As a kid, I was most definitely not a fan of The Rolling Stones. They were scary hippies making loud music. Eventually, I became a follower of Led Zeppelin, then a punk rock fan by the time I was midway through high school. Devo's version of Satisfaction appealed more to me than Mick's. Sometime around my senior year of high school, I started to gain an appreciation for them, and by beginning of sophomore year of college I attended a concert at Rich Stadium on September 27, 1981. At this point, they were already 19 years into their campaign for great rock and roll. Little did I know at the time I was as old as the band itself. Mick Jagger was 38, which meant he was likely to retire for good within 2 years. After all, he already made it clear he didn't want to be singing Satisfaction when he was 40. I felt lucky to have seen them when I did, on perhaps one of their last tours.
Of course, they played for many years afterward. Bill Wyman retired in 1993. Charlie Watts died in 2021. Brian Jones, the founder, died of a drug overdose shortly after leaving the band in 1969. Despite all this, The Rolling Stones have continued. This was their 60th year, playing concerts delayed by Covid.
Imagine my surprise, as I walked the dog one morning in April, to get a text from Mrs. Bulldog asking "Rolling Stones in Stockholm this summer?" She wanted to see them in Paris, but we didn't have time to do a mid-week trip. Also, Stockholm was supposed to be the last stop on the tour - why not go to possibly their last show ever? How could I say no? Of course you go see The Rolling Stones in Stockholm. Is that even worthy of consideration?
Perhaps it is. Upon hearing our plans, my father said "I'll take a pass." But he'll be 87 soon. My stepmother was impressed, as were most of my friends, that I was willing to travel so far to see a concert. Why not? What's so weird about that? I get to see Stockholm and The Rolling Stones.
Perhaps the weirdest thing is that if you had told me, in 1981, after seeing them in Buffalo, that I'd go see them in 2022, in Stockholm when Mick was 79...well...really?
That said, if you told me that I'd handle myself physically the way Mick does on stage at 79, I'd say "sign me up now." Because he is incredible. A testament to maintaining a young and vital attitude.
Ronnie Wood looks good and Keith Richards, well, we all need to think about what kind of world we're going to be leaving to Keith Richards.
The showmanship, the music, the band. It was all on display. As good a show as I've ever seen from any band. Every bit as good as 1981, except my seats (or standing room, really) were 1000X better. I was 30 feet from the runway that Mick traveled down. Keith avoided going more than halfway down, and Ronnie only made it down once. But Mick and the backup singer (who now hits his high notes) had great interaction on Gimme Shelter.
One of the incredible things about this trip we noticed, from the moment we left Newark, was we were not alone. There were people traveling to see The Stones. As we changed planes in Frankfurt, I'd say half the plane was headed to Stockholm for them, based on the paraphernalia they were wearing. As we ate at outdoor restaurants, we counted the shirts, hats and buttons we saw. Mostly people our age and older. One couple on our tour of Gamla Stan was from Brazil and they were in their late 20s. They were wearing their gear and were there for the show. They also happened to have spent 3 years living in the town next to us in New Jersey. Talk about a small world.
At the show, we were on the soccer pitch. We stood for 5 hours. Next to a Canadian man and his daughter who had just graduated college. His gift to her was a drive through Europe ending at the Stones show. Lucky girl (though later we learned she didn't enjoy it and wasn't a fan).
As luck would have it, this was not the last show. Due to an earlier testing that was covid positive, the Berlin show was put off until the end of the tour. Still, assuming there are no more tours, I attended the next to last one. My guess is that it won't be the last. They looked great, and they can still entertain. You have to hand it to Mick. He and Keith formed an incredibly enduring legacy, and Mick literally held it all together through force of will and intelligence. Each band member played a role in keeping the band together at various times (see the Epix 4 part documentary), but Mick is the glue for the band. And any band that can last 60 years is doing something very, very right.
A funny side story. As we left, the cars were backed up and roads crowded. Mrs. Bulldog and I were walking to the train station and walked between some cars, just as they started to move. One driver was kind enough to let us cross. After we passed, he started yelling and screaming at us. I asked my wife what happened. She said "I don't know - I just gave a peace sign to thank him." I told her to show me how she did it. She showed me and I started laughing. I told her that because of how she did it (very relaxed, with the back of her hand facing the driver) she had basically flipped him off. She thought I was kidding. I told her no - in much of Europe, flashing the peace sign in reverse, especially if your hand is moving in an upward motion (as I assumed hers was), is the same as giving the middle finger. She went ashen and realized that she may have done that more than once as we traveled the city. I just laughed because what can you do? Customs are not always something foreigners are well aware of...
