Venue:
Croke Park, Dublin
Date: 17/05/2018
Based on past experiences, you should go to a Stones gig with, er, No Expectations and then if you’re pleasantly surprised it’s a bonus; not because they’ll be crap but because just the playing can be a trifle more shambolic than you’d hope for with the ticket price. Sure, Charlie’ll be rock solid, and Jagger will always deliver your money’s worth but Ronnie’n’Keith? Lovely lads, but there was a time they were the Drunken Bakers of Rawk and it could really get messy. That’s not to say they weren’t fun to watch, or whatever, but you’d look around and see other fans with the wee glimmer of a flinch passing across their eyes. Not that they’d say it out loud but they knew. We all knew.
So when you fast forward to 2018 it’s with a hint of trepidation that you tip up to Croker; the sound’s awful in the stands, innit, so we’ve plumped for bog standard pitch standing. We’re there at quarter past six and pretty much at the crash barrier keeping us back from the Golden circle. The two girls from Belfast ask us old lags if there’s any way that they can, y’know, scooch into there, only for us to *hilariously* point out that it’s a hard border.
Nurse, the screens.
The Academic are grand; the venue’s too big for them and the audience (those that have bothered to turn up at this point) are too interested in having a chat and a larf.
Half eight isn’t long coming around, and the giant screen yokes with the yellow background and the scribbled tongues on them suddenly go dark, and with minimum of fanfare, the supercharged samba of Sympathy kicks off, with just Charlie, Mick and a few sidemen on stage until the first *krungg* of guitar and our guitar heroes arrive. I look at Eoin and he looks back at me, and we’re both mentally crossing our fingers ‘don’t fuck it up you fuckers…’ and they don’t.
The sound (on the pitch) is great and the setlist (https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-rolling-stones/2018/croke-park-dublin-ireland-bede996.html) is grand.
But.
Heresy ahoy. I can live without Midnight Rambler. I thought it was dragged out and overcooked when i first heard it on the Hot Rocks cassette I bought oh-so-long ago and I still do now. I still largely skip it on Let it Bleed and it truly doesn’t need to be fifteen minutes or so. Same goes for Miss You, of which I need only say two words: Bass solo. Actually I tell a fib. I need to say more about the big screens in general and during Miss you in particular. I’ve never seen electronics deliver such vivid images; the HD display was just immense. I know, maybe, you don’t *want* to see all of Ronnie’s wrinkles but you can. No soft edges, it’s like you’re looking at actual giant people rather than video screens, and the aesthetic during Miss You, where it harked back to the Some Girls cover, and NY disco was rather spectacular.
How was the playing though? Were they phoning it in? No, no they weren’t. Normally at this point, the Samuel Johnson quote about the dog walking on its hind legs comes to mind; that it’s not how good they’re doing this at the age of whatever, it’s that they’re doing it at all. But here’s the thing. they *are* doing it good, and at that age. They belt out two tracks off 2016’s Blue and Lonesome covers album and they’re just a very tight blues band, and Mick’s harp playing is a joy to hear.
It’s quite clear that Keith’s cleaned up his act; there was definitely 70% less posing and shape throwing from him, and significantly better guitar playing, so much so that at times, I think even *he* was pleasantly surprised. Some misinterpret Charlie’s, hur hur, stone face for disinterest; they’re wrong. It’s part of the act. He’s meant to look like a faintly disappointed headmaster, slightly confused by what the hell has landed him where he is; but listen to the noise he gets out of that kit and wonder no more.
Jagger? Where to start. Look, he knows it’s faintly ridiculous at this stage but he runs, and pouts, and struts and shimmies and then, when he wants to get the audience to clap he does this fast-clappy thing that reminds me of The Wife last Saturday when she realised I’d be out of the house for the Eurovision. He has the audience in the palm of his hand. If he’s got an iffy throat, it doesn’t sound like that, though he’s glugging away on some potion or other a fair bit. He takes his usual 2 song break for Keith to sing; we’re too deep into the crowd to nip out for a toilet break, but once that’s over, we’re back on the home strait and the closing double whammy of Gimme Shelter and Satisfaction are just immense, the former still sounding just as sinister and just as nasty as it did fifty years ago.
The audience:
What you’d expect – all ages. My mam’s pal from the bridge club wanted to go but couldn’t, because she was babysitting for her daughter and son-in-law, who were at the gig. Loads of youngsters who weren’t around when Voodoo Lounge was released, and everybody in the finest of humour. Good weather will do that, of course.
It made me think..
It really would be something special to see them do the blues thing, in a smaller club, with less need to continually bark out The Warhorses but still, if this is the last we’ll see of ’em here, they did themselves proud.
Excellent! I have seen them do Midnight Rambler many times, sometimes it is a bit of a bore, but on other occasions it can really take off and become something absolutely sensational and arguably the best example of The Stones as a supreme live act.
Wonderfully written review. Thank you.
*blushes*
thanks Moose.
yep, I was there, it was great and so good to finally clap eyes on them
great playing, they were so loose and rolling aptly enough,
Keith was in good form
I remember when they played Slane in 1982 (my older siblings went) they seemed like old men, ha!
Really enjoyed this review. Well done! Hope the show was as good as your writing.
After having listened most of the albums from the other fab fellows, I planned to do the same with “les stones” whose only albums I own were “Hot Rocks 1 & 2”, I heard them played at my favourite record shop in Praha (without recognizing them, I thought it was a blues group!) and now, your honest article!
I guess that I have to work really hard to get a ticket to their next concert, thank you Sir!
I love a boogie and the longer the better.
Thanks for the review – I have shared it with some Stones fans.
Great account of a real event. You’ve made me dig out Forty Licks, and the besttracktheyeverdidbyacountrymile* is now playing at 11. Good job there’s no one in next door.
*Gimme. Obv.
I was wondering where the noise was coming from.
Lovely review. I, too, would be tempted by a blues club.
My dad saw them in one…. in 1963. Coach trips sadly not available.
They did that with the El Mocambo recordings on Love You Live. The logistics of a small club tour would be mind boggling. Demand so far ahead of supply. Nice idea though.
On the Links tour they did a number of “club” shows. I went a bit crazy and saw small theatre gigs in Boston, London, Utrecht and Stockholm. Was amazing to literally be within touching distance of the guys. They were not “blues shows” as such, but I saw them do many deep cuts including Parachute Woman, Everybody Needs Somebody to Love, Hand of Fate, I Got the Blues, Worried About You, No Expectations, Stray Cat Blues etc. Was an amazing summer.
That third side of Love You Live is magic. Way better than the rest of the album. I just wish there had been enough decent material to fill another side and it would have been their *best* live album by far.
We’re in Dublin for a holiday this weekend. Not for The Stones though. When we booked, we couldn’t believe the hotel prices. We didn’t know Ed Sheeran and The Stones were here too. Hehe!
Great review.
Beginning to look at Coventry with a glazed look, glad I am double booked for some youngsters elsewhere….
Not Petesy Burns’s ARSE again!!!
Apparently the bloke with a beard works here
Did somebody call?
Oh bugger – I’m going to have to dig deep and buy some bloody tickets aren’t I?
Excellent review, great read, thanks. “Made me feel like I was there”. Re the setlist – Ron Wood usually puts his painted set list up on Twitter these days
Nice one. I booked Lucky Dip tickets for Manchester so happy to take a punt on this and hopefully they’ll be on form albeit we might be in a different Post Code to the stage. Suspect they’re having trouble shifting the high price tickets as there are quite a few billboards and posters around – 85+ tx still available.
Good luck. I had a Lucky Dip once and ended up in the pit.
Brilliant review @ivan – I am going to see them in Berlin next month [saw them in Hamburg last year] and really looking forward to it. Especially glad to hear Keith’s actually playing more now.
I was going to mention this, but didn’t want to seem snide (which certainly isn’t my intention). I thought the consensus was that Keith is so hampered by arthritis these days that he barely plays, and his parts are actually another guitarist off stage. Does anyone know?
Ron does most of the heavy lifting and there is another guitarist strumming stage right. Keith is there to play flamboyant intros (often incorrectly) and pose around, throwing in the odd solo. I haven”t seen them for 5 years, but I doubt he is doing much more these days.
He actually does quite a lot. No other guitarist strumming along either. The medication must be working.
Bernard Fowler used to strum along sometimes, as well as doing backing vocals, not sure he is still in the touring band.
Thanks @ivan – it’s good to read a review that reflects the fact that people actually enjoyed seeing and hearing them! I’ve seen them often enough now, and these old bones don’t relish another trip to a stadium gig these days, but you only have to watch, say, the Hyde Park concert or the Stcky Fingers Live gig to know they still cut it and, incidently, that people do love the old boys! We’ll miss them when they do call it a day.
Love the Mick clapping anecdote. Great review.
Good one Ivan. They really were on good form. Amazingly as @steven-c said beforehand we had both as teenagers been to Slane to see them for the first time in 1982. 36 years ago. I’ve seen them many times since. The Point Dublin 2003, Brixton Academy 1995, Wembley 1995, 5 times in Wembley 1990.
What’s astonishing or maybe it isn’t astonishing is how good they were on Thursday. At no point do they look like they are phoning it in. Even if as @pat-carty said “Jagger looks so well for his 237 years”.
You summed up the night for me although I’ll disagree with Midnight Rambler. I loved that although they might have spun an extra couple of minutes more than necessary out of it.
And to end with Gimme and Satisfaction, and make them both sound vital after all these years is a testament to them. Especially Satisfaction which sounded particularly powerful.
I’d go again. Now I’m off to play my 9 copies of Exile.
OK that’s it, you bastard – two £30 lucky dip tickets booked for Old Trafford. If I hate it, it’s your fault, obviously.
Excellent review. I haven’t seen them for decades, mainly because I don’t like maybe gigs, but the thought of a blues club is very tasty, not that it’s likely to happen, more’s the pity.
Excellent stuff. Sets me up nicely for Olympic Park next Friday (my fifth Stones concert in 30 years). Loved “Blues and Lonesome” so I’m very glad they do a few numbers from it.