The Rolling Stones hype reached its peak at Wednesday night’s concert at Letzigrund Stadion. The four musicians landed in their own jet on Sunday and since then all the Swiss people could talk about was this gig. The horrendous pricing prevented me from buying my tickets in the first place but I was lucky enough to score a pair in front of the stadium.
We got in and the support act called The Struts started. They’re a band from Derby, UK and I really loved them. If you want to know more about them keep following Kekoas Korner. Another thing that I noticed was that somehow more people were walking around. People of all ages, families, rock’n’roller but the band shirt contest goes clearly to Guns N’ Roses – which surprised me.
At 8.20pm red fire was lit up and the four lads took the stage with a “Tu Tu” (“Sympathy for the Devil). “It’s only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I like it)” and “Tumbling Dice” followed. I have to say I was impressed to see them since everybody knows their story and they are just living legends. I am blessed to have seen them live. After only 3 songs you could already see that they enjoy what they are doing and they are brilliant at it. Four awesome musicians joined by a fairly big band.
Mick Jagger announced a surprise for us. We were the first audience to hear “Hate to see you go” off their newest record “Blue & Lonesome“. I loved the country vibe and that Mick Jagger himself played the harmonica. Luckily we got another new one called “Ride ‘Em on Down”. Absolutely loved that part and will buy their newest record.
After “Dancing with Mr. D” we got a Bob Dylan cover “Like a Rollin’ Stone” which was chosen by the audience beforehand via the Rolling Stones app. Yes, the Grandad’s have an app and this isn’t the only reason why they are the coolest Grandad’s in the World. They are rocking the stage like they are in their 20’s. The routine of over 50 years in the music industry is imminent. The four of them – Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ron Wood and Charlie Watts – know each other like the back of their hand.
We’ve moved on from the fairly new ones to a super old one “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” which was released in 1969! Even Mick didn’t remember on which album it was! π In general they didn’t talk much but if they did it was quite funny! “Paint it black” and “Honky Tonk Women” were next and by then we were half way through the set and the audience looked like they were asleep! These Mid-Seventies are rocking their socks of and the crowd barely moved their heads. I was appalled but clearly most of them were there because you had to be there just for the sake of it.
Finally Keith Richards sang his two solo songs “Happy” and “Slipping Away”. I have to admit to you guys if I was 70 years old and a cool Granny I’d fancy him! π Richards was smiling and joking and jamming. The show was almost flawless until Ron Wood missed his cue and all they did was laugh about it – that’s how chilled they are! “Midnight Rambler”, “Miss You” and “Street Fighting Man” were next and still no sign of an audience.
Mick tried more than once to get everyone clapping but only the people close to him followed his lead. Finally with “Start Me Up” and “Brown Sugar” I started to see some moves and clapping. The best atmosphere was during their biggest hit “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” when we all started to sing a long. That was a highlight for me. Unfortunately the momentum was lost by the usual break before the encore. We were honoured with two encore songs “Gimme Shelter” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and it all ended with fireworks after 2 hours and 15 mins.
As you know this summer I’ve seen four outdoor concerts at Letzigrund. Guns N’ Roses, Depeche Mode and only recently Robbie Williams and I gotta say that this was the worst atmosphere of all of them. I am quite disappointed to be honest not with The Rolling Stones – they were great – but by the crowd. I guess sometimes it’s not the biggest or most hyped concerts that are the best.
I’d love to know your opinion and if you enjoyed the concert! Please leave a reply below or comment on facebook, twitter or instagram.
I was really curious about your review for this concert.
When I heard that THE Rolling Stones are coming to Zurich I was soooo excited! But than I saw the ticket prizes and I was like: HELL NO!
I honestly couldn’t believe how expensive the tickets were! In my opinion it’s a shame that artists, no matter how famous they are, are getting away with making their tickets so insanely expensive. I mean, I would have been able to afford it, but for me, it simply wasn’t worth it. They are rich enough, they don’t need to be even more rich, so I was like: I’m not giving you my money, grandpas!
It’s interesting, I expected your review to be something like: The crowd was amazing! They were rocking the Letzigrund!
I would never have guessed, that the crowd would be that stiff and boring. I mean, wasn’t it a rock concert and not Mozart playing in the opera? Why did they go to a concert, when they already knew beforehand, that they’d be glued to their chairs?
Sometimes I simply don’t understand people! If I love a band or an artist I can’t sit still. I act like a monkey on a stick ^^
thanks for the review!
xoxo
Anna
I put flat shoes on because I thought I will be standing for 2 hours… So yeah I was really disappointed but then again it was the biggest concert so people just had to be there??
And I totally understand that you didn’t go because of the prices..
Xx thank you as always for your comment.
it’s this famous fomo (fear of missing out) that our social media generation endures. I hate it. Why go there if you don’t really wanna be there? Just so you can post it on your social media account to make your followers jealous? that’s soooo sad.
Exactly!