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Live at SoFi Stadium
July 18, 2024 Review by Steve Allen
A wise man once said, “You can’t always get what you want.” In this year of nothing can shock us, the Rolling Stones may have done just that as their Hackney Diamonds tour rolled into SoFi Stadium.
Local sensation The Linda Lindas – a power foursome of young ladies with ages ranging from 13 to 19 years old – kicked off the show. Through history, the Stones have a history of giving up and comers a stage to perform (Prince opened for them in 1981).
Some of these big opportunities flopped, but the Linda Lindas came out and played far above what their age would make you think. They handled a big stage like pros and surprised some and delighted many.
As for the Stones, they are touring in support of their freshly released album, “Hackney Diamonds.”
The shows in Los Angeles were my 64th and 65th time to see them. I get it, you are likely asking, “why would you go to so many shows for one band?” The easy answer is I freakin’ love them! But in the end, they are “Rock Royalty,” and not a single band that’s been around for 60 or 50 years can still sell out or fill stadiums the size of SoFi on a regular basis.
If you follow the Stones to multiple shows on a single tour, you will get a changed up setlist as we did with the 2nd SoFi show; where they changed up seven songs from Wednesday’s show and a little order change of others. Each show is different and on a level like no other, there are no “bathroom break” songs. But the primary reason is the friends I’ve made from all over the world, whether it’s LA, London, or Milan, we gather and have parties and sightsee. I may travel alone, but I’m never alone.
The legends were supposed to start 8:45 p.m. but typically they’ve been starting at 9:00 p.m. but that had passed too! By 9:10 p.m. we heard the familiar tinkling of diamonds through the P.A., dark shadowy figures moved across the screen, then as the diamonds shattered the now familiar introduction of “Ladies and Gentlemen THE ROLLING STONES” loudly blared, and the show was on.
There was something about Saturday night’s show that felt different; and it started at Keith Richards’ opening chords to “Start Me Up.”
The volume seemed louder than the previous show as Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood came charging out with an intensity as if Wednesday night was just the warmup and a normally “too cool” LA audience responded with a literal roar, they could feel it. We could feel it.
Next, the Stones pulled off a true original “Get Off of My Cloud” but it seemed they sped up the tempo; the audience seemed to be jumping on their cloud.
They made it clear; age is not slowing them down at all. Followed up by the regularly played “Tumbling Dice,” but moved way up the setlist to number three, then by new song “Angry.”
This is where the next two songs came as a surprise to everyone. Over the years, there’s one song I’ve always loved, but the rarely played recent live versions kind of bothered me (yes, I’m a snob), so when they pulled “Heartbreaker” from the album “Goats Head Soup,” I was reluctant to be happy.
However, on this 2nd LA show they 100% nailed it, from the opening riff and the familiar progression of chords, and Woods masterfully mashing the Wah-wah pedal and the undeniably dark but catchy “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker),” and yes, EVERYBODY was singing along, including me. Then the real kicker which just happens to be a ballad, “Fool to Cry” from 1974’s “Black and Blue.”
At 80 years old Jagger still croons with a beautiful bluesy and soulful voice. I was worried when he walked out on the catwalk with people on every side, but he nailed the high notes in the song and blew everyone away. His sly smile afterward told us he knew it too. Not only is he physically a freak a nature but apparently, he is vocally as well.
Next up was a personal favorite, “Monkey Man.” I’ve heard this played a number of times, but it is somewhat rare to hear but to others who have seen them many times and always seem miss it were ecstatic about it. It is a cool funky and playful song that just sets a groove (as us old timers would say) you can get into that ends in primal like screams of Jagger belting out “Mamama monkey” over and over at the end.
The band was undoubtedly fueled by the energy radiating from the crowd and you could tell they felt it. Jagger is the type that will put it all out there even in a silent room; he will never walk out leaving one to think he didn’t try. But when the audience is also loud and energized, he steps it up a notch, always pushing you to step it up as well.
Of course, no Rolling Stones show is complete without a sing along to the timelessly relevant “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”
At the tour’s start, Richards was doing one song, then he started doing his usual two. Now it seems to be his usual thing to do three songs.
For this show we got “You Got the Silver” (which in my opinion should be done every show), “Little T&A” and finally, kind of a Keith Richards anthem of sorts “Before They Make Me Run.”
Richards is also 80 and while not nearly the pillar of health Jagger is, he seems to be happy and sings better than he did not so many years ago.
From this point on in the show is what I typically refer to as the “Hit Parade” or ‘Warhorses,” it is the stretch of songs that everyone knows.
Beginning with “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Gimmie Shelter,” Honky Tonk Women,” “Paint It Black,” and “Jumping Jack Flash.”
Personal note on the “Warhorse (Gimme Shelter).” It is at its most raw and powerful version in many years. It features new backup singer Chanel Haynes coming into the spotlight in a playful climax with Jagger at the end of the catwalk for the world to see and know that she has arrived.
Her powerful vocals rival the original Mary Clayton, which I never thought would never be matched, but here she is just killin’ it.
A two-song encore also featured Haynes on “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” off their new release. This song could have easily been on “Exile on Main Street.” It has that old soul that so many reminisce of but is new and fresh. It’s something I never thought I’d hear from the Stones again, but these “old” guys just continue to surprise everyone.
The night was capped off with “Satisfaction,” always a complete surround sound experience; a rocker that everyone knows and sings along with.
In the end, we have to ask what was it that we wanted and what was it that we got. We wanted to see one of the biggest bands of all time put on one of the greatest performances of all time. Suffice it to say, The Rolling Stones may have given us exactly what we wanted.
SHOW PHOTO GALLERY
by Steve Allen Photography
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SID 240719 | TRACI TURNER | EDITOR
