 Philips
Arena, Atlanta, GA
on Saturday, October 15th. 2005. Atlanta next stop on the Bigger
Bang Tour. Wilco is warm-up in Atlanta for the 20.000 big audience.
Set list:
Start Me Up - You Got Me Rocking - Live With Me - Tumbling Dice - Rough
Justice - Wild Horses - Rain Fall Down - Bitch - Mr. Pitifull - Intros - The
Worst - Infamy - Miss You - Oh No, Not You Again - Get Off Of My Cloud - Honky
Tonk Women - Sympathy For The Devil - Paint It Black - Brown Sugar - You Can't
Always Get What You Want (encore) - Satisfaction (encore).
Reviews:
The Rolling Stones at Philips Arena
by Nick Marino, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just before Saturday night’s sold-out Rolling Stones concert at Philips
Arena, reviewers were given special Stones notepads and glow-in-the-dark Stones
pens. The pens only let you write positive comments, one reviewer was told.
This turned out to be true. Every time a critic reached for a negative remark,
the pen magically transformed the unflattering description into a note of praise,
placed in capital letters for extra impact.
Anyway, about the show: Looking as YOUNG as ever, the Rolling Stones played
two hour set led by their HUMBLE leader, Mick Jagger, who took the stage wearing
a gold sequined jacket and the tight black pants he was born in.
Much has been written about the Stones combined age, which is approaching
250, but at this point the more interesting figure is their combined weight.
Saturday night, none of these stick figure rock stars — not Jagger, Charlie
Watts, Ron Wood or PICTURE OF HEALTH Keith Richards — looked like they could
withstand the proverbial stiff breeze.
But they did stand their ground to rock, give them credit for that. They
rocked long and, occasionally, hard. The hardest rocking stuff included the
apocalyptic “Paint It Black” and a new song, “Oh No, Not You Again.”
Softer rocking included “Wild Horses” and “You Can’t Always Get What You
Want.”
The Brits did not play their much-discussed protest song “Sweet Neo Con.”
By now, it seems clear that “Neo Con” was nothing more than a COMPLETELY
SINCERE SONG OF CONCERN THAT JUST HAPPENED TO DRUM UP ATTENTION ON THE VERGE OF
A MAJOR CONCERT TOUR.
They did, however, pay homage to a Georgian by covering Otis Redding’s
“Mr. Pitiful.” It was kind of a sloppy cover, actually, BUT THEY GET POINTS
FOR TRYING. The Stones took time out elsewhere to mention our fair state. Jagger
introduced keyboardist Chuck Leavell as Macon’s own. He also took time to give
somewhat awkward BUT THOUGHTFUL shout-outs to Augusta and Marietta.
Richards, at the onset of leading a bizarre BUT ENDEARING mini-set, actually
seemed to say that it was good to be home, then muttered something about
“It’s as good as anywhere.” (HE SEEMED TIRED.) Then he said, “OK, Dixie,
this is called ‘The Worst,’” and he proceeded to BEAUTIFULLY croon.
Jagger moves incredibly well for a man of any age, but his voice GAINS
CHARACTER from his DISTINCTIVELY BRITISH pronunciations. In his mouth, “thank
you” sounded like “thagew” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”” came out
“Juppy Jag Flask.’”
In the end, though, “Satisfaction” came out nice and clear. The riff is
indelible, and the song’s sturdy structure made is strong enough to withstand
the pounding, house-rocking arrangement that the band used to finish up the
show, complete with a confetti burst. After all these years, it’s amazing that
the Rolling Stones can play this song without sounding like a karaoke act. (THAT’S
WHY THEY’RE THE WORLD’S GREATEST ROCK AND ROLL BAND.)
photos all by Kimberly Smith
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