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June 9, 2015: Bobby Dodd Stadium, Atlanta, GA, USA Start Me Up/It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll/All Down The Line/Tumbling Dice/Doom And Gloom/Can’t You Hear Me Knocking/You Gotta Move/Some Girls/Honky Tonk Women/Band introduction/Before They Make Me Run/Happy/Midnight Rambler/Miss You/Gimme Shelter/Jumping Jack Flash/Sympathy For The Devil/Brown Sugar/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Satisfaction *With special guests the Emory University Concert Choir on ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ *All pictures from the IORR site
From Rough Draft Atlanta: As the song goes, you can’t always get what you want. In my case it was decent seats to see The Rolling Stones at Bobby Dodd Stadium on the Georgia Tech campus. I bought tickets a couple of months ago for the Zip Code tour stop, but simply didn’t want to pay the $300-400 price tag for a seat on the field. I went for a $100 ticket, which put me at the side of the stage in the upper reaches of the stadium. Nosebleed city and no view of the giant screens flanking the stage. And you know what? It didn’t matter. The show was that good.
Full confession: I’m not a huge fan of the Stones. I consider myself a casual fan with a love of the hits and one or two deep cuts. I bought the tickets because I’d never seen the legendary rock ‘n roll band, and since Mick Jagger and Co. are in their late 60s/early 70s, I wondered how much longer could they keep touring. I Uber-ed over to Grant Field last night thinking this might be the last tour for the Stones, but after watching the show, I think the boys could carry on indefinitely.
The set list was – mostly – a catalogue of hits: “Start Me Up,” “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It)”, “Brown Sugar,” “Honky Tonk Woman,” “Miss You,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Sympathy for the Devil,” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” and “Satisfaction.” The 40,000+ crowd was on their feet most of the night, following Mick as he strutted, jumped and ran up and down the long catwalk into the center of the field. We all can only hope to be that agile and spry at 71. And his voice was in fine form all night long.
Keith Richards took center stage for two songs – “Before They Make Me Run” and “Happy” – which sent the crowd into spasms, but it was Ronnie Wood who got to showcase some serious rock chops on his guitar. The power cords and riffs Wood was serving up made the bleachers rumble. Charlie Watts was, as ever, stoic behind the drum kit, keeping a solid beat all night.
For me, the highlight of the night was backing vocalist Lisa Fischer taking center stage with Mick for “Gimme Shelter.” Fischer’s soaring vocals were a spectacular counterpoint to Mick’s growl, as they traded the lyrics “it’s just a shot away, it’s just a kiss away” with the audience chanting along. After the impressive showmanship of the band last night, I’m hoping for another tour soon. And this time, I’ll splurge for better seats.
