Mick Jagger at L.A.’s SoFi Stadium, July 13, 2024 (Photo by Thomas K. Arnold, used with permission)
Hailed for more than five decades as the “greatest rock ’n’ roll band in the world,” the Rolling Stones more than lived up to that description during their two-hour July 13, 2024, concert at SoFi Stadium, the second of two sold-out shows at the 70,000-seat football stadium on the southern fringes of Los Angeles.
With original members Mick Jagger and Keith Richards now past 80 and longtime guitarist Ronnie Wood not far behind at 77, the group delivered an exhilarating performance that belied what one might expect of a group of senior citizens touring under the sponsorship of the AARP (seriously!).
Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards at L.A.’s SoFi Stadium, July 13, 2024 (Photo by Thomas K. Arnold, used with permission)
Jagger still has the swagger, the pout, the sass and even the sensual hip swings and other moves that made him the British Invasion’s bad boy. If Paul McCartney was every young girl’s dream, Jagger was her fantasy. Richards, whose longevity despite years of hard living punctuated by spells of heavy drug use has made him the subject of countless social media memes, still has the licks and stoic stage presence that make him the perfect counterbalance to Jagger, his songwriting partner. And Wood, the baby of the core Rolling Stones trio, is a stylish guitarist with periodic bursts of flamboyant showmanship that add even more life to an impeccably well-crafted and choreographed stage show that remains one of the liveliest in all of rock ’n’ roll.
Related: When the Stones played London’s Hyde Park in 1969
Credit must also go to the other musicians, including drummer Steve Jordan, who has the same understated playing style as the late Charlie Watts, who died three years ago; Chuck Leavell, the former Allman Brothers Band member who has served as the Stones’ keyboardist and musical director since 1982; and singer Chanel Haynes, whose vocal gymnastics during “Gimme Shelter” were among the concert’s many high points.
It’s a wonder the Stones didn’t play “Time Is On My Side,” because it certainly appears to be.
Mick Jagger live in L.A., July 13, 2024 (Photo by Thomas K. Arnold, used with permission)
The SoFi Stadium concert included a fair representation of the Rolling Stones’ 60 years’ worth of recorded music, from mid-’60 hits such as “Get Off of My Cloud,” “Paint It Black” and “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” to later classic-rock favorites such as “Miss You,” from 1978’s Some Girls LP, and the show opener, “Start Me Up,” from 1981’s Tattoo You.
The Stones also treated fans to a surprise performance of the ballad “Fool to Cry,” from 1976’s Black and Blue, which has reportedly been played only 14 times during their many years of touring, as well as deep cuts such as “Monkey Man” and the perennial concert favorite “Midnight Rambler,” both from 1969’s Let It Bleed, and two songs on which Richards sang lead, “You Got the Silver,” also from Let It Bleed, and “Little T&A,” from Tattoo You.
Watch the Stones play the rarely performed “Fool to Cry” as well as “Monkey Man” in L.A. on July 13, 2024
Unlike most of the legacy bands that continue to tour well into their senior years, the Stones continue to make new music—good new music, even great new music, as their latest album, 2023’s Hackney Diamonds, attests. As a result, the band, live, is no nostalgic jukebox but, rather, an incredibly vibrant and relevant rock ’n’ roll group with the same sass, style and vigor the Stones have exhibited for longer than virtually every one of today’s chart-toppers, and maybe even their parents, has been alive.
The Stones included three songs from their latest LP in their SoFi show, including the radio favorite “Angry,” an infectious tune with a sizzling music video starring actress Sydney Sweeney. A review in the British daily The Telegraph called it the band’s “best single in four decades,” sung by Jagger with “extravagant, leering defiance.”
“Whole Wide World” is an anthem-like rocker, punctuated by several searing, soaring guitar solos, that calls to mind the early Clash, with a catchy hook that caught the crowd—three generations strong—and soon had everyone dancing and swaying in their seats or on the floor.
And the gospel-tinged “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” which the band saved for the encore, just ahead of closer “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” saw singer Haynes masterfully sub for Lady Gaga, featured on the studio version, in a stunning duet with Jagger.
The song was a fitting near-finale, particularly the line, “Let us sing, let us shout…Let us all stand up proud…Let the old still believe that they’re young.”
Related: Links for 100s of classic rock tours
Hackney Diamonds, and other Stones’ albums, books and merchandise, is available in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.
Watch the Stones perform “Gimme Shelter” at the SoFi Stadium show
The tour ended on July 21 with the encouraging words from Mick Jagger, “See you soon!”
Thanks so much to everyone that has come to see us on this tour, we had an absolute blast! See you soon! pic.twitter.com/4PoT0EFqpz
— Mick Jagger (@MickJagger) July 22, 2024
1 Comment so far
Jump into a conversationHer voice is otherworldly and her stage presence is so powerful and reflective of the great Tina Turner!