 First
Union Center
The 21000 big audience got what they same for, a great show, especially to
mention Ron Wood gave his steel pedal guitar playing. Great. These shows with
around 20000 people are just great, not too many in the crowds, but of course
the theatres and club shows are the best.
Set list:
Street Fighting Man - It's Only Rock'n'Roll - If You Can't Rock Me - Don't Stop
- All Down The Line - Love In Vain - Live With Me - Monkey Man - Gimme Shelter -
Tumbling Dice - Slipping Away - Happy - Can't Turn You Loose - Start Me Up -
Honky Tonk Women - Can't You Hear Me Knocking - Satisfaction - Beast Of
Burden - Miss You - Brown Sugar - Sympathy for the Devil - Jumping Jack Flash.
 Review from BL
Philly Special 2002 by Blue
Lena
Philly shows are always special. The
First
Union
Center
on
Friday September 20th was no exception. We had just seen a great
Veteran’s Stadium show 2 nights before and were geared up for the smaller
indoor set. The evening began on a high note, as we got to see Ronnie & Jo
Wood, Keith & Mick leave the hotel. Ronnie & Keith both signed some
stuff for fans in the lobby and later Mick even said “hi” to us as he
literally brushed by us with his 4 security guards.
The evening got even better as we entered the VIP lounge and chatted with
fellow fans while drinking Becks Beer. We got the 40 Licks posters from the
walls before we headed out to the floor.
Our seats were 13th row right next to the catwalk on
Keith’s side, couldn’t ask for a much better view. When the lights went
down, the people next to me immediately fired up a joint and then it was the
boys ripping into Street Fighting Man
with a vengeance…and it was all sex, drugs & rock n’roll from the first
notes. The shows this tour have been so much more exciting to me because for one
I make a point to NOT look at the set list pre-show and two, the set lists just
kick ass above all the other tours I had previously seen.
This show started out in a similar fashion to opening night at the
Fleet in
Boston
,
with no complaints from me. Even the new one Don’t
Stop as a live number is beginning to grow on me. Then came All
Down the Line…my friend was literally in tears because this is the one
song he had prayed to hear and had been waiting to hear since he first saw the
band on the ’72 tour. Wish granted, and it kicked ass. Bobby Keys and the horn
section were wailing. And right from there we found out it was to be a Let
It Bleed night (my favorite album), as they moved onto Love In Vain, a song I had been waiting to hear live…aaahhhhh.
Ronnie has been awesome on the slide & lap steel guitar. Right from there to
Monkey Man, which I always love,
though I miss Lisa sharing the vocals as she did in ’94-that was a sexy number.
Of course, they couldn’t get off Let It
Bleed without playing Gimme Shelter,
again no complaints, after all it’s Keith. I can hear Tumbling Dice anytime, that open G riff, oh yeah.
I shot pictures throughout the show, which sometimes makes it
difficult to really pay attention…but I had to pay attention, get photos and
listen to Keith doing Slipping Away &
Happy. Is it just my bias or does Keith’s voice sound better than ever
this tour? Holy shit. He takes off that guitar & holds it and leans against
it on stage. “All I want is ecstasy” You ain’t kidding baby.
Then a first for a great take on the Otis Redding number, I
Can’t Turn You Loose, which I prefer over Love
Train. Mick walked down the catwalk beside me at one point, but I can’t
even recall which song it was. Right after this number we moved back towards the
B-stage because we weren’t sure exactly on which song the band would make the
move. Got into Start
Me Up from the back of the B-stage, then moved to Keith’s side of the
B-stage as the band moved into Honky Tonk
Women, another riff I can get into with ease at any show. At this point I am
thinking, jeez we moved to the B-stage way too early, but after a blistering Can’
t You Hear Me Knocking and Satisfaction
the boys finally hit the catwalk for the stroll out to center stage. It was
worth our while to get our places early.
Unfortunately, to this day the B-stage is a blur for me because I
was inches in front of Keith & Mick for every lick and well, like I said I
have trouble combining the looking & listening when I am so damn close! The
next day I had to ask my friends what they played on the B-stage…Beast
of Burden? No kidding! Sometime during or after that first song Keith bent
down and placed his guitar pick directly into my hand…I remember that much…and
then it was like Keith heaven from then on. They were just rocking out, Ronnie
& Keith jamming in front of Charlie’s drums, Bobby wailing on sax, Mick
playing a mean harp and dancing in our faces, Chuck pounding the keyboard,
Darryl’s thundering bass lines…too fucking much! I was just in total awe
with that guitar pick squeezed so tightly in my left hand while I snapped
pictures with my right, that when I finally opened my hand the pick was indented
there. Miss You & Brown Sugar were
the last 2 numbers out there before the boys exited the B-stage through the
crowd on Ronnie’s side and re-appeared on the main stage for
Sympathy & Jumping Jack Flash
to close the show.
As the red rose petals fell from the ceiling, we were all still in
a state of Stones shock. What a fabulous show! It was my 30th show
& it went right to the top of my list of best arena shows…wow, incredible.
Thanks boys, especially you Keith!
 Jaggerfn1
review:
My friend (SweetVA) arrived in the afternoon. We had
gotten her a last minute ticket thru TicketMaster, very good seat for $150.00.
While SweetVA and I were dressing for
the show, Blue Lena, Elizabeth and BL’s friend Joe (from
Pittsburgh
) went to the 4 Seasons, was sitting in the lobby when
security brought Mick and Keith out the front door.
They walked out with them; Blue Lena was in hives when she got back to us
J
Leave it to me to be in the wrong place at the wrong time!
First
Union
Center
September 20, 2002
We cabbed to Legends at the Holiday Inn,
pre-show was indoors this time. Had a cocktail, then headed over to the Will
Call office at
First
Union
Center
(quite a hike). After
picking up the ticket, we headed to the bar for a quick one.
The show was absolutely the best I’ve
seen. We were 13th row on
Keith’s side very near the B-stage ramp.
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