Rolling Stones 9/20/06

WARNING/BE ADVISED: I will come off as very fanboyesque any time i write about the Rolling Stones. It's not meant to be objective.

The Rolling Stones kicked off the Fall 2006 leg of their "Bigger Bang" world tour on Wednesday night, September 20, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA.This would be my 17th Stones show, so I was walking in, knowing what to expect for the most part, and not too terribly excited, as the show was in the cavernous Gillette Stadium as opposed to the more cozy confines of the BankNorth Garden in Boston, the site of most of the shows I've seen in the past. Also, being in the stadium setting, I figured the band would keep the setlist fairly conservative to placate the larger crowd.Kanye West was a daring but uninspiring opening act, and was ignored by the majority of the crowd. I did recognize his radio hits Gold Digger and Diamonds of Sierra Leone, but he failed to capture the crowd's attention.


The lights went down and the video employed for the last year or so of shows began rolling on the huge screen. After the requisite burst of fireworks, Keith Richards appeared out of the darkness in full length black trenchcoat and played the opening riff of "Paint it Black", the first big surprise of the night, as the band has never previously opened a show with this tune. Charlie Watts fell in to the groove immediately providing the rock steady backbeat as Mick Jagger came bounding from the darkness spitting out the lyrics like a man half (maybe a third?) of his age. Ron Wood employed the sitar-guitar last seen on the LICKS tour of 2003 to add a touch of eastern mysticism to the proceedings.Paint it Black received a roar of approval from the crowd, and the band launched right into "Live with Me" from 1969's Let it Bleed album. Darryl Jones fired off the bass licks with Keith and Ronnie providing the stabbing guitar interjections while Jagger continued prowling the stage.



The next surprise of the night was this tour's debut of "Monkey Man" from the same album. This was a solid groove accentuated once again by riff-meister Keef's guitar work and Ron's slide solo.The much talked about "Sway" was up next, featuring Mick Jagger front and center on rhythm guitar. It was a solid performance, but it lacked the greasy grime of the studio version."Sweet Virginia" followed and was one of the true highlights of the night, featuring Jagger on harp and acoustic guitar. A crowd pleasing sing along. "Got to scrape the shit right off your shoes", indeed.

The first new song of the night followed, "Streets of Love". This song is improved considerably live from the lacklustre version on "A Bigger Bang". Towards the end, Jagger's vocal performance is reminicent of his work on the last tour's "That's How Strong My Love Is." If a live album is made of this tour, I hope a version of this song is included.

Up next was the cover chestnut from 1974's It's Only Rock and Roll. "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" The horns cooked, and the guitars were down and dirty. The way life should be.

After the tune ended, the band begins riffing and the familiar "warm up" to Midnight Rambler begins to take shape. This is a highlight of most shows, and this would prove to be no exception. Few feelings of pure joy and ecstacy can compare to Keith Richards firing off the opening riff to this song. The tune was stretched way beyond the ten minute mark, and the crowd lapped up the raw blues that oozed from the stage. The high point of the night, and the song no Rolling Stones show should ever be without.

Tumbling Dice followed in a swagger, sounding great as always. I could listen to them riff on the outro to this song for hours and not get bored with it.The band is introduced next, and the love and adoration builds to a fever pitch as Mick Jagger introduces Keith Richards to perform his 2 song set. "Been a tough year..." was about all I could make out from Keith's comments. He then performed "You Got The Silver", for the first time ever without his own guitar parts. The duties fell to Ron Wood and percussionist/vocalist/guitarist Blondie Chaplin. Keith as crooner. It worked.


Up next was a personal highlight, the first performance of "Little T & A" since the Tattoo You tour of 1981-82. I felt the horn section wasn't really needed, but it was great to finally hear live one of my all time favorite Keith Richards vocals. Raunch 'n' Roll.

"Under My Thumb" followed in the slot usually reserved for Miss You, as a piece of the stage breaks away and the band rolls down to the middle of the floor for a mini set. It was a welcome change from the worn out "Miss You", and had a cool, 60's groove.

Out on the small stage, Rough Justice and Jumpin Jack Flash followed in stripped down, nasty rock n roll versions. This is what I love about the Stones and rock in general.

Back to the main stage with Honky Tonk Woman, a good but average performance of this warhorse.Sympathy for the Devil follows with its programmed drums. Visually this song is always a highlight with flames shooting high into the crisp autumn night. I wish they'd freshen up the arrangement somewhat, lose the drum loops, and for christ's sake Keith, play something worthy of the original solo!!

Start Me Up followed. It was a crowd pleaser. What can I say?Satisfaction followed in a slightly new arrangement, a bit chunkier and gritty, sounded great to my ears.Brown Sugar encore. Crowd loving it. Fireworks, confetti. Keith has trouble with the opening lick to this EVERY TIME i've seen them play.

All in all a great performance that far exceeded my expectations. The new, daring set list changes were welcome, and I'm very excited for the next show on my list, at the Oakland Coliseum in November.

Highlights: Midnight Rambler, Sweet Virginia, unexpected opener Paint It Black, LITTLE T&A!

Lowlights: Jukebox mode ending of the show, only 19 songs!