "really sorry" about June's last-minute postponement and the resulting schedule changes many of us were forced to make, although it was a bonus show for some late arrivals on the tour. The arena's acoustics must be a nightmare for anyone not right up front, judging by the tsunami of sound that engulfed the venue. It must also be a challenge for anyone under six feet tall; the locals are monstrous.
Two newbies tonight - "Let's Spend the Night Together" making its tour debut in the No. 2 slot and "Sweet Virginia" as popular winner of the (briefly?) revived song vote. Both were well received, and there was some relief about the latter's victory over some dreary ballads. "Ghost Town" returned to the lineup after being rested last weekend.
The aforementioned "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" earned a second tryout in its new budget configuration. Keith's intro was much stronger, perhaps surprising Mick who missed the beat and had to start "Satin shoes ..." Ronnie's guitar solo impressed, so much so that Mick later congratulated him and said he "could have gone on forever and ever," which is basically what's supposed to happen. Still, I'm OK with the junior version. The only problem was Steve Jordan's failure to do the "knock-knock" beat response each time Mick asked the titular question - Can't You Hear me Knocking? Bang-bang. Maybe he didn't do it last time either and I did not notice, but its absence was sorely felt this time.
It's disappointing that Steve of all people would neglect to honor Charlie's simple but ingenious drumming decisions. I also miss the "bang-bang-bang" part in the fourth verse of "Paint It, Black" between "deeper blue" and "I could not foresee this thing ..."
As for "Start Me up," which Keith also started strongly, the drums seemed to be all over the place. I'll defer to the experts, though. Once again, Mick must have been so impressed by Ronnie's solo that he forgot to sing the first "You make a grown man cry" of the chorus after the third verse, which left me hanging somewhat
"Honky Tonk Women" was a little special this time, with Mick incorporating a "Country Honk" snippet - "there's many a barroom queen" - in the first verse. He opted not to run down the catwalk back to the stage during Chuck's piano solo. "Midnight Rambler" also offered something different - a taste of "Hellhound on My Trail" instead of "Come On in My Kitchen" during the Robert Johnson tribute section. "Hot Tamales" might also work as I'm sure serial killers get hungry on the job.
We got "Let's Spend The Night Togehter" replacing "19th Nervous Breakdown" in the #2 spot of the set list. Sasha and Bernard helped making LSTNT true to the recorded version by adding the "bap bap" backup bits, just great. Then we got a vote song with "Sweet Virginia". The rest of the set list was like the Hyde Park #1 show, except for the two Keith songs. We got "Can't You Hear Me Knocking", a strong and well played version. Unlike the endless and far too packed Hyde Park field, the arena felt relaxing, and the crowd was really into the show. Even at the very last song, I could see people carry in large stacks of beers, having a great time!
For "Tumbling Dice" we got the three "Ghost Hounds" backup singers right next to Sasha and Bernard. They added something special to the show, and I wish they could stay longer, for more shows, but I was told the Ghost Hounds go home to America now. Too bad, I loved the additional backing vocals, just like they added something extra at the Milan show.
Mich said he wanted to apologize for getting covid, so that they had to reschedule the show. Anyway, they made it, we were there tonight!
"Sweet Virginia" - great saxophome solo by Tim Ries.
Mick was relaxed and talked a lot in English, because everyone in The Netherlands do understand what he is saying. After "You Can't Always Get What You Want", Mick went over to the five backup singers, tagged each and every one of them with a high five, then, like he does more and more often these days, he said like he was thinking, into the microphone - "I am drinking water". So he did!
"Can't You Hear Me Knocking" - what a great version - Carl Denson on the saxophone solo, Ronnie playing a great solo, according to Mick it could go on forever, so true!
"Silver" and "Happy" - Keith was happy, also I could see Pierre was smiling a lot, he was probably happy to have Mick's guitar teck back on the show tonight, as Pierre had to work both Mick's and Keith's guitars at the Hyde Park #2 show on Sunday.
Stever Jordan is now all settled in on the drums, with the band. I am noticing he is adding a stronger personal mark on some of the songs, not being as close to the "Charlie" versions as it used to be up to now. It is getting more rock and a bit harder beat, I can not complain, he is not Charlie, and the band sound great. This was a great show, makes me forget all the travel hazzle these days!
But yesterday luckily there was a second chance, so I was there. Just two days since I recovered from covid, so I almost wasn't there!. I decided to go by car and that was totally smooth, wow! That seems a good thing about the ArenA. Came in when Ghosthounds was already playing. I liked their singer a lot, also has a great podium presence. The billionaire 'owner' of the band I was watching as a fellow guitar player. He basically didn't do much more than playing some power chords, showing off his muscles and looking angry. The other guitar player was a fine musician though. Entertaining band all in all and their backing vocalists sang a lot with the Rolling Stones, cool!
With SFM, the party began. I was in pit A and the sound was very loud, I think too loud, but I'll get over that. Some people wore protection and that is really not such a bad idea. The energy was good, especially with Ronnie and Mick. Keith was very much focused on playing, but remained in one place most of the time. At some points when Ronnie was out clowning and running around, he almost looked a little sad because he just wasn't able to do that anymore. I have seen him in other shows where he does more of the pirate thing, looking at the other musicians, smiling or looking tough.
Now they all made mistakes. Even Steve Jordan did a couple of strange things. Darryl Jones, I don't think he played weird notes. I could write a whole piece about who made which mistakes, but to me it's not that important. It's important to me there is a certain quality level. Chuck Berry went on a little too long and it kind of became a joke. The Stones are really not at that point yet, so all good, enjoy the show!
On Sweet Virginia Mick complained that it was played too slow. Not the best version I think. Out of Time was fun! Ghost Town has got some catchy sing along parts, but got a mild response. CYHMN was great! Mick joked (but with a serious undertone) that Ronnie solo was a bit long, saying that could have gone on forever. I think they might have agreed to keep it not too long on this tour.
You got the silver was nice I thought. Good song, also from a songwriting perspective I think. Miss you I was watching Keith a lot again. I don't think he likes that song a lot, He wants to blast out riffs and Miss you is not very suitable for that. Midnight Rambler he likes a lot and everything following up to the end of the show. He is having trouble playing solo's, but when he can play the riffs, he seems very much in his comfort zone. Keith did get more energetic towards the end of the show also. Moved to the far left side once even. I don't think he ever walked all the way to the front catwalk. But doing so can be very tough playing in sync, especially in the ArenA with a lot of reverb going on. Mick uses in ear monitoring, Keith does not. Pirates don't use in ear, wasn't invented!
All in all I had a great time, nice show with Mick as the absolute leader, he carried the show!
The Stones are my all time favourite band without any question. I'v seen them on the Voodoo Lounge Tour, B2B, Licks and Bigger Bang tours. After that I stopped following them because I thought they become too expensive, easy and sloppy. After the death of Charlie I felt I really wanted to see them. I proved I was completely wrong about last few years. They sounded fresh, tight and relevant. They played their songs like a new young band on the spot. How they do it, I don't know. They sound so incredible strong and they really seem to enjoy themselves.
They kicked off with SFM. A great opener. The sound was strong and loud, just like it should be. I got real emotional seeing my hero's after years of not going to their concerts. The stage wasn't that special. It had nothing to with their 60th anniversary and looked somewhat cheap comparing with other tours. Also there weren't any fireworks. Their performance really made up for it though.
The sound overall was better I've ever heard in the Johan Cruijf Arena. They continued with Lets spend the night together, Tumbling Dice and Out of time. We got Sweet Virginia and Can't you hear me knocking tonight as special songs. Keith's sound on CYHMK filled the whole stadium, it sounded truly amazing. As we got closer to the end the crowd got wilder and wilder. Great singing on Honky Tonk Woman, Start me up and Satisfaction. On YCAGWYW Mick told us we were the best singers so we had to live up that expectation. The song had this gospel ending which worked well with the girls singing.
I really enjoyed Steve Jordan and Sasha. Steve was laughing all the time. His playing is solid and straight. For me he's the perfect replacement of Charlie. Which death really hit home with me. I still miss him. Sasha was filling the place with joy, laughter and awesome singing. She came on a very strong on Gimme Shelter. She went all the way with it, amazing.
Mick spoke a lot of Dutch. He referred at the first show ever done by the Stones outside England in The Hague. We got some cool pics of on the screen of it. Also he apologied for rescheduling the gig. No one really cared about it though, everybody knew the Stones were about to bring another great great performance to Amsterdam. One of the most Stones loving places in the world in my opinion.
In this world full of wars, inflation and COVID you know you always can count on the Stones. They will always play their songs in the best possible way. They make you feel good, bring joy and give you this feeling you attended something special. They will keep playing on and on, that's for sure. Age doesn't seem to get grip on them. Just like good wine, it gets better over time.
As long we have The Rolling Stones, the world will be a better place. Johan Cruijf looked down at the ArenA and he saw it was GOOD!
The Arena won’t be remembered for its great acoustics, nor for its great footballfield. The Arena-sound is not good, the field is a mess. Amsterdam is a nice city though, as proven by pictures of tourists Mick (cycling from mill to mill), Keith (in a boat on the canals) and art-lovers Keith and Ronnie in the Rijksmuseum, all taken in may when the Stones were rehearsing in Amsterdam.
The concert of june 13 certainly would be remembered because for Dutch Stonesfans it probably was the last time (?) and defenitly the first without Charlie Watts. But surprise surprise… shortly after six o’clock concertpromotor Mojo announced that Mick Jagger had Covid and that the concert had to be postponed. Some thousands of fans were already in the Arena and couldn’t believe it. It took some time before everybody left. Within a few days though Mojo stated that the Stones would perform in Amsterdam on july 7. A second chance… Satisfaction for Dutch ticketholders, though probably not for travelers from abroad.
So on Thursday july 7 I did it again: stepped on my bike, went tot he trainstation, met a friend halfway, arrived near the Arena and then waited for the entrance. Stonesfans had their groundhogday.
Ron Wood is earning a little extra by editing and selling setlists of every show, colourful Ronnie Wood-style. And what did the setlist bring us? A few surprises (Let’s spend the night together, Sweet Virginia, Can’t you hear me knocking) and a very good rendition of Midnight Rambler combined with Robert Johnson’s Hellhound on My Trail. Out of Time is by now the partynumber and Living in a Ghosttown gets full responce from the audience. The three female backbground-singers of support-act Ghost Hounds were used by the Stones and I liked their gospel-contribution. The Stones put a lot of energy .into their shows, appreciated by enthusiatic fans. Journalists are almost unanimous in their positive reviews, so the Stones can keep rolling on, except that in the end Time Waits for No One. For now still 7 more shows to go.
But luckily all this was a minor part of yet another great concert! It even had a Dutch flavour by showing black & white images of the notorious August 8, 1964 Kurhaus (near The Hague) concert, that was never finished due to overheated fans (and police). Did anyone know that they performed more than 40 times in the Netherlands? Wow, how lucky we have been and still are (after about 6 decades!).
I was pleased to find Street Fighting Man back on the setlist. Always a great opener. For me Let's Spend the Night Together was an enjoyable surprise (memories, memories). Tumbling Dice and even more so Out Of Time are now SIXTY classics. Maybe some may disagree, but Sweet Virginia was a great choice by "the fans". A lovely country song with Mick's very fine blues harp giving colour to the song. I was also very pleased that "Ghost Town" was back on the setlist (great rhythmic pace by Steve Jordan!). It has become my daily walk favourite ever since corona "took over the world". Together with You Can't Always Get ... (with additional backup vacals from three enthousiastic ladies from the opening act band Ghost Hounds) and Honky Tonk Woman it made the crowd sing along in great fashion. Yes, we Dutch love to sing (almost as good as the Brits). Can You Hear Me Knocking is a top of the bill Rolling Stones song and great to have on the setlist.
After Hyde Park (2) I (and everybody else off course) again did get a special Keith treat: You Got The Silver and Happy. And it wasn't only me dancing along on Happy. Many did get dancing inspiration during that song. Luckily (unlike in Hyde Park) there was enough space in the Daimond section to dance! It has to be mentioned that while Keith was mostly quietly moving around, very focussed on trying to get his playing top of the line, Ronnie was adding to the show element with easily swinging over the stage as well as the catwalk with passion, while playing his solos! As was Sasha, wow!
Miss You (Mick, Daryl!) and Midnight Rambler were both very powerful, in other worlds GREAT. Well, after that it was again floating along in that ocean of great hit songs we all know so well, carrying us to the end of the show. Worn out, but very happy, we left the Arena with great satisfaction, unlike the lyrics of the closing song suggest. Go on guys, we can't get enough!
Photo by Bjornulf Vik
Photo by Bjornulf Vik
Photo by Bjornulf Vik
Photo by Bjornulf Vik
Photo by Bjornulf Vik
Photo by Bjornulf Vik
Photo by Bjornulf Vik
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Photo by Gunther De Mey
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Photo by Gunther De Mey
Photo by Gunther De Mey
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