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The Rolling Stones Fan Club of Europe
It's Only Rock'n Roll

Foxboro Stadium, Boston
Tuesday, Oct. 21, 1997

Review by Matt Neylon

This was my first rolling stones concert ever. I've been listening for fifteen years now, which is almost all of my life. It goes without saying, then, that I was more excited than I had ever been. I went with three friends and we had seats on the left side in the second section of the stands about fifty yards away and ten rows up. The stadium is so small though that there isn't a bad seat in the house.

The anticipation was building as it neared showtime. At about ten after nine, the introduction music came on and the curtains opened over the massive round video screen. I was almost dead with excitement. Then the first note of satisfaction rang out as keith walked on the stage and a fireball burst out from the screen. It was intense. It's only rock'n'roll followed, as well as flip the switch, lets spend the night together, 19th nervous breakdown, anybody seen, miss you, gimme shelter, sister morphine, and under my thumb. 19th sounded spectacular, ten times better than I had ever heard it. Lets spend the night was awesome also. Anybody seen sounds 20X better live, I figured the stones could play it better than some guys could produce it, you know?

Sister Morphine was a definite highlight, I never expected to hear that live in my life. Under my thumb won the internet voting, but I was rooting for factory girl. Mick said, "Jesus, thats a hard one to do!" when he saw the results. He obviously was dissapointed. The keith songs were cool, his voice wasn't great until he really got into all about you, a great slow one. Wanna hold you basically rocked, a definite highlight.

Then the bridge came out and they did little queenie, crazy mama, and you got me rocking. They were really at home on that small stage. It was intense. Sympathy for the devil was a life-altering experience, and the movie on the screen was incredible. I loved how the stage lights would subtly change, as well as the props. One minute there are two huge figures, the next two torches light up! Awesome! Then the classics Tumbling Dice, Honky tonk women, start me up, and jumpin' jack flash ended the night. It was amazing! It was freezing at points and there was Mick and lisa dancing around in regular clothes. They all came out at first with thick coats and gloves, but it didn't last. Also, no matter how cold keith and ronny's fingers were, they made no mistakes. It was definetly a musically flawless show, great jobs by charlie and darryl also.

Brown sugar was a monstrous encore, but I was praying for you can't always get what you want. We didn't get it but hey, you can't always get what you want. The fireworks that closed the show were the icing on the cake. That was the best show I've ever been to, and I can't wait till my next.

Comments by Mark Weist

Same show except for UNDER MY THUMB in place of STAR STAR and YOU GOT ME ROCKING instead of THE LAST TIME. Excellent show none the less. STONES ROCK

The set list:

  1. Satisfaction
  2. It's Only Rock'n Roll
  3. Let's Spend The Night Together
  4. Flip The Switch
  5. Gimme Shelter
  6. Sister Morphine
  7. Anybody Seen My Baby
  8. 19th Nervous Breakdown
  9. Out Of Control
  10. Under My Thumb
  11. Miss You
    -- Introductions --
  12. All About You (Keith)
  13. I Wanna Hold You (Keith)
  14. Little Queenie (center stage)
  15. Crazy Mama (center stage)
  16. You Got Me Rocking (center stage)
  17. Sympathy For The Devil
  18. Tumbling Dice
  19. Honky Tonk Women
  20. Start Me Up
  21. Jumping Jack Flash
  22. Brown Sugar (encore)

Review by Irmgard and Harald Plattner, Germany

We came here from Germany to see the Stones. During our week of vacation we decided to stay in New York and have some sightseeing an then seeing the Stones at Washington. We hoped there would be a second show in D. C. Too bad, there was none. So we decided to try our luck at Foxboro. Nervous feelings on our way there... But it worked alright, we got two tickets at the Box Office! I can't describe how happy we were.

It was getting colder and colder, we were dressed like in the deepest winter. Waiting made us numb with cold. Sheryl Crow did a great show, she did warm us up a little bit. And then... dark stadium, blue lights, our feelings in high tension... the most famous riff of Rock and Roll!! They were there, we were there. It was just like (someone earlier described it) meeting good old friends!

From our seats we couldn't catch a view of the whole stage, but that didn't matter. We had a videoscreen on the side and loudspeakers blowing in our direction. And we could see the action on stage without binoculars. It was great, the sidewalk of the stage just ended a few meters away from us and as eyerybody knows, Mick is running around a lot..., but also Keith sends us his greetings. Mick's voice was just great, so clear and voluminous. No sign of the flu he had a few days ago. The special effects were absolutely unique. i must admit we hardly looked to the stage when all the glitter came up!

How awsome must have been the sight from the front of of the stage. The atmosphere around us was so much better than it was in '94 when we watched a Voodoo Lounge concert in Madison/WI. (Standing during this concert was not accepted !) Here at Foxboro the crowds were standing, dancing, singing and shouting. We were at the right time on the right place! Our favorite songs were "Out Of Control", "Gimme Shelter" and that rough version of "Jumping Jack Flash". It was great how they were jumping thirty years backwards and again forwards bringing all the songs to a homogeneous high performance.

Thank you Stones for this excellent show, for giving your best on this icecold Foxboro night! See ya in D. C. !

Read all about the 1997 tour in the It's Only Rock'n Roll magazine issue IORR 30 out Oct. 15, 1997.

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