Rolling Stones Concert - Fifty Three Years of Performing Hasn't Dimmed the Excitement

Official T-shirt of the 2015 Tour

After arriving at the nearest subway station, we approached the Bobby Dodd Stadium by foot.  It was early.  Very early.   Summer showers had cleared the air providing a respite from the Atlanta summer heat. A steady stream of fellow earlybirds walked quickly with us, as if the music were about to begin.  The Alabama blues band, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, wouldn’t launch the show until 8 with the Rolling Stones due on sometime after 9.   It was only 6:15.

Bobby Dodd Stadium Begins to Fill

Along the way, a single fervent believer read the Bible aloud as we passed.  Another handed out flyers asking if we were saved – probably an appropriate question of this crowd of past prime time rock and rollers.  Ticket scalpers held hands high, flashing coveted tickets.  An occasional one questioned if we had tickets to sell.  Directly ahead a grandfather/granddaughter combo clearly shared knocked knee genes.  It was the first hint of the generational affect of the Rolling Stones and blend of the crowd.  Flip flops joined Birkenstocks headed to the stadium.  Occasional penny loafers walked in with spike heels alongside.  Gray hair dominated

Mick Jagger is 72 years old, Keith Richards 71, Rolling Stones Band 53 – literally a working lifetime of performing.   When they debuted on July 12, 1962, John Kennedy was president.  Eight presidents have served as they played on.   The civil rights movement was in full swing then resulting in a black President today who has sung along with Mick at the White House.  Birth control pills were about to give much needed power to women as the band’s swagger and claim of no satisfaction played to changing sexual mores.  Their unapologetic use of drugs helped launch the now rapid move to legalize marijuana.  They are a half century older but still play to the nostalgia of boomers and attract millenniums whose first memories were of their songs.

Downtown Atlanta in Distance

Inside, fans arrived from around the world.  A British woman had traveled from the Emirates to catch her 26^th Stones concert, beginning in 1973.  T-shirts from earlier tours were worn proudly.  In front of us, a young man wore a shirt from the 2014 tour On Fire which included stops in Israel, Norway and Spain. My favorite shirts were those of a couple that demanded, “Keith Richards for President”.   Seated next to me were two who already had tickets to the next concert in Orlando, Florida.  They had even splurged for the second event, paying $1750 per ticket to sit on the floor level.

The talk was of this and other performances.  We were asked what other bands we had seen and had to reach far back to college days to answer.  My husband earned street cred with his Janis Joplin concert at U.T.  I got a nod of approval for the Jefferson Airplane in San Antonio.  We were with serious music lovers who traveled long ways and paid big bucks to relive earlier days.

Bobby Dodd Stadium fills

Crowds continued to flow in until the sold-out stadium filled.  I had just commented on the lack of smoking around us when the lights went out.  For one brief moment all was quiet and then Keith Richards’ lone guitar could be heard prophesying the coming of “Start Me Up”.  The audience arose with a shout, smoke of all kind went up,  three huge jumbotroms  flashed on and Mick, Keith Charlie Watts and Ron Wood roared to life.  Most fans never sat down again. 

Surprisingly,  the songs I danced to at the Plainview YMCA fifty years ago are still on the play list.  With the exception of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, members of the band have come and gone but the music remained constant.    Judging by the remarkable energy of Mick and smiles of Keith, they still love to perform.  Richards stopped dying his hair in 2008 and proudly wears his long, grey curls.  Even with his dyed hair,  I was sure Jagger’s age would show itself somehow.  But his strong voice, large strides across the stage, skips down the platform, and jumps to the beat masked his years.   Only the creviced face revealed the toll of a long life.

They played over two hours without a break.  Mick had funny local comments.  He introduced all in the band.  He remembered their previous performances in Atlanta, claiming we were the best audience on the tour.  And, he made sure the crowd sang, clapped and danced along to Gimme Shelter, Honky Tonk Women, Satisfaction and many more.  It was easy for us to join in with the strong beats, familiar lyrics and constant refrains. 

Over the last fifty three years, The Stones have played concerts in dozens of countries and sung from their fixed repertoire thousands of times.  Their lives have had a fair share of tragedy with notable public disagreements.  But they have survived.  They still project a bad boy image that’s been copied by youth 50 years their junior while delivering philosophical and driving songs.  It was simply impressive.  The best.  Contrary to the song, we got what we wanted and needed.