The Rolling Stones performed in Atlanta on June 7th as part of their “Hackney Diamonds” tour. The Atlanta show was roughly halfway through the seventeen city itinerary for the tour, and took place at Mercedes Benz Stadium, a venue that seats 60,000 plus people. Having arrived an hour before the gates opened, I was surprised how many people were already on the premises, mingling at the various booths scattered outside the stadium. The attendee demographics trended older, not much of a surprise given the 60 plus year history of The Rolling Stones, but overall, the Stones seemed to draw both young and old to this concert.
The Ghost Hounds opened the show. The Pittsburgh-based band has generated quite a bit of buzz in the music industry, and they did not disappoint in Atlanta. Earlier in the year, The Ghost Hounds had parted ways with their long-time vocalist, Tre Nation, but his replacement, the aptly named Savnt, was more than up to the task. Savnt has a natural stage presence, and he expertly led The Ghost Hounds through a tight, dynamic 45 minute set. The band opened with “Make It Shake” from their most recent album First Last Time, the stuttering guitars of the opening charging up the Atlanta audience. The energy continued through the entirety of their set, highlighted by a great cover of Cliff Richard’s “Devil Woman”. The Ghost Hounds concluded their kinetic performance with one of their most recent singles, “Dirty Angel”, and as he left the stage, Savnt told the audience what a thrill it was to open for one of the greatest bands ever.
After an intermission of nearly an hour to change over the stage, the lights went low and the video screens surrounding the stage showed some shadowy, but somehow familiar figures approaching, which set the audience into a frenzy. The opening chords of “Start Me Up” reverberated throughout the stadium, and an ebullient Jagger, Richards and Wood led the rest of the backing musicians onto the stage. The set list consisted of a mix of hits, fan favorites, and music from their new album, Hackney Diamonds. The Stones quickly moved through “It’s Only Rock and Roll” and “Let’s Spend the Night Together” before launching into the first single from Hackney Diamonds. “Angry” is an energetic rocker that strongly features the self-described guitar weaving between Keith Richards and Ron Wood, the two guitarists trading licks while Mick Jagger pranced around the stage.
Several days before the concert, ticketholders received an email from the band requesting that they vote on one of four songs that the Stones would play at the concert. For Atlanta, those choices were “Rocks Off”, “Wild Horses”, “Let It Bleed” and “Sweet Virginia”. Well aware that “Wild Horses” would likely be the choice, as the song has long been a fan favorite, I nevertheless voted for “Sweet Virginia” from their Exile On Main Street album, as the song is a sentimental favorite of mine. Imagine my surprise when Jagger announced that the song, which I had thought to be long shot for winning the poll, had won the vote, and the Stones began the bluesy country-tinged melody of “Sweet Virginia”.
I would be reticent if I didn’t mention the stage designed for this tour. The Rolling Stones have long been known for their elaborate stage shows, having used inflatables and other props over the years to great effect. But on more recent tours, they have relied on video screens to augment the concert experience. The video screens used on this stage, however, were truly one of the highlights of the show. The stage was set up so that there were large screens on either side of the stage, and another narrower one horizontal over the stage. The combination of video showing what was transpiring on the stage, mixed with animation to help visualize the songs greatly enhanced the viewing experience for the audience. During “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, there is a famous line in the song “We decided that we would have a soda, my favorite flavor, cherry red.” Just as Jagger sang the words “cherry red”, the video screen focused on him turned a deep cherry red. Later, as the band played “Paint It Black”, all the video screens switched to a stark monochromatic black and white. But the most spectacular use of the screens occurred during “Sympathy for the Devil”. As the opening chords for the song rang out, and the audience sang along with “woo woo”, the displays were highlighted in bright red, with dancing devils moving across the screen over the stage.
The Atlanta show also marked some departures from the set lists from the previous tour dates. During the middle of the set, Keith Richards had been singing two songs during the preceding shows, “Tell Me Straight” from Hackney Diamonds, and “Little T & A” from Tattoo You. For the Atlanta show, a third song was added, the fan favorite “Happy” from Exile On Main Street. The latter song was one of the highlights of the show, as Ron Wood brought out a pedal steel guitar to accompany Richards. They also unpacked “Midnight Rambler” from their repertoire for the first time on this tour, spotlighting Jagger’s skill with the blues harp on this slow burner. Dropped from their set was “Sweet Sounds of Heaven”, leading to some speculation in the media (along with the addition of the third song in Keith Richards’ portion of the show) that Jagger might have strained his voice in the previous concert in Orlando. Jagger’s voice was fine though, and it is more likely that they simply have been tinkering with the perfect combination of songs from their vast catalog.
For many years, the song “Gimme Shelter” has been a focal point of the Rolling Stones live show. The original recording, of course, featured the tremendous vocals of Merry Clayton, who was shuttled in during a late evening recording session, and delivered an iconic performance. In recent years, the fabulous Lisa Fischer was featured as the second vocalist, and she was a tour de force on their tours from 1989 until 2015. For the present tour, the Stones found Chanel Haynes, who had been performing in West End, UK production of “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical” in the title role. As the haunting opening chords of “Gimme Shelter” were played, Chanel joined Jagger on the catwalk extending from the mainstage, and she delivered a rousing performance, much to the delight of those in attendance.
After closing the show with a sizzling rendition of “Jumping Jack Flash,” the Stones returned for one encore. As the opening riff of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” rang out, Jagger pranced around the catwalks and to the far edges of the mainstage singing the familiar lyrics. The nearly 7 minute version of their classic song was a fitting conclusion to what was for me, one of the best concerts I have ever seen. Thus far, the concerts on the Hackney Diamonds tour have delivered a wide sampling of their immense register of songs, and they have certainly chosen their set lists to maximize the concert experience for their fans. If you have the opportunity to see them on any of their remaining tour dates, I highly recommend you take advantage.
DJ Tommy Mac
