 Stadio
Olimpico, Roma, Italy
on July 6th. 2007
After Spain Rolling Stones arrived some days ago to the Capital of Italy,
Rome. There have been a lot of sightseeing for the band, and on Friday the band
play on the famous Stadio Olimpico, Rome.
Our secretary and book writer Massimo Bonanno comes with his report soon.
Set list:
Start Me Up - You Got Me Rocking - Rough Justice - Rocks Off - She's So Cold -
Ruby Tuesday - Cant You Hear Me Knockin' - I'll Goo Crazy - Tumbling Dice -
Intros - You Got The Silver - Happy - Miss You - It's Only Rock'n'Roll -
Satisfaction - Honky Tonk Women - Sympathy For The Devil - Paint It Black
Jumping Jack Flash - Brown Sugar (encore)
Review:
Stones in Rome by Massimo Bonanno
Although
seventeen years had passed since the Rolling Stones last played
Rome (Urban Jungle Tour, summer 1990), the massive Stadio Olimpico was
not a sell out and yet it was not ‘sparsely attended’ as more than 40,000
attended the show. Among the guets backstage was Martin Scorsese. Outside the
stadium several unofficial T-shits vendors freely made business with no problems
of any sort. The area was packed with fans from various countries. Inside the
stadium the show was slightly delayed (about 15 minutes) as riots were feared
when fans from the stands massed agains the barricades,
were allowed onto the field
causing so even more chaos among fans who had their seat on the field
(the very first time in Italy). Thank God everything calmed down, minutes before
the chords of Start Me Up
introduced the band on the massive stage. The crowd roared; the band
sounded and looked good, Mick was in good shape. You
Got Me Rocking followed with nice guitar work from Ronnie. A raw Rough Justice was followed by the unexpected Rocks Off, introduced by the well known killer riff from Keith.
Again another surprise as the boys launched themselves into a fast She’s
So Cold. Surely the band remembered their first gigs in Rome back in 1967,
as Ruby Tuesday was greeted with great excitement, the crowd sang along
the band. Another surprise of the evening was Can’t You Hear Me Knocking; Ronnie delivered a great solo, he
sounded really good, just like the good old days. Mick and Lisa Fisher duetted
on the legendary James Brown’s hit I’ll
Go Crazy. The whole band and Lisa were smashing. Tumbling Dice was followed by the band’s introductions and Keith
got a standing ovation. The Romans certainly had not forgotten him when he used
to visit Rome later in the 60’s with Anita Pallemberg whose sister still lives
there. It was just Ronnie on acoustic guitar and Keith on vocals (no guitar) on You
Got The Silver. It was strange to see Keith just singing without his beloved
guitar. Happy followed, then the band moved on the small stage, as it began
moving among the audience the band performed Miss You, then It’s Only
Rock’n’Roll whose opening chords reminded of Chuck Berry. A smashing Satisfaction
made the whole stadium roaring. Back on the main stage the percussions
introduced Sympathy For The Devil; the crowd loved it as well as Paint
It Black. Jumpin Jack Flash close the show, but the fans wanted more. Within
minutes the Stones appeared again on stage for their ancore Brown
Sugar.
It was a good show, the fans loved every minute of it, the
band was praised by the critics and it was great to see and hear how well Ronnie
played. Keith was ok, although now and them seemed a bit remote. Charlie will
always be Charlie. It is impossible to think our lives without the Rolling
Stones. The following day Mick attended a party for fashion legend Valentino.
© Siw Grindåker (the 2 above)
© Photo of Massimo Della Pietra,
Italian Keith fan who got a Meet N' Greet photo with the band in Rome
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