The Rolling Stones performed a two hour and 20 minute set at the TD Garden in Boston on Wednesday night
BOSTON – Commemorating a half century of rule over the Kingdom of Rock’ n’ Roll, the Rolling Stones held court at the TD Garden on Wednesday night, performing the first of two sold out concerts as part of their “50 and Counting” tour.
The House of Jagger includes a jester (Keith Richards), knave (Ronnie Wood), and sentry (Charlie Watts), and their rule has gone largely uncontested. While they may not be writing relevant music anymore (and honestly haven’t in decades) they don’t have to; the Rolling Stones have “Satisfaction,” “Gimme Shelter,” and “Sympathy for the Devil.”
Those songs, at least as they were delivered during this two hour and 20 minute performance, sounded young and virile, delivered by men who may have weathered but not withered over the years. The band breathed life into songs a half century old and the songs invigorated the huddled masses on hand.
They opened with “Get Off of My Cloud,” laying down an unwavering groove that underscored the entire performance. Watts (drums) and bassist Darryl Jones set the foundation steady and strong and allowed the others to riff away, unfettered by the minutia of time and tempo.
Mick Jagger’s sovereignty remained unimpeachable as he again defied the very laws of nature that suggest a man pushing 70 years old shouldn’t be strutting, rutting, and rocking to the strains of “Its Only Rock’ N’ Roll,” and “Paint It Black.”
The band barreled through “Gimme Shelter” with Lisa Fischer adding background vocals while out-strutting Jagger at the front of the stage.
Jagger pointed out that the band had fond memories of the area, specifically mentioning their rehearsals out at Longview Farms in North Brookfield in 1981 and the time “your mayor, Kevin White, got us out of jail.”
The band brought out Texas blues guitarist Gary Clark, Jr. to sing the blues on “Goin’ Down,” and after a jam on “Beast of Burden,” brought out former Stones guitarist Mick Taylor to play lead guitar on “Sway.”
Jagger showed off his Bruins jersey (#50, his name on the back) before “Emotional Rescue,” and the band dished out two new songs with “Doom and Gloom,” and “One More Shot.”
There was a refreshing rawness to the sound as the band (with a few exceptions) largely stayed away from the arena-concert crutches of loops and sampling, relying instead on the energy and fullness of the two guitars, bass, and drums, and Chuck Leavell’s piano and organ.
After “Honky Tonk Woman,” Jagger introduced the principles before leaving the stage to Richards and Wood for an acoustic run through “You Got the Silver,” and an electric “Before They Make Me Run.”
Despite their royal rock bloodlines, the Stones still emit a street-cred cool that somehow makes them seem dangerous. From the grotesquely handsome Jagger to the pierced and scarred Richards there is still something that suggests you are not getting near them unless you are fully immunized and over-insured.
The highlights came in waves, from “Miss You,” to “Start Me Up,” “Tumbling Dice”, and “Brown Sugar.” The cathartic “Sympathy for the Devil,” was a rock melee, and the encore opening of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” featured the Boston University Marsh Chapel Choir.
The Rolling Stones closed out with “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “Satisfaction.”