timesseenstones

Times I've Seen The Rolling Stones
A brief review of the 25 times I've seen The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World. All great times which have taken me pretty much
all over North America. Here are my brief reviews and memories along
with a very subjective rating of 1-10. Enjoy - DEmerson

1. Philadelphia, JFK Stadium, 1981: After loving the Rolling Stones since I was a kid and saving my pennies to buy Satisfaction, I finally get to see them live at one of the opening shows of the Tattoo You tour. Drove down to Phili from Boston (after not getting tickets to the famed Sir Morgan's Cove club show in Worcester, Mass.). Enjoyed George Thorogood, tolerated Journey, and then onto the Main Event. I still remember what a thrill it was when the giant curtains opened and there in the flesh was Mick, Keith and the boys kicking into Under My Thumb. A great time which ended back at the Mudd Club in New York. Ah, those were the days. RATING: 8.7

2. Hartford Civic Center, CT, 1981: Until a No Security show in California, this one had stood as the best Stones show I've seen. Good seats in a relatively small place, Bo and I pointed to Mick and he pointed back. The partying that night might have added to things, but I still remember this as being a really hot show with the Stones jamming out on songs like Just My Imagination, When the Whip Comes Down, and a gorgeous Waiting On A Friend. RATING: 9.8

3. Syracuse Carrier Dome, NY, 1981: A LONG drive to Syracuse from Boston but it had to be done as I was lucky enough to have 8th row seats for this show. The Stones were a bit on auto-pilot for this one, but it was still a thrill to see Mick right above you in the cherry picker. RATING: 8.5

3a. Live Aid, JFK Stadium, Philadelphia,July, 1985: Not a Rolling Stones show of course, but Live Aid did see Mick Jagger with Tina Turner, and then the surprise of Keith and Ronnie joining Bob Dylan on stage. Live-Aid was a truly great experience. RATING: 9.9

4. RFK Stadium, Washington, DC, 1989: Managed to hook up with my good friend "The Human Clone" for this DC show. We started out at the very back of the stadium, and the show got better and better the closer we managed to get to the stage. A memorable walk through DC and into Chinatown afterwards. RATING: 7.9

5. Foxboro Stadium, MA, 1989: A much better Steel Wheels show than DC. A group of 6 of us went in a limo and it was a great time. Midnight Rambler on my home turf at last was one of the highlights. Really good show. RATING: 9.6

6. Toronto, CNE Stadium, Aug. 20, 1994: Third best show of the ones I've seen. I actually flew from Boston to Toronto to catch the band in what turned out to be almost the equivalent of the World's Fair, as the Canadian National Exposition was going on at the huge fairgrounds where the show was, so it was quite the carnival atmosphere. Add to that a GREAT rocking show by the band, despite the light rain throughout the evening. A really hot Voodoo Lounge show in a fun city. RATING: 9.7

7. Foxboro Stadium, MA Sept. 4, 1994: A fun time if not the greatest show by the band. The Stones are seldom less than really good, some nights they're just amazing. This show never quite lifted off into the stratosphere despite some great moments -a really good Brown Sugar and the one time I've seen them do Wild Horses. RATING: 8.6

8. Foxboro Stadium, MA Sept. 5, 1994: After the previous night of partying with a bunch of my friends, the second night I made the return trip by myself, as I had spent some big money to get a 10th row center seat. It's not every day that you see Keith Richards about 10 feet away from you, banging out Jumping Jack Flash. A real thrill to see the whole band and such a big production really close. RATING: 8.9

9. Tampa Stadium, FL, Nov. 22, 1994: Probably my least favorite of the times I've seen the band, primarily due to the setting. I was lucky that a trip to Disney coincided with the Voodoo Lounge in Florida, so I figured I would go and see the OTHER Mickey. But, the sound was horrible at this show, with an echo bouncing off the glass of this huge, crowded stadium on a hot, muggy night. Rare performances of The Girl With The Far Away Eyes and Heartbreaker, plus an awesome version of Satisfaction were the best parts of this show. RATING: 7.6

10. Foxboro Stadium, MA, Oct. 20, 1997: Finally get to introduce my friend Fubar to the greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World. A pretty good Bridges to Babylon show with superb versions of Sister Morphine, Out of Control, and a rocking Crazy Mama and Star Star on the center stage. RATING: 9.3

11. Madison Square Garden, NYC, Jan. 14, 1998: From reports I've read, this may have been the least impressive of their 3 nights at the Garden on their brief indoor winter tour. They had just cancelled a few shows due to weather and illness, and I guess they really got it together for the following two nights, but having looked forward to seeing the Stones in the place where Get Your Ya Ya's Out was recorded, it was a bit of a let down. The band didn't really catch fire until the end of the show - namely with a surprisingly hot Tumblin' Dice and then a killer Jumping Jack Flash. But for all the anticipation for this show, I almost have to honestly say that I was more into Fiona Apple as the opener that night. A real fun night in New York though again with The Human Clone. RATING: 8.8

12. The Pond, Anaheim, CA, Feb. 11, 1999: A show I almost didn't go to - another lucky coincidence that my yearly trip west coincided with an early No Security show near LA. I flew across country to LA, then flew to Palm Springs, and then drove 100 miles BACK to Anaheim to catch what turned out to be THE HOTTEST show I have ever seen by the band. I still remember Keith hitting this one note on the opening Jumping Jack Flash and saying to myself "they mean business tonight." The show started out smoking and just got better as the night went on. Incredible versions of Paint It Black, Shine A Light, Midnight Rambler, and Route 66 took on special meaning as I was headed onto the Mother Road a couple days afterwards. The only downside was getting Memory Motel instead of Moonlight Mile, but still just a tremendous show. RATING: 9.9

13. The Fleet Center, Boston, March 22, 1999: A really good show in what turns out to be my first and perhaps only time of seeing them in Boston proper, and my first visit to the Fleet Center which replaced the famed Boston Garden. A really good show, especially the center stage portion. Still kicking myself for not going the next night too, as once again I just miss Moonlight Mile!! Oh well. Fun time with Jimmy Jazz and Al Baby. And as for the people that harp about the "$300 tickets" I'll just say that I had really good seats for this show and Anaheim, both for under $100, and both shows would have been worth $500. RATING: 9.5

13a. The Concert For New York City, Oct. 20, 2001: Mick and Keith played Salt of the Earth and Miss You as part of the huge 9/11 benefit at Madison Square GarDEn. Go here for my report of that amazing evening.

14. The Fleet Center, Boston, Sept. 3, 2002: The day of the show I wound up getting a $150 ticket in the first row on the floor behind the $350 seats for the Licks world tour opener. The best part was that I was right next to the "B-stage" and so when they did Mannish Boy, Neighbors and Brown Sugar from there, it was quite a thrill. Then one of the security guys comes over and says "The Stones are going to walk right by here - please don't touch them." Well, sure enough the entire band walked right in front of me as they left the stage (And no, I did not touch them, though I tried in vain to get a high-5, lol). Anyway, a fun show. A bit tentative at the start (this was the 1st show of the tour) but once they got going, it was really hot. Among the many highlights: Love Train, Stray Cat Blues, an awesome Satisfaction, the three songs from the B-Stage, and confetti raining down on the crowd during Jumping Jack Flash. RATING: 9.6

15. Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, Sept. 5, 2002: I had seen the Stones rehearse at the new Patriots Stadium the prior weekend (a covert mission from the parking lot, lol) - and then to see the actual show was very cool. The new stadium is amazing, and I had a pretty DEcent seat in the Club section (VERY nice!). Balls of fire shooting from the top of the stage during Sympathy for the DEvil was the visual highlight, then the end with Midnight Rambler (my fave of the evening and a cooking version) and then Jumping Jack Flash and Satisfaction left me "Shattered." RATING: 9.6

16. The Orpheum Theatre, Boston, Sept. 8, 2002: A Stones fan's dream come true. FIFTH ROW at the 2,800 seat Orpheum Theatre - the hottest ticket in Boston music history. And they did not dissapoint. On a total steam bath of a night, the Stones blew the roof off the place. If I had three songs I wish they would have done, they may well have been Can't You Hear Me Knocking? (my all-time favorite Stones tune), Parachute Woman, and Hand of Fate - and they did all three! The memory of Mick Jagger taunting the crowd with the maracas during CYHMK, and Keith Richards banging away on his FenDEr 10' from me will last a lifetime. Just a super show.
Honky Tonk Women, Start Me Up, Brown Sugar
encore: Tumbling Dice
I think I have to give this one a 10! RATING: 10.0

17. The Fleet Center, Boston, Jan. 12, 2003: Well if this turns out to be "The Last Time" they certainly went out with a bang, not a whimper. A really great show as the Stones return to the place where the Licks world tour started. My buddy Bo and I had DEcent seats in the balcony and just totally got into the Rolling Stones groove. Highlight incluDEd a surprise of No Expectations, a phenomenal Midnight Rambler and really the whole show was pretty amazing. RATING: 9.5

18/19. Fenway Park, Boston, Aug. 21/23, 2005: After much waiting all summer the Stones finally played their two huge shows at beloved Fenway Park to kick off their Bigger Bang tour. I had an (expensive!) floor seat for opening night and it was a Gas Gas Gas (Hey - at least I did not say I got Satisfaction!). Great show - 22 songs, highlight of which was likely a steamy version of the Ray Charles song Night Time. The second show was, much to my dismay, a carbon copy of the first, with the only change being they did Bitch instead of Heartbreaker. RATING 9.5 (1st show) 7.8 second show (due to same set list = lame imho).

20. Wallace WaDE Stadium, Durham, NC, Oct. 8, 2005: Super show at the Blue DEvil's football stadium in North Carolina. I maDE it to this one as my brother lives down there. Really good time, and an excellent set by the band, including a tasty Sticky Fingers mini-set of Wild Horses, DEad Flowers (a 1st for me) and Bitch. We had 4th row seats on Ronnie's siDE which contributed greatly to the evening's enjoyment.

21. American Airlines Arena, Dallas, TX, Nov. 29, 2005: Well, until now a show in Tampa, FL had stood as my least favorite - but this one now goes in the books as the least impressive show I've seen by the band. Just nothing special about this one - very generic show, lame Dallas crowd - even scheduled opener Merle Haggard, sat this one out.

22/23. Boston Garden, MA, Jan. 13 & 15, 2006: Two hot shows by the band on two very cold nights in Boston. Night one saw some new tunes adDEd to the set list for this tour including Respectable - and I had GREAT seats right next to the stage. The second night was not quite as good, but did give us the tour DEbut of Gimme Shelter and an absolutely smoking Satisfaction to end the evening. Both nights were very solid.

24. The Commons, Halifax Nova Scotia, Sept. 23, 2006: When the Bigger Bang tour returned to N. America, I saldy had to miss the opener in my hometown of Boston - a show at Gillette Stadium that sounDEd like it was superb. With a brief tour with many dates during the week, this was one opportunity to catch the Stones again - and this one required some major effort. I sprung for On Stage seats, plus air fare etc, - an expensive weekend for sure. The On Stage Experience offered for the most part, a fairly lousy view of the stage, BUT - it kept us fairly dry as it RAINED the entire show! I mean, it was miserable! 50,000 hearty souls braved the elements to catch the band in their first appearance in Nova Scotia - and this one I will remember more for what a scene it was, than for what a good musical evening. Mick's performance was nothing short of heroic, as he did all he could to make everyone forget the weather. During Sympathy for the DEvil he was VERY close to us - which was a thrilling moment. And the site of him clapping his hands, and watching this sea of people respond was one you just don't see everday. So - a memorable show, if not necessarily one of the best nights of musical bliss.

25. BC Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, Nov. 25, 2006: After the rain soaked Halifax show, I really wanted to see one more show - to end things on a Bigger Bang. (were it to come to that - the tour had it's problems, and rumous once again circulate that "this may be the last time). As the hand of fate would have it, some tour schedule reshuffling maDE Vancouver the last stop on the tour, on a Saturday night. And as I always wanted to see Seatttle and Vancouver, well...long story short - I went. And I'm glad I did. Got 10th row to the side - and it was a great show. Bonnie Raitt joined them for Shine A Light. Keith did 3 songs for the 1st time ever. I got to see Midnight Rambler again (although very sadly, Sway eluDEd me all 8 Bigger Bang shows I saw - oh well...). And for a nice number of 25, I can now say I saw the band in all four corners of N. America - from Halifax Nova Scotia, to Florida, to California, to Vancouver. Great times each and every one - thanks to the Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World, The Rolling Stones.

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