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Most bands treating their fifty-year back catalog like a museum exhibit end up looking like wax figures, but The Rolling Stones in 2015 weren’t interested in being preserved. During their Zip Code stop at Comerica Park, they treated Satisfaction not as a relic, but as an ongoing experiment in blues-soaked endurance. With a gospel-tinged assist from the Oakland University Chorale on You Can’t Always Get What You Want, the band proved that they’ve traded youthful volatility for a lethal, stripped-back precision. They’re no longer chasing the ghost of their own youth; they’re busy proving that rock and roll actually ages—if you let it.
July 8, 2015: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan, USA (Zip Code Tour of North America 2015) Jumpin’ Jack Flash/It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll/All Down The Line/Tumbling Dice/Just My Imagination/Rocks Off/Moonlight Mile/Bitch/Honky Tonk Women/Band introduction/Before They Make Me Run/Happy/ Midnight Rambler/Miss You/Gimme Shelter/Start Me Up/Sympathy For The Devil/Brown Sugar/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Satisfaction *With special guests the Oakland University Chorale choir on You Can’t Always Get What You Want All photos from IORR
A Detroit Night Full of Swagger and Soul
Would the Mick Jagger who belted out (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction in 1965 recognize the one who delivered it half a century later in downtown Detroit? Maybe not the song itself. At Comerica Park, Satisfaction morphs into a bluesy, stretched-out groove, less youthful defiance, more mature seduction. The riff rolls on endlessly, as if the band dares you to keep up—and if you’re into it, they’ll gladly dish out a monster-sized slice.
The Stones’ 2015 Zip Code tour, named after the reissue of Sticky Fingers, is more about feel than flash. Gone are the inflatables and pyrotechnics. Instead, it’s about stripped-back showmanship and deep grooves. Mick Jagger struts like always, but also shows off vocal nuance on Moonlight Mile. Keith Richards and Ron Wood trade licks like old friends with nothing to prove and everything to share. Even Charlie Watts cracks a rare grin during a fierce All Down the Line.
The Rolling Stones in Detroit Again: A Jukebox Reimagined, Not Replaced
Detroit’s own musical legacy gets its due too. Jagger tosses out shoutouts to Bob Seger, Eminem, and Kid Rock—before diving into a cover of The Temptations’ Just My Imagination, a Motown nod that feels right at home.
The night also brings reflection. It’s the band’s first extended run since Bobby Keys’ passing, and L’Wren Scott’s death still lingers in the background. Richards’ voice falters during his solo turn but is held steady by backup legends Lisa Fischer and Bernard Fowler.
This isn’t reinvention. It’s rejuvenation. The Stones aren’t trying to be what they were—they’re embracing what they’ve become: a band still fueled by the blues, still in sync, and still chasing that elusive satisfaction in their own way.
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