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For decades every Rolling Stones tour has arrived wrapped in the same question: is this the last time? Yet somehow the farewell rumors keep aging faster than the band itself. At a packed Stade de France, anticipation hung in the air alongside a peculiar mix of nostalgia and disbelief. Could a group supposedly nearing the finish line still command a stadium with ease? The answer came quickly as The Rolling Stones turned uncertainty into celebration, proving that longevity and excitement are not mutually exclusive. And when It’s Only Rock’n’Roll echoed across the venue, it felt less like a reminder and more like a challenge.
June 13, 2014: Stade De France, Paris, France Jumpin’ Jack Flash/You Got Me Rocking/It’s Only Rock’n Roll/Tumbling Dice/Wild Horses/Doom And Gloom/Bitch/Out Of Control/Honky Tonk Women/Band introduction/You Got The Silver/Can’t Be Seen/ 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 Ensemble Allegri choir on You Can’t Always Get What You Want All photos from IORR
Les Rolling Stones ont triomphé au Stade de France (from Le Parisien):
It was now or never. Because it might have been a farewell evening. So I might as well be there to avoid any regrets. There were probably a few of them like that on Friday night, coming to see the Rolling Stones at the Stade de France. “Because you have to see them at least once in your life,” as the saying goes. “Before the end,” the critics will no doubt add.
Yet when Mick Jagger and his band took the stage to the sound of Jumpin’ Jack Flash, the Englishmen weren’t even 70 years old. Impossible. Especially him, the tireless, indestructible singer. Just enough time for the star to find his feet, to express his voice amidst what was initially a rough sound. A habit of the Stones, who always need a few minutes of adjustment before getting the ball rolling, to sweep through their dizzying career in two hours, their anthems that have spanned the ages, the soundtrack of our lives likeIt’s Only Rock’n’roll.
Because indeed, that’s all it is: rock’n’roll for the 80,000 people at the Stade de France, including celebrities like Dany Brillant, Nagui and Grégoire. We also saw Manuel Valls and Claude Bartolone dancing to Honky Tonk Women, not far from Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve. As for the rest, the band knows how to do it too. “Hi girls, hi guys, hi Paris,” Mick Jagger immediately says, speaking French well enough to win everyone over, adding: “Tonight, we’re going to Zlatanize you,” and even a little later: “France is going to win the World Cup against England.”
The Rolling Stones’ frontman is both a stadium driver and the captain of a sometimes tired team. There’s no match between a dashing Mick Jagger and an aging Keith Richards, who nevertheless wins on the applause, especially when he sings his two standard songs, which everyone politely listens to. Fortunately, the Stones’ guitar and vocals reunite at the end of the concert for a finale that brings the stadium to its feet with Miss You, Start Me Up, Sympathy For The Deviland, of course, Satisfaction. A way of closing the circle before saying goodbye. Unless it’s just a goodbye.
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