The Amsterdam rehearsals - May 99

They flew into Amsterdam during the week-end, and by May 17th most of the band was in town. The rehearsals took place at the same place they used in 1995, when rehearsing before the Paradiso shows in Amsterdam. It was a studio located in a traditional warehouse, outside central Amsterdam. No residents around, nobody would notice. Just a couple of dozens hard core fans who found out, and made their way out there. And unlike other places they have rehearsed in the past, this was pure heaven for a hard core Stones fan. As it was very hot, and the air condition in the building was not working, they opened up the windows, so that the sound was loud and clear outside. And as they often walked past the windows, it was easy to spot Mick, Keith, Charlie and Ronnie, plus the rest of the band.

During the first couple of days, Tuesday May 18 and Wednesday May 19, they rehearsed some interesting songs like Route 66, Salt Of The Earth, Melody, Ventilator Blues, Can't You Hear Me Knocking, Respectable, Mona, Sweet Virginia, Gimme Shelter, Live With Me, Brand New Car and When The Whip Comes Down. Sounds great?

By Thursday May 20 they finished the pure warm-up, and moved into more of the set we experienced later in the summer. Starting at 7pm: You Got Me Rocking, Paint It Black, Saint of Me, Route 66, Get of Off My Cloud, Midnight Rambler, Sweet Virginia. Then 90 minutes of break before they did more of a standard concert set, but including the rarities: I Got The Blues, Brand New Car, Beast of Burden, Salt of the Earth, some blues jams, before Keith did All About You three times.

On Friday May 21 they did standards, plus You Got The Silver, Moon Is Up (twice), Melody and All About You (twice). The rehearsals used to start at around 7pm, with a 90 minutes break, before they continued until 1:30 in the morning. Keith used to stay behind doing his stuff, while Mick played around with the video games on the location.

On Saturday 22nd they took a break. Mick went to "The Oval" in London, to see the English cricket team, while Ronnie flew home to Ireland, to collect a horse breeding price: "Best Small Breeder in 1998". On Sunday 23rd they were back in the Amsterdam studio, and they did the usual stuff plus Moon Is Up, Slipping Away, Salt Of The Earth, Brand New Car (twice). Moon Is Up sounded just great, and Slipping Away was magic with Keith, as he did it just before they finished in the late night.

It was very special to be outside the rehearsals location, listening to songs as they transformed from raw first tries into hard rocking songs. Some times they took a break, played the CD with the original, then another version of the song, and the song developed. Moon Is Up and Brand New Car developed day by day...

Around twenty hard core fans were present outside the studio by 7pm or so. More people arrived during the evening, and the maximum of 50 or so people were there by 9pm or so. Many left before the rehearsals finished, only to find out that the most obscure stuff like Slipping Away were done just as they wrapped up.

On Sunday it was quite cold, and the windows had been closed all the way up to "Out Of Control". Some guy inside then closed one of the curtains, and we felt sad for some seconds. But few seconds later Pierre (Keith guitar technician) rushed for our rescue inside, opened all the curtains, and opened the windows wide open. The sound was loud and clear, as being in the front row of a show, and Out Of Control was peaking. Lots of cheering among the hard core fans outside. As the song finished, Mick rushed to the window to say hello, thanking the "crowd" outside. From then on, and for the rest of the Amsterdam rehearsals, the windows stayed open, and they got applause from the fans after every song. It felt unreal. Fifty or so hard core crazy fans who enjoyed their private moments with the Stones... "Salt Of The Earth" never worked any good. It was just as hard to do as "Anybody Seen My Baby". It never made it to the set, too bad.

Monday May 24 they worked with One Hit To The Body. First lots of guitar riffs, then they did it three times all through. Great. Then a standard set, including Brand New Car, so we could expect it for the tour! Love Is Strong was good as well. Saint Of Me was the absolute favourite of the entire rehearsals. By Sunday there were close to hundred fans outside. When the Stones finished Saint Of Me, all the fans outside picked up the song, singing, singing, singing and singing. For minutes. Ronnie came to the window with his guitar, dancing to the singing, and the song didn't seem to end ever. Then, after five minutes or so, it finished, and the band inside saluted the European hard core crowd who made rehearsing Saint Of Me as real as it could ever be! They finished by midnight, packed everything, and went to Stuttgart the day after. For sure these Amsterdam nights will stay as some of the most precious Stones experiences for everyone who was there.