The
Rolling Stones
July
8th, 2015
Live
in Detroit
By
Bo White
After
all my years of attending concerts I’ve come to the conclusion that my concert
days are coming to an end. Don’t get me wrong I love the music and the songs
but I don’t like people, especially concert goers and I’ll tell you why; these
nincompoops stand up during the entire show and block my view of everything
including the screens , sing every effin’ lyric of every song, stink of beer
and cigarettes, smoke marijuana but won’t share. Then there are all those
yuppie dinks, walking tall, shoulders back like they have a stick up their
collective butts. They are smug and self-righteous and never actually listen to
the music; instead they talk about driving the Rover over to their summer residence
in Charlevoix. But really now, I’m not
here to gripe to you about my curmudgeon-like approach to life; It’s just my
fear of losing my passion for rock & roll and my ongoing battle with father
time. It’s this inevitable I will grow old. But until I take my last breath, I
will live it to the hilt. This brings me back to rock & roll. The Rolling
Stones will be performing in Detroit in a huge stadium made for professional
baseball. Back in 1972 I bought four $10 dollar tickets to see the Rolling
Stones at Cobo Arena. They had just released Exile on Main Street and they were
on the top of their game. I was enjoying a busy summer. I helped roof and
repair city school buildings in Saginaw, got up a 5am, got to work at 6:30am
and patched roofs till 4:30pm. Then I would hit the clubs; visit with
semi-automatic girlfriends and take in all the Dionysian delights a young man
might covet. After a month of serious debauchery, alcohol and weed I came down
with a serious attack of mononucleosis. It knocked me down for the count. It
took me a good five months to heal and an entire year to regain my strength; my
friends Garno & the Nabber visited me while I was convalescing. When I
asked about the concert, they said “It was the best show EVER!!! I meekly
smiled and mumbled insincere thanks. From that day on I made a promise that
someday I would see the Rolling Stones. I want to dig Satisfaction in all its
fuzzbox glory and hear those deep cuts that kick it out. Just listen to Keith
Richards guitar work and his open tuning technique that worked so well on Can’t
You Hear Me Knocking, Brown Sugar and others
Ladies
& Gentlemen…The Rolling Stones
The
setlist was tight, just what I expected, hits mixed in with deep cuts. Before
the show opened up, the fans had an opportunity to pick one of four or five
songs. The song that got the most votes was added to the setlist. I picked
Rocks Off and it made the list, it proved to the fans favorite. The band was
tight and Mick Jagger proved to be a charming front man. He came prepared, held
his hand, palm up as he pointed to the exact spot in the the southern mitten of
Detroit. He won the crowd over by mentioning Bob Seger and Kid Rock and
congratulated the Detroit Tigers on their regional championships for the past
five years. The dude did his homework.
The
show opened with a collage of images of the stones through the stages of their
long career. Then the band walked onto the stage with a roaring approval by the
fans. Jumpin’ Jack Flash opened the show. This was a high energy set with the
four long time members of the Stones taking the stage hostage. Jagger’s soulful
baritone was powerful. He sang and danced and mugged for the crowd. He’s a
showman who possesses an improbable stamina. 70 years and counting and Jagger
still has the gris gris. Ronnie Wood’s slide was incredible, he worked his
craft with an easy aplomb. Charlie Watts is an incredible jazz drummer who
happens to play rock & roll. He does that hesitation beat and holds his
sticks properly like we were taught in junior high school. Next up was a
spirited It’s Only Rock & Roll, a hard rocker with a heavy beat and great
slide work by Ronnie Wood. Jagger changed the lyric to “you think you’re the
only girl in Detroit town.” By and large all those golden rock solid chestnuts
were faithfully rendered for the masses. And we loved them for it. It brought
me right back to when Satisfaction and Honk Tonk Women carried me over the edge
of civility and into more urgent carnal desires. Jagger pumped up the crowd
over and over again. He needed only to shout out , “Hi Detroit Michiganders and
we were all his, hot and ready!
Exile
on Main Street garnered several songs, it is truly one of the greatest Stones
LPs . I loved Keith Richards vocal performances on Happy and Before They Make
Me Run. The Sticky Fingers was represented by a lusty version of Brown Sugar
and Bitch, gotta hand it to Jagger, he sustained a high energy level throughout
the 2 and ½ hour show. He even delivered an incredible falsetto on Moonlight
Mile, a song about sadness, regret and redemption. Jagger is becoming a singer!
He
may not be a singer per se but he is an expressive vocalist. He danced around
the stage all night and never let up. He’s aged well! The Ronnie Wood/Keith
Richards alliance is what makes the music jump, scream and electrify. Charlie
Watts tightened it up. Honky Tonk Women
is truly a masterpiece of carnal delights. Jagger was up for the task and he
delivered. The background singers were part of most of the songs. Gimme Shelter
was a highlight. Mick sang the lyrics like a man possessed…rape, murder is just
a shout a way; love, sisters is just a kiss away, a perfect dichotomy with
really no resolution. A true masterpiece!
The
encores included You Can’t Always Get What You Want (with members of the
Oakland University Choir). It was incredible!
The
Stones ended their performance with a raucous and sloppy (I Can’t Get No)
Satisfaction, it was the perfect foil to the digital age!
At
the very end of the show, following the encores, the symbol of the Rolling Stones
big red tongue morphed into the Detroit Tigers logo! This was followed by an
incredible fireworks display; it was totally unexpected but it was the perfect
end to an incredible night of music.
P.S.
Rolling Stones tee-shirts cost $50 in the stadium, $20 outside the stadium and
$10 down the block down
