 Scott Stadium,
Charlottesville, VA
on Thursday, October 6th. 2005. The show was interupted in the
intros because of a bomb threat - but after around 1 hour the show continued.
Set list:
Start Me Up - It's Only Rock'n'Roll - Shattered - Tumbling Dice - Rough
Justice - Ruby Tuesday - Sweet Virginia - All Down The Line - Intros
(break due to bomb threat) after almost 1 hour show starts again - Miss You - Oh
No, Not You Again - Get Off Of My Cloud - Honky Tonk Women - Sympathy For The
Devil - Paint It Black - Brown Sugar - Jumpin' Jack Flash - You Can't Always Get
What You Want (encore) - Satisfaction (encore)
Reviews:
By Melissa Ruggieri, Time Dispatch
The "technical difficulty" Mick Jagger referred to an hour into the
Rolling Stones' inaugural appearance at Scott Stadium last night was actually a
"very specific" bomb threat, according to promoters.
The 10-minute intermission Jagger announced turned into almost an hour of uneasy
waiting as police attached to bomb-sniffing dogs zipped around the bowels of the
stage and patrons in seats on the field were evacuated to the concourse.
Most of the 45,000-plus concertgoers reacted to the unscheduled pause with a mix
of nervous curiosity and patience, heading to lengthening lines at the snack
bars and merchandise booths and trying to locate a cell-phone signal in a very
busy airspace.
At 10:40 p.m., the house lights slammed down to the sound of a deafening
audience roar when Jagger calmly strutted to the front of the stage and mumbled
something that sounded like "thanks for your patience" before the band
kicked into a blistering "Miss You."
I t was the point of the concert that rewarded fans seated at the back of the
field as a ministage glided on a track and the core foursome of Jagger, Keith
Richards, Ron Wood and the unflappable Charlie Watts rolled out an impeccable
sing-along of "Get Off My Cloud." Almost instantly, the tense
realities of the preceding hour melted away.
The pre-bomb-scare portion of the concert also made fans forget the three-hour
traffic snarls and parking mazes -- as it should have -- when Richards tumbled
from backstage to saw the opening notes of "Start Me Up."
These legends are still such an awe-inspiring bunch on stage, from Jagger's
serpentine sexiness and elastic magnetism (those gyrating hips on "Shattered")
to Richards' grinding the blues out on "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll."
Jagger, who apparently still cares about connecting with an audience, is said to
study a map of each area the band visits so that he can say things from the
stage such as, "We'd like to welcome everyone who came tonight from
Richmond . . . and Virginia Beach . . . and Midlothian." Perhaps Midlothian
looks bigger in color print.
The band also mixed up its set list to include "Sweet Virginia" -- an
infrequently played fan favorite that included a coda designed for a fan
sway-along -- and also a dirty, strobe-light-flashing "Paint It
Black."
As if fans hadn't endured enough on this night, thrilling as it was, a slanted
stream of rain began right as the always ominous "Sympathy for the Devil,"
featuring Jagger in a top hat, folded to a close. But neither the audience nor
the band seemed to mind, all of them soaked in a sticky pool of sweat and rain.
How much more rock 'n' roll can you get?
The band ignored the usual 11 p.m. curfew, smashing through "Brown
Sugar," which featured the terrific Bobby Keys on saxophone and a hammy
Jagger prancing across the stage, while fans seated onstage leaned over the
railings to "yeah, yeah, yeah, whooo!"
That stage, by the way, was a beast that could have sprung from George Lucas'
toy farm, with its bowed strips of aluminum, curved metal claws bearing lights,
and regular breathing of smoke and fireworks from its head.
Give the Stones credit for handling the night's unexpected snafus with the type
of effortless grace and experience that can only come from four decades of
performing. Their set-closing "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" was as
exuberant and tight as "Start Me Up" a long three hours earlier, with
even Richards windmilling and stomping across the stage like a kid on his
playground.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is the work of genuine legends.
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