A Much Bigger Bang (Rolling Stones - Mosaic Stadium)
Oct 07 '06 (Updated Oct 10 '06)
The Bottom Line ...sometimes you can get all the satisfaction you need.
There's really no way of describing the thrill of seeing the Rolling Stones live and in person. The air in Regina last night was electric, and the whole city seemed alive, buzzing with the air of something profoundly special It was truly the biggest event of the province's history, bigger than the Grey Cup and what will make next year's Junos pale in comparison. The atmosphere was a haze of once-in-a-lifetime-ness, a nearly full moon smiling down as Snowbirds left their mark across its face and a helicopter circled the sold-out stadium, 40,000+ strong. The seven-storey stage was came to a life of its own, lit up like a Christmas Tree, holding all sorts of hidden goodies, not to mention two floors full of fans willing to pay for the most expensive tickets. Crazy pyrotechnics aside, there was a point where the band moved to the center of the stage, and the platform they stood on began to move down a 200 foot track into the middle of the crowd and became a second stage, where they played Miss You, Rough Justice, Get Off of My Cloud and Honky Tonk Woman, after which they were welcomed back to the main stage by giant inflatable tongue that really incarnated the term "the concert that ate Regina."
Bland act Three Days Grace aside, the Stones opened with Jumpin' Jack Flash and It's Only Rock & Roll, and throughout the 2 hour set they played quite a few new songs including Oh No, Not You Again, Rough Justice, and my personal high point of the night, a chillingly romantic rendition of Streets of Love that had more than a few heads on their men's shoulders. Classics like Paint It Black, Beast of Burden, and Under My Thumb missed the set list (maybe they're saving them for Sunday's second show), but ones like Sympathy For the Devil, Satisfaction, Start Me Up, and Can't Always Get What You Want were there in full force. Brown Sugar raised the crowd to an unheard of level of bliss, and strangely, didn't seem awkward. Normally, any 63 year old man singing about "young girls" would seem dirty, but Mick rocks with a youthful zest of a man half his age, and any naysayers about the band's 249 combined years will be eating their tongues after this weekend. All the hype and the labels, all the "greatest band in the world" suddenly wasn't too unreasonable. Ron Wood, Charlie Watts, and the ever-illustrious Kieth Richards all brought their own charm to the table, and the city of Regina (though the whole province of Saskatchewan, really) made them feel more welcome than I'd imagine any stop on this tour so far. Saskatchewan residents are so oft-deprived of a good thing, they know how to appreciate the few pleasures that come their way. This is evident in how they snapped up tickets to the October 8th show in 20 minutes, being the only city on the tour to prompt the decision to schedule this second show for the 6th.
What struck me the most watching the variety of people within the crowd was how iconic this band has become. The appeal of a group that can span four successive generations is something to truly admire, and the Stones may be the most true incarnation of a rock band that's ever existed. I don't doubt there were tears shed last night. Some things truly are special, and Mick and the boys are wise and inviting enough to know and accommodate that. I witnessed a much bigger bang, and realized that sometimes you can get all the satisfaction you need.
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Epinions.com ID:
clarkparker
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Member: Joshua Bertram
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Reviews written: 32
Trusted by: 6 members
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