Fort Worth ’78: The Rolling Stones Go Full Throttle

By Marcelo Sonaglioni on July 18, 2025

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The Rolling Stones live in Fort Worth 1978

July 18, 1978: Will Rogers Memorial Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA
Let It Rock/All Down The Line/Honky Tonk Women/Star Star/When The Whip Comes Down/Beast Of Burden/Miss You/Just My Imagination/Shattered/Respectable/Far Away Eyes/Love In Vain/Tumbling Dice/ Happy/Sweet Little Sixteen/Brown Sugar/Jumpin’ Jack Flash
*With special guest Doug Kershaw (fiddle) on Far Away Eyes
*Released on DVD in 2011 as Some Girls – Live in Texas ’78

*Click for MORE ROLLING STONES FLASHBACK

Ragged, Raw, and Ready: The Stones Meet the Punk Era

In the sweltering Texas heat of July 18, 1978, the Rolling Stones stormed the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth with a set that crackled with raw urgency. Gone was the bloated grandiosity of their early ’70s output — in its place, a leaner, nervier Stones had emerged. With Ron Wood bringing sinewy energy to the lineup and Keith Richards defying his demons with surprising vitality, the band tore through a set that balanced hits with bold new material. The concert, captured for a companion DVD to the Some Girls reissue, features a tight, 80-minute performance where even warhorses like Honky Tonk Women hit with renewed force, barely three songs in. Jagger, ever the showman, dons a swastika-laced Destroy T-shirt and an absurd red plastic hat (mercifully abandoned after a few numbers), turning the stage into a provocation factory.

From Glimmer Twins to Punk Survivors

The Stones weren’t trying to become The Clash — but in 1978, even legends had to react to punk. And react they did, with songs like Shattered and When the Whip Comes Down translating beautifully to the twitchy, restless pace of the times. Tracks from Some Girls don’t just hold their own — they thrive live. Respectable manages to be both scathing and absurd, while Far Away Eyes reminds us the Stones could still wink while breaking hearts. Even Miss You, stretching toward disco with its swaggering groove, hints at the coming synth-laced ‘80s. This was the post-pomp Stones: faster, tougher, maybe a little nastier — and all the more thrilling for it. For fans wanting a glimpse of that raw transformation, this film is an unapologetic, electrified snapshot.

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