The Rolling Stones take Madrid and show their eternity

Because his music is still valid and, More than 53,000 attendees at tonight’s opening of the European tour ‘Sixty’ (‘Sesenta’) at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid (at full capacity, according to organization) Mick Jagger went crazy again before Keith Richards and Ron Wood as if most of their songs hadn’t been made in half a century. So it was with the provocative ‘Black paint’ or ‘The Sympathy of the Devil’, with a ‘Midnight bum’ that doesn’t lag behind them, or of course ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’, ending almost twenty interruptions that leave room for two hours of fun and surprises. as a touch.

Other circumstances made it a unique event, such as the fact that it was held on the day the youngest of the group turned 75, as if each of his ‘shows’ were not exceptional in themselves. But mostly because this is First European tour without Charlie Watts. “We miss him so much,” Jagger said earlier in the evening, after a series of images commemorating the person who will celebrate his 81st birthday on June 2. Exactly one of the biggest unknowns of the tour lies in the role of his drummer replacement Steve Jordan, an old acquaintance of the band who managed to pull himself together into a well-armed band with a small brass section and virtuosos. keyboardist Chuck Leavell, former member of the Allman Brothers.

Often faced with a very decent live show, the other big question was whether the venue would respond to the same extent acoustically. After the Wanda Metropolitano attacked the Santiago Bernabéu on their previous visit in 2014, and especially after their long romance with Vicente Calderón since their first invasion in 1982, it was the only stadium they left in the Spanish capital to conquer His Satanic Majesty. between lightning and thunder they formed a special bond with this city. Fortunately, the sound went from a very thick mix to a connection where details were sometimes distinguished even in the upper stands, which made some forget about the fears of this place so affected by rebounds.

start the show

Since the early afternoon, normalcy has been the dominant note in the reach of a population who also witnessed the enormous crossing of the Stones: No one attracts such diverse segments of the population, especially in terms of age and wallet thickness.

this Vargas Blues BandAlong with (his nephew) John Byron Jagger, he was the first to open the huge stage, simple for them if applicable to a 400 square meter façade painted in very Spanish colors (red and yellow). artist Mark Norton, who redesigned the iconic language logo. Around 21:00 it was the trio’s turn. sea ​​water, another of the ‘young’ groups that show the Stones influence in their form 60 years after their founding. “We are big fans!” Even though they declared that, they encouraged those who came together with songs like ‘My name is ABBA’.

“Hello, Madrid!” After Jagger jumped onto the track with his teammates, he shouted an unexpected 15-minute delay for his extreme British punctuality. It was worn with a red jacket and under the ‘Street Fighting Man’ chords, recalling a time (especially 1968) when they claimed to have taken the streets for social activism.

In a repertoire very similar to their previous tours in the US, there was little to expect for ‘Tumbling Dice’ and this time there was room to save less hackneyed songs like ‘Sad Sad Sad’ or ‘Living In a Ghost Town’. (with a few new additions to its legacy) and some have never even performed live beforeLike ‘Out of time’ from the album ‘Aftermath’ (1966).

Thanks to the ‘Beast of Burden’ chosen by the Spanish internet users, it was possible to enjoy the beautiful dialogue between Richards and Woods’ guitars in the first episode, while Jagger walked with a light and dancing step between meters and meters. years of waddling on the stage as if it were an eternity were inaccessible. With ‘Happy’ and ‘Slipping Away’, Richards made more claims to the lead role by taking over the vocal part for a moment, though it’s easy to determine with the speed of the audience when the most anticipated hits are approaching: ‘Honkey’ Tonk Women’, ‘Miss You’ or the gigantic a ‘Midnight tramp’. “Damn Madrid, you are the best people!”proclaimed a joyful Jagger.

There will be those who miss out on ‘Angie’ or ‘Brown Sugar’ (Spanish, brown sugar), which has long been removed from their concerts to avoid racial misunderstandings among the classics, although their authors have argued that this is exactly the case. “The horror of slavery” complaint. They don’t have a shortage of ammunition even without these bullets, as the last half hour of the usual brooch with ‘(No) Satisfaction from ‘Start Me’ is just after praising the horror. The war in Ukraine. In between, they didn’t miss the ‘Paint It Black’ cavalry, the magma of ‘Sympathy For The Devil’, the ‘Jumpin Jack Flash’ frenzy and of course ‘Gimme Shelter’. That said, another infinity lesson.