Here is another honor to the Exile on Main Street re-release --Our review of The Rolling Stones in Amsterdam 7/31/06, nine 1/2 weeks before the Missoula show reviewed in the last post.
Here's how we reported it then:
Amsterdam Arena -- Home of the Ajax futball team.
Late 1990's industro-suburban tight white greenhouse-effect glass dome with tubular escalator exoskeleton. Free-form tulip field seating paint scheme. Arrive by subway and a five minute walk. The show is fully sold out at 55,000 -- at least half are on the pitch.
Seats stage-high, row 16; seat neighbors were from Brussels and Utrecht. Mixed, mostly bathed crowd of all ages. Not a glowstick in sight. All of the seats look good despite the size of the facility -- remember these are the people who invented the steep staircase (and insurance!)
Stage is traditional huge stones stage - long catwalks on either side, a mid-stage bridge and a long catwalk straight into the field. Giant box fans on either side of the stage used to blow Keith into position. Swooping silver-faced scaffolding straddles the stage staggering up several stadia -- the 700-euro people climb in orderly Dutch fashion into these SRO "on-stage" positions 15 minutes before showtime.
Euros whistle rather than clap to signal "get on with it already." A weak wave makes a few rounds. No one is seat hopping despite the lax seat-ushers (with nice uniforms) who are later singing and dancing along with all of the rest of the crowd.
Tall slender cups of Heineken and Grolsch are popular with old people and teeagers alike -- Dutch nationalism in action. Fast-moving concessions lines only take pre-loaded Arena cards available self-serve along the corridors or from roving bluetooth-sporting uniformed kiosk dammes. But if these euros are so smart -- why no ice?
MC: "From Kingston Jamacia, Toots and the Maytals"
Pressure Drop -- Pressure gonna drop on you! (Harder They Come Soundtrack)
La LaLaLaLaLaLaLaLa La Reggae Music
Higher & Higher -- Toots is grooving
Come Come Mary
Scat Sing Along -- Euro scat rasta
Got Soul Its So
The Perfect Wonder (Harder They Come)
Heidi Hi Heidi Ho ("Heidi Heidi Heidi Hi, Heidi Heidi Heidi Ho….")
No Sign
Working Up
Toots thanks the RS and makes a dedication: Sing All the Songs
Do What I Say Son
It is still light out when the Stones take the stage.
Rolling Stones: Mick Jagger purple sequins, Keith Richards silver sequins, Ron Wood blue sequins, Charlie Watts orange (oranje!) golf shirt.
Jumpin Jack Flash -- crowd instantly going nuts on the "It’s a gas!" parts.
Mick takes a refined bow. "Hallo Holland! Amsterdam you are always so nice to us!" Then he says something in Dutch and they all laugh. I had forgotten that Mick Jagger is the world's rock star -- he's lithe and energetic. Prancing all over the stage -- skipping at times. He seems grateful and happy. He says something in Dutch after just about each song -- this is not memorized patter, he is telling jokes and they are laughing. I read in the paper the next day that the Rolling Stones have been incorporated in The Netherlands since 1971 to take advantage of their low artist income tax rates -- in other words, Mick has been to Amsterdam before….
Only Rock and Roll -- crowd on the "Like it, Like it, Yes I do!" parts.
Oh No Not You Again.
Bitch -- horn section featured. "Love -- it’s a bitch, all right."
Sway.
As Tears Go By -- Ron and Keith acoustic guitars. Wild Horses tease.
I Walk the Streets of Love. Spoke with two groups of people the next day who saw various members of the band walking around Amsterdam that afternoon. One man and his son say they stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Mick walking through the lobby of the Amstel Hotel.
Tumbling Dice -- Ron on lead.
The Night Time is the Right Time to Be with the One You Love.
Band Intros -- 2 sax, trombone, trumpet, 3 back up singers, piano, bass, Ron, Charlie, Keith. All of the Stones are rock-star skinny.
Keith takes the mic and "says" something in Dutch and they pretend to understand him. He "says" a few sentences in Engligh including "I'll leave the trees alone" [the coconut incident?] Mick costume change to pink sequin baseball jacket.
Slipping Away on Me -- Keith on "lead."
Before They Make You Run -- Keith on "lead."
Miss You -- Mick keeps the "wo wo wo wo wo wo wo's" going long after the song ends.
Stage breaks and front half travels out to middle-back of the field.
Rough Justice.
Mick makes a Paradisio reference to the intimate setting of the back of the field (earlier that day we confirmed the Phish Paradisio poster in the Grey Area.)
Get Off of My Cloud -- house lights up on the "Hey (hey)! You (you)'s!"
Honky Tonk Woman. Stage retreats; Mick costume change to red sequined tuxedo and top hat.
Sympathy For The Devil. "When after all, it was you and me…" Kind of like Friend of the Devil in a blender, only with more dancing and audience ""who who's!" Mick's falsetto is perfect. Give this man a tony award. He clearly carries the band.
Start Me Up -- He's skipping and prancing all over the place. I really had never considered that Mick might be gay, but then I remember that he's English! Can You Hear Me Knocking tease.
Brown Sugar. Wrapped presents are passed through the crowd to the security guys who put them on the stage. Crowd going wild on the "Ya! Ya! Ya! Ya! Whoo's!"
More Dutch to close the show including "Bedankt! Dank u wel!"
E: Mick costume change -- blue sequins.
You Cant Always Get What You Want -- house lights on acapella sing along.
Mick costume change -- white shirt!
I Cant Get No Satisfaction. "Hey hey hey, that's what I say!" All kinds of flowers being passed up that secutiry is gently placing on the stage.
Fireworks.
Mick is certainly a sight to see -- even at sixty. Consider the "small" show they are doing in Missoula Friday October 4 -- tickets on sale Monday August 14. See you there.
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