It's Only Rock'n Roll
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It's Only Rock'n Roll |
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Stones
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Live pre/post show comments:
Houston TX USA show live updates - Sunday April 28, 2024 - The Rolling Stones Hackney Diamonds Tour
If I had to use one word to describe the show I would say - miracle.
It’s a miracle that in 2024 one can see The Rolling Stones for under $70 usd. Which is what the stadium shows enable. I am thankful this show is accessible to all.
Mick mentioned from the stage that the Stones had been preforming in Houston since 1964. This was the third Rolling Stones show at this stadium. The January 25 2003 show was the first concert ever at this stadium. I was also at the second show on July 27 2019. This stadium was the first NFL football facility to have a retractable roof. The shows in Los Angeles and Las Vegas have a newer stadium design. Having the show indoors was a blessing because the weather outside while hot was overcast and rainy at times. After performing Beast of Burden Mick mentioned that song was the crowd vote winner and also reminded everyone to vote because 2024 is an election year in America. When Chuck Leavell was introduced it was announced that the show day was his birthday. On the Friday before the show Dale Skjerseth, the Stones’ production director, showed off the stage to the media explaining how the stage had the latest technology-visually the stage was amazing. Chanel Haynes was also very good. If you can make a show, don’t miss!!
Then the show. Gary Clarke Jr impressed me - a lot. He is not just one great guitar player, the entire band is a collection of world class musicians. His other lead guitarist did a guitar solo on song #2, that might have been rivaling David Gilmore or Jimmy Page or any of the other eternal guitar player I have been loving in the past, so was of course the band leader himself - Gary Clarke Jr. I tried to place their music somewhere on the map of music, may be some sort of jazz blues kind of guitar based power rock. Great opening!
I had been cheating by going to Los Angeles to listen to the rehearsals, so I knew what they could do, and they did it so well, so great. No weak moments, the first four songs were "Start Me Up", "Get Off Of My Cloud", "Rocks Off" and "Out Of Time". My friends in LA told me that "Out Of Time" might not work the way it did in Europe during the last tour in 2022. Sure it was not on the US "Aftermath" album, but true, the way it was received in Houston was not as wild as in Europe 2022. It is a great song, just sing-along loud, and they will keep it in the set!
"Angry". Perfect! "Beast Of Burden" - thanks Bernard, great work with Mick on that one. Then Hackney Diamonds song #2 - "Mess It Up". It can't go wrong, and Mick knowns it. Then on to the standards section for a while.
Keith did "Little T&A". I was surprised he did only one song, but that is what it was, next was "Sympathy For The Devil". Lots of powerful visuals.
Chanel Haynes! I was lucky to be at the showe in Milan June 21, 2022, where Chanel Haynes stepped in for Sasha Allen, during Gimme Shelter. What a voice, and what a performer! Tonight she ruled during "Gimme Shelter", then she was shy during the band presentations, Mick had to call her out to the center stage. Then during the first encore, I mean, there is nothing to say, Chanel Haynes, Mick Jagger and "Sweet Sounds Of Heaven", with the rest of the band behind them! Just get to see this show, that song alone is worth the travel, wherever you live. Great song. Great performance.
Dale "Opie" Skjerseth, Production Manager For The Rolling Stones - a final word about Dale, as he is one of the many "behind the stage" people to thank for this great show, like all the others. At 8pm Gary Clarke Jr. hit the Stones stage as the warm-up band. Then at 8:44pm Gary Clarke Jr leave the stage, and a swarm of stage workers are all over the stage, one of these being the stage manager himself, "Opie". I tried to count the number of people involved in the stage change, it was 30 or so, may be more. Everyone knew exactly what to do, where, when, they just did it, and this was the first show of the tour. They have been practicing - a lot! In just eight - 8 - minutes, the stage was ready for "The Rolling Stones. From 8:52pm and on, it was only a matter of fine tuning microphones, gitars, they were ready. Then at 9:15 the show was on. Thank you Opie, and everyone else behind Mick, Keith and Ronnie - we get another great tour - so professional and perfect, but I do know there is lots of hard work done ahead of such a success!
Sadly, that meant that there was nowhere to hide for Keith when we, once again, witnessed a scarf-me-up-esque intro (a la Hyde Park 2013!). I can only imagine the curses that left Mick's mouth before he burst onto stage after hearing Keith butcher the chords on opening night. Dressed in silver, Mick matched the intro video, and Chanel's first dress (more on her later!).
I felt a little sorry for Keith from that point on. He seemed to remain central, near Steve, for large chunks of the show. Looking almost a little under confident, maybe apologetic after the opening blunder. Or maybe slightly under the weather as others have suggested. Personally, I think Start Me Up is just too risky as an opener. Keith consistently fumbles the intro, or they have some issue with getting his guitar loud enough after the intro, so why not take a bit of pressure off him and the band and start with an simpler song then let him play Start Me Up when he is warmed up. I just feel like if they open the gig with a error then they remain having to play catch up for the rest of the show.
Get Off My Cloud followed, a perfectly good rendition to get the crowd into the swing of things. I must be honest, I thought the Pit B was a little quiet. I don't wish to push any anti American sentiment, but compared to some of the European crowds (Italy, Spain) and of course the South American fanatics, it all seems a little lack lustre. I think the Stones, and especially Mick deserves more.
So, if Start Me Up should be banned as an opener, what catchy, crowd pleasing song could possibly open their Hackney Diamonds Tour? Come on boys, it's time to be brave and let Angry take the No.1 spot. They played it very well, Keith, on the road to redemption, was authoritative with his solo, and the breakdown to get everybody singing seemed to work. I don't think Mick really needs the guitar for the last part of the song, and I really hope this isn't the reason it can't take the opening spot. It could also be than Mick hasn't committed the lyrics to memory and was using the prompter and leaning on the backing vocals.
Rocks Off was solid, I always love the horn part. Out of Time was played well, particularly Keith's counter melody lines over the main hook, however it simply did not go down as well as Europe. Mick noted at the end of the song that the crowd didn't know it but did try and get into it. I don't know if he was telling us this or was just trying to convince himself. Either way, I predict this may be rotated given the luke-warm response, especially since they even went to efforts to change the arrangement to spoon feed the audience when to sing [I.e. they had a designated part within the song] as opposed to in Europe when the song restarts with the audience participation.
Beast of Burden was lots of fun. Mick misjudged how quickly he could get back to his microphone, and when he realised he would not make it he encouraged Ronnie to take a longer solo before the "pretty girl" lines. Mick also had some fun with Bernard, I think maybe he even wanted him to come more central on the stage to share the spotlight.
So then we had Mess It Up - and they partly did - however the main takeaway for me was - this works! They should keep this in the set and just tweak two things: 1) I think it should be a few BPM faster in tempo and 2) there was a miscommunication just before the "and I won't lie" falsetto, which meant Mick was left a little betwixt and between. Please keep in the set, work on that, and this will be a great addition to the first half.
A slightly tentative Tumbling Dice intro followed, with YCAGWYW rounding off the first half. This seems like a good point to raise my biggest issue of the night which was that the two halves of the stage (left and right, Pit 1 and 2, A and B, whatever you want to call them) have always really been "Ronnie's side" and "Keith's side" however that was not true tonight. Ronnie's side appeared to still get sufficient action to warrant the name, however with Keith planted more neutral than Switzerland, those of us in Pit B were left with only Matt Clifford's maraca shaking as our nearest focus for large swathes of the show. Coupled with a fleeting visit from Mick a couple of times, I do hope we see a slightly more commanding Keith for the rest of the tour which steps out a little more to "his" side. The fact the Chanel, Bernard, Ronnie (and often) Mick tend to be based on the left I think that Pit A is where the value is to see more of the action.
So then it is Keith's "set" or should that be "song". I love Little T&A and I think Keith largely nailed it - long may he keep it in the set, but come on, tell me straight, why only one song? And why omit the new song you have written on the opening night of the Hackney Diamonds Tour? Two Keith songs for New Orleans please.
Sympathy for the devil, normally my least favourite warhorse, worked well. The drums seems a little less synthetic on the intro (which I thought was an improvement on the 2012 - 2022 versions of the drum sample loop). Plus, Keith's solo was good. Normally I see Sympathy as one of their weaker performances due to Keith's solo but if he carries on like this I think it deserves to continue in the set.
New arrangements were also on display for both Gimme Shelter and Miss You. Subtle but interesting changes. Miss You was elongated further with a harmonica solo, to go alongside the bass solo and brass solos. I can't imagine the Stones really thought the song needed to be lengthened further, more likely, this was really the only song Mick had a chance of using his mouth organ given Midnight Rambler was dropped. As for Gimme Shelter, yes, yes and yes. The intro was tidier compared to previous tours, Chanel really does blow Sasha out of the water with both stage presence and vocal power, and they have added a real cool bit where on the "it's just a kiss away" section, Steve J takes the drums right down and then the band build up and up to hit the crescendo as Mick and Chanel reach the 4x "kiss away" double speed ending of the vocals. I like it.
Chanel is definitely more of a Diva, shes sassy, confident. Having two solo slots, Gimme Shelter and Sweet Sounds of Heaven, and multiple costume changes, I am sure she will appreciate she is is now quite a pillar of the Stones set which is clearly as testament to what Mick thinks of her. I hope she repays this faith by remaining humble and grounded. She brings attitude, drama, facial expressions to her songs and backing vocals, she is a great addition and slays it in a way we havent heard since Lisa Fisher 90s/2000s era. While I really enjoyed the Mick and Chanel show, I hope it is nevrr at the expense of Keith's unruly rock and roll band.
Talking of unruly, the person in charge of the sound in Mick's ear monitor will no doubt be having a reminder of what Mick's signals mean. A couple of times Mick asked for Daryl's bass to be turned down on Miss You, eventually running over to the side of the stage and with a rather frustrated and furrowed brow gesturing once more. He and Matt exchanged glances about the issues with Matt signalling he didn't know what was going on or maybe how he could help.
JJ Flash was strong, maybe stronger than Satisfaction and so I would actually be inclined to close the Encore with it. Sweet Sounds of Heaven was good, although I think it would benefit from the brass being louder, and Mick having a little more space to play - for example on the reprise Mick should have room to do the "oh yeah" falsetto but the band were already building the dynamics back up and Chanel was joining in before he really had chance.
A final observation was that Mick did a couple of things he doesn't normally do - he thanked the crowd but AFTER the end of Satisfaction (he doesn't tent to do full sentences of thanks after the Encore has finished) and he didn't seem keen on having a bow with just Keith and Ronnie at the very end. Maybe he hadn't quite forgiven him for the Start Me Up intro (joke!).
So, in conclusion, a mixed opening night, I think with a few simple steps we could reach a really good tour:
Final final thought - Mick Jagger is unreal. He is just super human. Unique. A marvel.
So excited for the Phoenix show next week!
Thank you Mick, Keith and Ronnie! Congratulations on a great opening night! You continue to amaze! I am very grateful to be in your company twenty something times now, dating back to 1989!
It has been 5 years since the last show in Houston, in the same venue. The NRG Stadium is a massive covered stadium, opened in 2002, with over 72,000 seats. You need that cover in hot and humid Houston: today severe storms at showtime were a risk. It’s all a bit different from a Stones show 60 years ago to the day in little Wallington Public Hall in south London – it was demolished in 2019. 2024 is not the first year that a Stones tour started on 28th April: in 1976 it was in Frankfurt: that tour also followed a new album release, and was the first tour when I saw the Stones live.
The band had several weeks of rehearsals in Los Angeles, allegedly breaking-in many of the songs off of Hackney Diamonds. So this tour can be called after an album rather than some obscure label (like ZipCode or 60 or No Filter). It is almost back to the days when we had a world tour following an album. It is impossible for the band to schedule more than one jaunt at a time now, for obvious reasons. But 19 shows in the US is something to really celebrate – and the crowd on Sunday evening certainly did that.
The long-established team who make each show possible were showing signs of pressure and maybe even stress in the 48 hours before the show. It’s a huge, complex, task – like any large project. Things go wrong; shit happens – the task of great teams and their leaders is to fix them. The Stones team and leaders invariably do just that. An added twist this time was the arrival of new singer Chanel Haynes. We’d seen her standing-in in Milan 2 years ago, and losing her job as a result. She looked and sounded very focused, and reports before the gig suggested that she had made herculean efforts to prepare.
When we entered the stadium, leaving the slightly oppressive Houston humidity, the stage stood out. It has close to a wrap-around screen to aid distant viewing. All the vertical surfaces facing the audience formed part of the screen and were used actively during the show. This looked very good from close up. OK it is not as spectacular as a static venue like the Sphere in Las Vegas, but this stage and equipment has a lot of miles to travel and will be built, used, and then re-packed 16 times. The stage looked, and proved, fit for purpose.
Everyone looked fit for purpose when the band came on stage to those immortal words of introduction from Matt Clifford. Mick had visited the Houston space centre a few days previously, and now all the Stones and their team were ready to lift-off. Lights-up, crowd go ecstatic, and the show begins: beginning with Start Me Up.
Suddenly I was back in 1981 – until you looked close-up as the faces, the key players were so agile and active. Keith decided to “jam” slightly with the introductory riff, and a tight version of this song had begun. Mick was already moving around more than 90% of the audience could have managed, and grinning and reaching out to the adoring fans. As soon as the last “start me up” finished the song with a little echo off of the back of this huge indoor stadium, Steve Jordan was bashing the rhythm of the next song. Keith’s guitar was rapidly changed and then he charged into Get Off of My Cloud as we went from 1981 to 1965 vintage Stones.
The pace was electric, the audience taken from a relaxed state after the bluesy warm up set from Gary Clark Jr to a full-on Stones experience. This was accentuated as we moved forwards to 1972 and the best version of Rocks Off that I have ever heard live. The guitar interplay was a spectacular, the horns strong, as we heard the best ever opening track for an album from any band – that must be true because I wrote that on Linkedin recently…
The dance around the early decades continued with a reprise of that great hit from two years ago in Europe, Out of Time. I didn’t think this engaged the crowd quite so much as in Europe, although many sang along and waved their arms. Mick was, in fact, working incredibly hard all night – running and skipping at times around the stage – this guy works out to maintain his slim figure and fitness. He could make a fortune with his own “aging disgracefully well” fitness videos.
Then an interlude with two new songs: Angry and Mess It Up. Compared to it’s first Racket outing, Angry was a slightly less energetic song that raised a cheer when started. It works well live. Mick started the song just with a vocal mike, and maybe a bit off-key, but part way through a guitar was brought for him. I think that this was not an error, and it allowed him to end the song on his own guitar flourish. I’ve often seen him start with a guitar and end without; never the reverse. Mess it Up had its first stage appearance, the fifth from Hackney Diamonds to be tried on an audience. The live arrangement was a bit fuller, to my ears, than the studio version and went down well.
In between these new songs was Beast of Burden. Mick asking “what’s next” and Keith opening with those memorable chords. Ronnie played, like on most songs tonight, delightfully. At the end Mick remember this was from the song vote, and told us that only the people in the stadium had their vote counted. Maybe its time for a selected panel of fans to make the vote selection rather than the whole wide world, if we are going to ignore most people’s votes?
Tumbling Dice and YCAGWYW completed the first half of the show. It was during Dice that I thought Keith was having to work very hard. It was hardly noticeable I’m sure – I’ve heard this played live 120 times in person and you can get too fussy. On YCAGWYW Keith was fine; Matt C and Keith driving the opening; Ronnie’s solos were great. I though the Hammond organ parts were more extended and definitely louder than in the past - thanks Tim.
Band introductions followed the normal format except that newbie Chanel had to be encouraged by Mick to come towards the centre stage to receive her crowd welcome. Chuck’s birthday today was mentioned, and a few in the crowd started to sing Happy Birthday but not enough for it to become a real celebration. Keith’s introduction triggered the large group of Argentine fans near me to start a round of “ole ole ole, Richards, Richards”. It didn’t get the whole crowd going, but you could see the emotion bubbling up in Keith’s eyes as the adoration was recognised.
The biggest surprise of the night was Keith only doing one song, Little T&A. The guitar playing was superb and powerful: he needed the screens to prompt vocals for much of the song, but nevertheless this was a great version. Looking back after the show, it seemed clear that Keith was under the weather tonight. The distance between him and Jagger, even at the final bows, seemed to suggest he had caught a cold, or something more virulent, and wanted to keep it to himself. But this is a man who never lets anyone down, especially his fans, and whatever it was – Keith was not going to be beaten.
So, after a shorter break than normal, Mick was back out for a rocking version of Sympathy followed by Gimme Shelter. This was the first of two major parts for Chanel. For those who don’t know, Chanel played Tina Turner on the London stage and has a career reaching back to her home in New Orleans – family members had come over to Houston for this show. And did she wow the audience on Shelter: her starting wail when brought onto the catwalk in the middle of the stage was so powerful. The duetting with Mick had a vocal energy, and gestures, that we haven’t seen for a while.
As a very tidy version of Honky Tonk Women (very good solos from Keith and Chuck) was followed by Miss You, it was clear that Rambler was absent to make space for more songs. Will this be the case when Keith is back at 100%? So Mick took the opportunity of Miss You to break out his harmonica, no doubt one of those harmonicas branded with his name! Karl and Tim shared duties on sax solos, and Darryl had his bass solo ended by a powerful chest bump from Mick: I thought that there was a risk he would fall over.
After a concise Paint It Black and Jumping Jack Flash we moved to what seemed like a long pre-encore break. Mick had been resting his voice a bit and Bernard, as usual, was doing more and more support. He is such a key part of this band, and had clearly been working hard to bring Chanel up to speed. Bernard was even adding some powerful percussion at times.
I wrongly suspected we might miss one encore, but then I could hear the guitar sound for Sweet Sound of Heaven. SSOH was excellent. Both Mick and Chanel singing very well indeed – a long duet which seems so right for this soul song. The, at times, sparse instrumentation (guitars and keyboards) creating a super backdrop to the performance. Such a classic song to sit alongside other such as Shine a Light as an equal. And then we finished with Satisfaction. Wow: what a performance overall.
It was first night so there were a few snags. Mick was having big problems with his IEM feed at times, waving at the monitor board to lower the volume of some of the instruments. I thought a few times Chuck’s keyboard and both guitars were a bit distorted: it sounded like a PA, rather than player or amplifier, issue. The image on the huge screens got a little out of synch by maybe one quarter of a second – I was in the Pit so maybe they aimed the synch to be partway down the hall. The routes out of the stadium were a bit contorted etc. etc. But in that post-gig euphoria – well it’s not a real issue.
So, in summary, this tour is picking-up from where 2021 and 2022 left off: on a high. High on energy and quality; seemingly ageless performances; some new songs which are working very well. Thanks to everyone who makes this all possible.
But Keith did provide the biggest shock of the evening, with his usual twofer in the spotlight halved to “Little T&A,” apparently played for the first time since 2016. To think we’d occasionally been musing that Keith might have to step up and do three songs to give Mick a break. Now Mick has to work even harder.
There’s surely a juicy story behind this drama. Mick indicated as much when he pointed out to Keith that a lady in the pit was waving a banner emblazoned with “Tell Me Straight,” and they shared a hearty, knowing laugh. Was Keith forced to sacrifice a song to make room for others and keep the running time at two hours? Or was he just not up to doing two songs?
I’ve always considered it lazy to focus on their ages, because who really cares? But try as you might, it's impossible to avoid reality. Mick is like an uncontrollable wind-up toy. He sings, he dances, he jogs, he jokes, he shrieks, he coos. He's seven months younger than Joe Biden, and maybe the same age as many fans’ parents or grandparents. While many of his peers, protégés, and even fans, are dead or dying, Jagger keeps moving like, uh, Jagger. The Gen X/Millennial audience at the NRG Stadium, many considerably less athletic than Jagger, got a workout just by watching him work out.
Not to tempt fate, but it seems the octogenarian phase will do little to sap Mick’s soul and spirit. Keith, on the other hand … And then there was young Ronnie, the reliable workhorse doing more than people give him credit for. Not only does he do his own tasty bits, but his eyes and ears are in constant rotation ensuring that everyone else is on the same page. More often than not, he zeroes in on Keith, providing roadside assistance where needed. And on top of that, he doubles as Mick’s sidekick and foil. It’s not the Stones without Ronnie.
The overall show, even with the usual opening-night snafus, was a most enjoyable affair. To be honest, there weren’t that many surprises since I’d been on hand for most of the Henson rehearsals. And the major surprise from Henson was that the Stones didn’t rehearse any rarities. So I guess we’re stuck with “Out of Time,” which quickly lost its appeal for me on the last tour. I had hoped it would be a “European exclusive,” to be replaced by an “American exclusive” on this tour. Lord knows there are plenty of unplayed candidates vying for that prestigious role. Maybe some fans here remember “Out of Time” from Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” but it is a more mainstream tune in Europe, probably thanks largely to Chris Farlowe’s chart-topping version. The crowd singalong was pretty feeble, which Mick duly noted.
The Stones had rehearsed “Angry” with a built-in slot for audience participation, but again there didn’t seem much of it last night. Have people already forgotten the song (and video)? “Mess It Up” was a fun choice, likely to be paired with the superior “Whole Wide World.”
What to make of “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” given a coveted spot in the encore? It’s achingly beautiful to a point, but then subtlety is thrown out the window - in usual Stones style - and it becomes a battle of the banshees. That would almost be acceptable, but we already endured similar hysterics in “Gimme Shelter.” Maybe Chanel Haynes is following orders, but she should know from studying Tina Turner that you don’t need to be loud to be strong. As a side note, I noticed that Bernard grabbed Chanel’s hand supportively when she returned to her mike stand after Gimme Shelter,” but she wrested it away and Bernard sheepishly turned his attention to his bongo set. Similarly Chanel didn’t have much time for Ronnie’s outstretched hand following “Sweet Sounds.”
I should add that keyboardists Chuck and Matt excelled themselves on “Sweet Sounds.” Darryl, meanwhile, was high in the mix throughout. I don’t mind a booming bass, but I did notice Mick motioning to his audio people to lower the bass in his monitors. Steve Jordan on drums further diverted from the Charlie sound by playing an extended drum intro to “Get Off Of My Cloud.” There’s also a notable departure during “Rocks Off,” but I may have already complained about that.
I can go either way on the “Midnight Rambler” excision. It’s a killer song, but maybe too bluesy for some. It will surely come back at some point, refreshed from its hiatus. But why are they getting rid of the relatively “edgy” songs and retaining pointless fluff like “Miss You”?
Finally, I loved the staging and the giant, full-length video screens. The black, blue and red combo before the show began was very alluring. A chap next to me swore he could see indecent images hidden among the glittering diamonds. The audience in my part of the pit seemed a little too focused on taking selfies with their backs to Mick as he ventured up and down the runway. A heavily tattooed Argentinian wanted to make the show about herself by getting on some guy’s shoulders and flashing her Stones bra at Mick even after he had long ago lost interest. It seemed there were enough flag-waving and chanting Argentinians on hand to retake the Falklands. (But good luck with that.)
The stage is pretty cool. I always love the excitement of walking down the stairs to the floor soaking in the stage design. The stones have never failed to always come up with some new rendition of their logo. I think it is the most hightech basic stage there is. The graphics were phenomenal and the screen is definitely the latest technology. I loved how it was one big screen. Awesome!
They are the greatest rock and roll band in the world, and it is an honor to be able to see them.
Gray Clark is awesome and just a really cool dude, he gets the whole groove and blues thing. Glad that there's guys like him out there. Great guitar player, great band, really enjoyed it!
No mention of Charlie. Is it time to move on? I’ve speculated for months and thought maybe he’d get a mention before Mess it up. But then again I thought maybe not? Maybe he still will, maybe a couple of ques were missed? I get it if they are moving on. Maybe maybe maybe.
After spending countless hours scrolling IORR all winter we finally got the show. The intro was cool with the diamond theme. Steve’s new drum set looked and sounded awesome, it really matched the diamond theme they were going for. Start me up is a great opener, reminds me of being 4 years old in 1998 discovering my parent’s Tattoo You Cassette, and playing it over and over. Its like I see an entire reflection of my life when they play that tune. Keef had a slight flub on the opening note, but who cares? The song was rockin 'and it got everyone goin. When Mick gives us a little high pitched scream or a WOOOO before the opening lyrics, it just gets me going. Love it! My favorite is SFM as an opener but i'll take SMU. The first part of the show there were some songs where the band seemed a little excited and slightly ahead of themselves. Let’s call it the opening night jitters. By the time Mess It Up came on, it was the first time I noticed a little fatigue. Maybe that adrenaline wore off a tad. The song seemed to have a reduced pace to it and a bit of a chug at times. Mick was really trying hard to direct the band through the changes and almost missed his falsetto. It can and will only get better.
All of Keith’s solos were pretty spot on. Good consistent disciplined playing. He was really grooving on some Bluesy/Berry style leads on rocks off. Love the tone from the Les Paul Jr P90s. He's gonna have a great tour and deliver. A-lot of people talk about Ronnie carrying the band. Keith is still very vital.
Get off my cloud had quite the extended intro. Maybe Steve started too early and was waiting for everyone to get situated? It seemed like he went straight into it after SMU. Still great.
Angry is a cool new song and I like it. Seemed as if maybe Mick was having a slight struggle with his in-ear monitor in the middle of the song. Maybe he couldn't hear himself? Biggest struggle ever as a musician. A tad off pitch at times, but as usual he held it together and delivered. I had a feeling he wanted to play some guitar on that song, and towards the end he was handed his black stratocaster and strummed away. Cool little nuance. Bernard did a lot of singing here.
Complaints (None of which are about the music): I have to note those beyond Awful new Texans jerseys (Chicago Bears Fan) H-Town locals don’t like them either. Slap a little white athletic trainers tape on the back and write WOOD in sharpie and yer good to go! Custom! I don’t think those guys spend their Sunday’s, Thursday’s, & Monday’s watching the NFL like me.
Had a giant dweeb-sickle jumping up and down punching his arms in the air most of the night and holding a scarf. Hey bro its 90 degrees outside. Totally uncool and a burden to anyone who isn't 7 feet tall. I just tuned it out. If you were closer up in pit B you probably know what I’m saying. Having a good time that's fine; There's expression, then there's being totally unaware and obnoxious. There is no one out there who wants to deal with that. I don’t like to talk negatively about ppl usually, but some things need to be said.
Once they started Beast of Burden, I thought to myself, “Wasn't that one of the vote songs?” I think they just got a little bit ahead of themselves and were on auto pilot. Or atleast Mick was… After the song Mick jokingly told the audience that it was the vote song. Usually there's a whole talk up for the vote song. I find those little mistakes entertaining. Bernard had a great part and I really enjoy his unique voice!
Keith seemed to start Tumbling Dice a little quickly and it took a minute for them to hit the groove. Overall it turned out great, and it's one of my favorite live songs. Was nice to see him walk the stage on that one. Other than that he pretty much stayed in his zone and locked it in. I’m perfectly fine with that.
Little T&A was great. Loved Keith’s strong guitar on it, he had such a great ending solo in the Chuck Berry style. Lyrically he was playing a little catch up at times, but that's ok. I was too. Was shocked like everyone else to only see one song from him but I guess he was recovering from covid? IDK. In my eyes he is the ultimate warrior, can do no wrong, and always goes out there and does his best. He is my favorite stone and that will never change. I guess the people waving the “Tell me Straight” sign in his face all night were in for a little disappointment. I'm sure they will eventually get their way.
I had a notion from the IORR rehearsal thread that Midnight Rambler (My favorite song) wasn’t a lock anymore. I get it; it's a long song that can kinda trudge. It was a Charlie Watts masterpiece in its day. He would put on the clinic. They could use the 12 minutes for 2 new songs, or something along those lines. But the whole time I was speculating “If there's no rambler, what is the harmonica song going to be?” I love when there's multiple. I was getting a little bummed out thinking that he wasn't going to play harmonica. But then I saw his Mic stand get switched out with the little Harmonica holder on it. I thought “Is rambler coming?” No it wasn't, It was Miss you. I couldn't believe it. I told my friend that “ He's gonna do it! He’s finally going to do Sugar Blue’s harmonica part.” If I'm not mistaken, he's never played Harmonica on Miss you. It absolutely blew my mind and was definitely the highlight of the show. That in itself was worth the price of admission. I could have left after that. I just loved it and totally fan-boyed Mick. 95% of fans in attendance probably didn't even notice it, but I sure did. I feel like I’m the only one mentioning it? That song needed something new, because it's in the “Crowd Pleaser '' Category. Loved it and hope it stays like that. Maybe Gimme Shelter needs some harmonica on it to give it a little boost? I think Mick is the best Blues Harmonica player there is. Brian Jones would surely be proud of him.
I’m a big guitar worshiper and noticed Keith changed up his fleet a bit. Normally on YCAGWYW he plays the sunburst telecaster capod and this time he played the Lake Placid Telecaster.
Normally on JJF (recently) hed play the Lake placid capoed but this time he played one of his butterscotch blonde telecasters capoed. In recent years he hasn't capoed the blonde teles. I thought maybe because of an intonation flaw or just an old guitar. Little subtleties like that don’t make shit of a difference to most people but to me it means the world.
It needs to be noted how great the backing band is. They do such a great job holding things together and giving the opportunity for the Big 3 to lean on them. Love it. Shoutout to Chanel, she is stunning and fantastic. When I tell ppl she’s Nelly’s daughter they don't believe me. Ok then…
Anyways I don't have much more to say, It was a great show and I loved every minute. There's a little bit of polishing here and there that will be done. None of my comments are complaints, they are just things I pick up on and critique. I mostly do these reviews to come back and read later to remind myself what I experienced.
I’m highly confident they will tighten up and continue to hit their strides and put on yet again, another unforgettable tour. Looking forward to the rest of the ride and hearing all of the new songs!
Photo by Bjørnulf Vik
Photo by Bjørnulf Vik
Photo by Bjørnulf Vik
Photo by Bjørnulf Vik
Photo by Bjørnulf Vik
Photo by Bjørnulf Vik
Photo by Bjørnulf Vik
Photo by Bjørnulf Vik
Photo by Bjørnulf Vik
Photo by Bjørnulf Vik
Photo by Geir Greni
Photo by Geir Greni
Photo by Geir Greni
Photo by Geir Greni
Photo by Hendrik Mulder
Photo by Hendrik Mulder
Photo by Hendrik Mulder
Photo by Hendrik Mulder
Photo by Hendrik Mulder
Photo by Ninthe Keur
Photo by Ninthe Keur
Photo by Ninthe Keur
Photo by Ninthe Keur
Photo by Paillet Benoît
Photo by Paillet Benoît
Photo by Paillet Benoît
Photo by Victor Woods
Photo by Victor Woods
Photo by Victor Woods
Photo by Victor Woods
Photo by Jim Miller
Photo by Jim Miller
Photo by Jim Miller
Photo by Jim Miller
Photo by Jordan Satama
Photo by Jordan Satama
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