Atlanta, Georgia show...
Key Note News reporter: Robbie Boyette
I came into it not knowing what to expect. I thought: "Okay, Mick Jagger is 62 years old, Charlie Watts is 64, Keef is 61, Ron Wood is 58....they are probably gonna have to take it easy." So I was a little apprehensive but still excited about seeing this band for perhaps the last time.
We stayed at The Omni Hotel in the CNN Center, so we basically just walked downstairs and got in line. There were 5 lines of people in the CNN Center entrances to Phillips Arena. It was, of course, a sold out show.
We saw people of varying ages...kids that were 12 years old all the way up to people in their 60's. The majority of the people looked to be my age and a little younger. No surprise there considering the cost of the tickets.
Everyone around us was dressed in clothing featuring the Rolling Stones 'Tongue' logo. One woman had on a dress made of the tongue with a matching purse and shoes.
We got inside and watched Wilco perform. They were the typical "new rock" kinda band. In other words, a bunch of dorky looking guys with non descript songs and zero concept of how to entertain an audience.
Then there was an intermission while the roadies struck the stage. At which time, Claudia and I sampled the fine beer. Hey, we had to wait. Might as well have a beer.
Finally the lights went down...and there was loud ominous music with explosions, as the big screen behind the stage lit up and there were futuristic images of the mouth and tongue in outer space with the space shuttle...And then Keef came running...that's right a 61 year old RUNNING out on stage and hit the opening lick to 'Start Me Up' and the band kicked in....25,000 people jumped up and started dancing and then Mick Jagger...all 62 years of him came running, twirling and jumping, like he was 18 and singing his ass off!!!
I misted up in my eyes a little bit! In that moment seeing that spectacle, I felt like maybe I wasn't really that old. That maybe my childhood wasn't completely gone yet.
As soon as 'Start Me Up' was over, they cranked out 'You Got Me Rockin' from the Bridges To Babylon album and had the whole crowd singing the "Hey, Hey, Hey, You Got Me Rockin' Now" chorus.
Then it was just non-stop. Mick Jagger didn't stop moving and running the entire show. He, Keith, and Ron Wood were all three ripped up without an ounce of body fat....and in incredible cardiovascular shape. They made me look like I need to go to the gym!
They ripped through songs like 'Live With Me' and 'Bitch' just like it was 1971, all over again. Kicked out 'Tumbling Dice' and the entire crowd was Exiled On Main Street.
About halfway through Mick Jagger introduced everyone and ended on Keith. Which was Keith's cue to sing a couple of songs, while Mick changed clothes and gave his voice a break backstage.
Keith walks up to the microphone and says "Hello Atlanta! Thanks for welcoming me home! Shit this place is as good as any I guess!" The crowd roared their approval. He then sang 'The Worst' and watching him, I could see that he's about 5 years away from being as 'real' as Johnny Cash was on 'Hurt'. It was that raw. Then he did 'Infamy' from the new album and thanked everyone for not booing him. He told us all to "be cool" and he'd "see us again, because this ain't the last time".
Then Chuck Leavell started playing 'Miss You' on keyboards..which I thought was kinda strange.....but then I saw why. The entire center of the stage with Charlie Watts on it rose up and disconnected from the main stage. Leavell had started 'Miss You' because Keith, Ronnie, and bassist Daryll Jones were switching their wireless units to another set of amplifiers, that were surrounding the drum kit along with another keyboard rig.
As the whole band started playing 'Miss You 'Chuck Leavell dropped off keys, just long enough to run over and jump on the disconnecting mid section of the stage. Then the stage with the band on it, rolled out to the middle of the arena and connected up with two side sections of stage. Suddenly... The Stones were in the middle of the audience playing. It was very cool.
Next they played 'Oh No Not You Again' off of their new album 'A Bigger Bang' then played 'Get Off Of My Cloud'. Keef kicked up 'Honky Tonk Women' and as they played it, the stage began traveling back to the main stage and reconnected.
It was an awesome thing. I can't even begin to tell you the techonlogy, the time delay on the monitors and every little technical detail, that it took for The Stones to come out in the middle of the arena in front of their p.a. system and play. Just incredible.
Even more so when you realize, that unlike other bands...Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts have personally designed the stage and lighting, for every Rolling Stones tour since the beginning. The band itself is hands on in every aspect...from the albums, to the art work, to the tour, to the sponsors, to the staging , to the lighting, the sound, and the logistics of moving all those people and gear. Amazing.
The stage reconnected itself to the main stage and the arena turned blood red and then, Charlie Watts began playing along with sequenced conga drums. Watts is so damn good. He played in perfect time with the sequence. And despite what anybody may say...that is not easy to do. You have to be a musician, to pull it off correctly. And he is and he did.
Then Chuck Leavell and Daryll Jones began playing the opening piano and bass. On cue Mick Jagger with a top hat and coat began singing "Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself, I'm A Man Of Wealth And Taste..." and the crowd went wild. When the chorus hit, Keith came running out and BAM hit the "B" chord with a loud, distorted tone and it just kicked.
Mick Jagger was just non-stop energy and sang his ass off. He even did the high falsetto screams in 'Sympathy'. They also played 'Rain' from the new album as well as 'Rough Justice' which means they played 4 songs from the new album, that night. I've read other reports where they also perform 'Back Of My Hand' from the new album, so they definitely aren't just playing the "oldies".
But they did end the show with the oldies! And the oldies were goodies. Another cool highlight of the evening was 'Paint It Black' in which Keef came out with his open tuned tele and beautifully played, the ionian scale intro to the song and then Ron Wood jumped in on electric sitar.
Man...listening to that song can still give you the creeps. It was eerie and damn near evil feeling in the arena during the song. Just a very scary song, if you visualize the lyrics.
Mick Jagger had been running, singing, jumping and dancing for almost 2 hours by this point...but unbelieveably, he had been saving his energy for the end! Here I am at the age of 43 in good shape and I was already tired just from watching him....and he was just getting ready to turn on the afterburners.
BAM! .. Keith cranked out the essential rock riff of 'Jumping Jack Flash' and 25,000 people stomped 50,000 feet and the earth moved. At this point Mick Jagger was practically levitating off the stage, he was dancing and twirling so fast. Then the "last" song...a powerful 'Brown Sugar' that had the whole crowd singing and dancing. The Stones practically invented "arena rock" 35 years ago and they are still the undisputed masters of it.
Mick said goodnight, the lights went down, the crowd began stomping and chanting....being the Smartest Rock N Roll Band In The World...they let it go for about 1 minute and then Keith came out with his open G tuned butterscotch 1957 telecaster and rang out the opening chords to 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' and again Mick had the entire crowd literally in the palm of his hand singing along. Ron Wood played a great solo in it including his 32nd note runs, that I first heard him play on the 'Love You Live' album from the 1975 tour.
Then the air was filled with opening riff, to perhaps their most famous song....1965's 'Satisfaction' It's been 40 years, since that song was number 1. Mick Jagger somehow, somewhere found yet another reserve of energy and went into total overdrive. He did some crazy ass shit, that almost looked like river dancing...except twice as fast. The crowd roared it's approval, for his fancy footwork. He sang the end of the song, while leaping into the air over and over like it was the 1972 tour all over again.
After the song the entire band, Chuck Leavell, Daryll Jones, the backup singers, the horn section (which included the great Bobby Keyes on saxophone) all came down and took a bow together. 25,000 people were standing and cheering.
Then Mick, Keith, Charlie, and Ronnie came down alone, took a bow and the roof came off the Phillips Arena. It was a 5 minute standing ovation. Then they all hugged and walked backstage.
Mick was the last one to leave and the final thing we saw of him was him holding up his index finger and wagging it in the air behind his head...as if to say "We're not done yet...we're coming back at least one more time, before we're through."
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