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Boston has a long memory, and apparently so does The Rolling Stones, who showed up in 2013 ready to collect every old story the city had been saving for them. Between bruised history, local jokes, and a crowd already halfway in love before the first chord, Paint It Black landed like it had something to prove all over again. Midnight Rambler didn’t just stretch out—it prowled, snarled, and refused to behave, especially with Mick Taylor back in the mix reminding everyone that finesse can still hit like a punch. Even Sympathy for the Devil felt oddly amused by the whole spectacle unfolding.
June 14, 2013: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, USA (50 & Counting… Tour, North American Leg) Get Off Of My Cloud/It’s Only Rock’n Roll/Paint It Black/Gimme Shelter/All Down The Line/Memory Motel/When The Whip Comes Down/Emotional Rescue/Doom And Gloom/One More Shot/Honky Tonk Women/Band introduction/You Got The Silver/Happy/ Midnight Rambler/Miss You/Start Me Up/Tumbling Dice/Brown Sugar/Sympathy For The Devil/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Jumpin’ Jack Flash/ Satisfaction *With special guests the Boston University Marsh Chapel Choir on You Can’t Always Get What You Want All photos from IORR
Boston Memories and Midnight Magic
When Mick Jagger opened the show with, “Boston brings back lots of funny memories,” he wasn’t kidding. From a barn in North Brookfield in 1981 to getting bailed out of jail in 1972 by Mayor Kevin White, the city has a deep history with The Rolling Stones. And that history continued in spectacular form on June 12, 2013, when the band tore through a set that was equal parts nostalgia and fire. Jagger kept the local references coming—name-dropping former Mayor Menino with a cheeky “Mr. Ronnie Roots” shoutout and winning the crowd by donning a Bruins jersey in the middle of a Stanley Cup battle.
Riffs, Rambler and Rock ‘n’ Roll Redemption
While the crowd roared to the likes of Paint It Black, Tumbling DiceandGimme Shelter it was the deeper cuts that struck gold. Mick Taylor’s return for Swayand a ferociousMidnight Rambler reminded everyone just how lethal his fretwork still is. His bluesy solo during “Rambler” was a standout moment, a mix of clean precision and dirty swagger.
Theatrics played their part too—Mick in a feathered coat for Sympathy for the Devil, a giant cartoon woman attacked by lip-faced gorillas during Honky Tonk Women, and the Boston University Marsh Chapel Choir opening You Can’t Always Get What You Want. But it was Jagger’s falsetto on Emotional Rescue and Keith’s brutal guitar stab that stole the night.
They closed with Jumpin’ Jack Flash and a roaring Satisfaction, with three generations of Stones guitarists trading licks. If this wasn’t “The Last Time” no one’s complaining. The Rolling Stones still burn bright—and in Boston, they blazed.
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