Round #2: Saturday September 10th-Chicago, IL
Soldier Field (The Stadium)
“I want to hear the classics” says the twenty-six year old Brooke, as we ride in my car on the way to Soldier Field in Chicago. Her father, sitting to my right, nods his head in affirmation. Both made the trip from Omaha, NE specifically for a father-daughter bonding trip over something they could agree on, the Rolling Stones. A generation apart, different world views, yet somehow, there is something universal about rock n’ roll. They ask me about the show two nights earlier in Milwaukee, wondering if they would see the same show at Soldier Field. Good question and one that I think gets overlooked far too often. Not knowing the exact science of the set list the Stones would pull out, I gave my opinion and best guess as to what the band would and would not pull out. However, I did not think any of it would matter as I could hear the giddiness on Brooke’s voice as she was ready to be rocked.The stadium show is vastly different from the one indoors. There are four times as many people and the stage is about four times as big. I love and hate stadium shows, the spectacle and larger than life atmosphere can be exhilarating, especially when a band and crowd unite. However, some of the most distressing shows I’ve ever seen have been in stadiums. Too many people, long lines, parking nightmares and sometimes where a band is playing to a crowd so large, they do not feel comfortable taking any chances. Bon Jovi at Comerica Park, in the summer of 2003, relied far too much on “calling it in” rather than stimulating their audience. I was not sure how the Stones Soldier Field show would go over? Would they take any chances? Would they call it in?As the house lights went down at 8:40 pm, 60,000 rose to their feet and immediately shook the foundation of the stadium. The opening video sequence was the same as Milwaukee, however when the collision took place on screen, a giant pyrotechnic blast went off above the stage. As the video wound down shadows emerged on stage until Keith Richards stepped up to hit that opening note of “Start Me Up” amidst a blast of flames that encompassed the front of the stage. Was this blast of fire foreshadowing events to come? Right from the first chord strummed, the band was on fire showing each and every one of the 60,000 fans how stadium gigs are done. The first few numbers flowed beautifully and the Chicago crowd and the Rolling Stones came with their “A” game.
One disadvantage of stadium is lesser known material does not come off as well. The crowd reactions to “Rough Justice”, “Infamy” and “Oh No Not You Again” were by no means volatile; however, I just felt the crowd in Milwaukee was more receptive to the Bang material. In a stadium, momentum is lost as quickly as it can be gained. However, with each concert, the Stones are becoming more confident with these new songs and it could be seen during “Rough Justice” which featured a wicked slide guitar solo by Ron Wood whereas “Infamy” showcased subtle but equally remarkable guitar work by Keith Richards as the lights rotated and altered colors which gave the audience eye candy to augment the song.The most fanatical reception of the evening occurred in the early part of the set, as the band ripped through five colossal classics; “Tumbling Dice”, “She’s So Cold”, “Ruby Tuesday”, “Shattered” and “Bitch”. “Tumbling Dice” gave the crowd a jolt of energy needed and brought about a rain shower of lights upon the crowd, next they fired up the paramount live version of “She’s So Cold”, had 120,000 arms waving in the air for “Ruby Tuesday” (believe it or not, it was the first time I witnessed the song live), shattered expectations with a vitalizing “Shattered” which ended on a pitch perfect note which left the audience in ecstasy before “Bitch” conquered the audience with a breathtaking and sadistic performance. Over the course of these five songs, something congealed; the stage effects, solos, audience consciousness, perfect pacing and a bond between the band and 60,000 strangers into a united rock n’ roll family of one.
The focal point of the Milwaukee show was the Ray Charles tribute, “Night Time Is The Right Time”. While it sounded fantastic at Soldier Field, the performance could not compare to Milwaukee’s two nights earlier. Here is where I feel the arena setting worked to the songs advantage because there were fewer people to be lost right from the get go, and the wild card for the Milwaukee was a scorching guitar solo by Buddy Guy. There was no guitar solo at all in Chicago; however, Lisa Fisher prowled the stage like a sex kitten, showcasing rock n’ roll’s second greatest pair of legs (first place goes to Tina Turner) that brought the crowd to life. I actually saw a few people in my row heading for a beer break when Lisa hit her first high note. The couple immediately turned around and came back to their seats to witness the world’s greatest rock band knock out a great R&B cover.Surprisingly, Keith Richards’s solo spots have been the same on every night of the tour regardless of whether it’s a stadium or arena; “The Worst” and “Infamy”. With a rather extensive catalog of tunes at his hands, why not play some of the other tunes off of A Bigger Bang or the resurrected “Thru and Thru” or in the case of a stadium, why not pull out “Happy” and give the crowd a reason to raise their fists? Both songs (“The Worst” & “Infamy”) were executed beautifully, but these songs shined brighter in an arena setting.
Just like the arena show in Milwaukee, the stage flies over to the b-stage at the other end of the stadium during “Miss You”. If I could offer a suggestion to the band, it would be to play a rarity or a new song for the flying stage sequence. This is where you sometimes need a stage propping to enhance a new number, whereas “Miss You” will receive a terrific reaction almost any way it is performed. While I was able to appreciate the musicianship better in an arena, I was impressed with the zealous reaction the fans at the far end of the stadium gave them as they landed. During an arena gig I feel that I’m more focused on the music whereas this time, I’m in awe of the spectacle of the show as the fans surrounding the b-stage are zealous, even more so than anyone in the first ten rows of the stadium. Here is where the band breaks bread with the true fans, the ones who pay over $100 just to sit at the other end of a football stadium, all just to experience the Rolling Stones live. From the nose bleed seats, the Rolling Stones look like ants on stage, but all that matters is the awe-inspiring connection the band forged with the crowd. Thursday night’s finale, “Satisfaction”, is given b-stage treatment tonight as the ardent crowd was pushed to the next level of hysteria. It was amazing to see 15,000 people go fanatical to “Satisfaction” in Milwaukee, but tonight, the 60,000 in the Windy City took the crowd to deafening levels with their cries of approval which the band no doubt received some sort of “satisfaction” from this feedback. There was even a moment where the Mick’s head microphone went dead and while he walked over to grab a hand microphone, the crowd picked up the slack for a brief moment. On the b-stage “Satisfaction” is crude and messy. Sure there are missed cue’s but none of that matters as Charlie Watts, the backbone of the band, holds the band together with his hammering drum fills and as long as he is behind the kit, it allows Ronnie and Keith the ability to improvise on their riffs and solo’s.
“Honky Tonk Woman” was highlighted by the opening riff, as Richards strode across the stage hitting that one note over and over again with one hand appearing cool and calm with a giant grin on his weathered face. At one point, Keith missed a few notes because there was a fan needing his attention. He left the comforts of the stage and went into the pit and shook their hand. I’m not sure what made Keith do this, but it goes to show it’s all about connection for the musical pirate. Shortly after Keith returned to the b-stage, it lifted and made its way back to the main stage as a giant inflated tongue hung over the top portion of the stage. This is another perk of the stadium show; toys and special effects can either add or detract from the music, depending on your personal point of view. Me personally, I don’t care either way, but I did talk to a few people who felt the inflated tongue was one of the best moments and another felt it was the worse of the evening. I give the Stones props for doing their best on each and every tour to enlighten the stadium audience. Pyrotechnics and elaborate lighting ignites those in the nose bleeds with a rush of adrenaline. If you are going to play a stadium, you should be giving your all to the crowd so they feel like they are part of the experience and not in an overpriced seat bored out of their mind. One thing constantly overlooked about each and every time the Rolling Stones stroll through town they silence the cynics with their stage presence as both entertainers and musicians, these are extraordinarily talented musicians who continue to impress me, even after seeing them live a dozen times. If they were hacks, people would not be forking over hard earned money to see a second-rate show. Love them or hate them, the truth is the Rolling Stones are the masters of the live stadium experience.
“Out of Control”, not performed in Milwaukee, added another dimension to the stadium experience, back on the main stage. The jazzy rock number stood out with the help of alternating and veering lights as Jagger and Richards roamed the stage like a warriors. Never ones to rest on their laurels, the band sucked the crowd in with their musicianship on this number. An album track from the 90's, that should have been a bathroom break, was turned into a driving number through the sheer strength of performance and some superlative lighting. No sooner did “Out of Control” end than the beats of “Sympathy For The Devil” could be heard beneath the thunderous response from the crowd. As enormous clouds of red smoke appeared throughout the stadium, the band delivered a truly epic performance of “Sympathy” in every way imaginable; lights, smoke and pyrotechnics (some which were so scorching I thought someone had dropped a cigarette on my hands, even though the pyrotechnic blast occurred a solid one-hundred feet above me.) The explosive finale to “Sympathy” was the cherry on the sundae; it truly had to be seen to be believed as no words I write could recreate this experience.“Jumpin' Jack Flash” began on a bum note. In Keith’s stride to never perform the same song the same way, it felt as if the opening riff was a little off. The crowd appeared to sit there complacent during what is arguably one of their three prevalent songs, which was appalling to me. Bum note or not, the crowd should have been rocking out to this one. There were no stage gimmicks here, but there was passionate resolve in the form of Mick Jagger. Jagger noticed the crowd was lacking in response when he surged forward towards the audience, emptying a water bottle and then kicking it into the audience. He then strove towards the left side of the stage; arms lifted and began to jump up and down inhumanly. Like a man with mystical powers, the crowd became entranced at once and began mimicking him. Here is what every front man in a band should watch when they come across a challenging audience. I’m not sure what was wrong with the crowd, but Jagger took them from a place of complacency to a state of frenzy, merely with the movement of his hips. If that was not enough, he leaped off the stage and prowled down the center ramp so those further back on the main floor would take notice that this was a rock n’ roll show and not a business conference. Instead of losing the crowd, he single-handedly pulled the audience back into the palm of his hand. The main set closer, “Brown Sugar”, rebounded nicely as the instrumentation of the band was flawless. Bobby Key’s sax solo was spot on and during the ending chant of “yeah, yeah, yeah!” the audience was in heaven. The main set climaxed with a few pyro blasts as the band rushed into the darkness to regroup before the encore.
In Milwaukee, the encore was one song, a rousing rendition of “Satisfaction”. For stadiums they are pairing “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and “It’s Only Rock N’ Roll”. On paper, this may appear to be a bore, yet, there is something to be said about actually being there to experience it. “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” was an enduring performance; however, it could not reach the heights of Milwaukee two days earlier. It’s funny, not even 60,000 soaring voices could compare to the level of adoration and lunacy given by the crowd in Milwaukee. This does not mean that when the Stones play arena and stadium gigs in New York the opposite won’t be true. Upon its completion, “It’s Only Rock N’ Roll” was run through like a standard number at first and appeared to be out of place as the grand finale for a stadium. However, this was no four-minute rocker but one with an extended jam as the band urged the crowd to participate as they brought the song to rousing heights. After a couple of decades of having “Brown Sugar”, “Satisfaction”, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “Sympathy” as semi-predictable closers, the Stones showed the Chicago crowd they still have a few aces up their sleeves. The songs on this night were about the intensity and will of performance. In a stadium, regardless of how legendary the material may be, you can’t “call it in” as the crowd will turn on you quicker than you can say “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”. As the band took their bows, there was no denying they rocked harder than bands forty years younger and enthralled 60,000 in the process. As I met Brooke and her father after the show, they were euphoric in their enthusiasm. Both could not stop talking about seeing the Stones again this coming January, when they make a stop in Omaha. For the remainder of the weekend, they talked about how they wanted to be transported back to the two hours the Rolling Stones owned Chicago. When it comes to concert performances the Rolling Stones are tough to top; Ron Wood and Keith Richards dueling guitars which give each performance its own unique fingerprint, while Jagger elevates his performance every night to take the crowd to that next level and Charlie Watts…what else can be said about the coolest rock star to ever grace this Earth? He’s the most consistent musician I have ever laid eyes upon. He’s the foundation of the band and is irreplaceable.
Throughout two shows, one in an arena and the other in a stadium, the Rolling Stones illustrated the power of perseverance as they come out on stage with all guns firing every night. They do not rest on their prosperous history, but challenge their audience-even when they don’t want to leave the comfort zone. The Rolling Stones have taken rock n’ roll machine further than any other band in the history of the world. All bands a generation behind them are watching them with a close eye to see where the final template ends up. I have a feeling there will never be a “farewell” tour announcement as Ron, Mick, Keith and Charlie will be doing this until they leave this world for another. Love them or hate them, the truth is the Rolling Stones have taken concert performing to heights never touched by any other artist. They are the elder statesmen of rock. Can’t you hear them rocking?
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com and can be followed on Twitter
