It was in June 26, 2018, when The Rolling Stones played Marseille.
And here we have a really nice review send in to Stonesnews by Rafael – so thanks a lot for that, mate! And here you can share the vibe from last year by this detailed account!
Well, at first, I didn’t know if I would go. Stones fan since I turned 17, I saw quite a few gigs since 1990. Yet, the last ones left me a bit frustrated. 2006 in Paris right in front had been the last hightlight : in Lyon in 2007, Keith was just the shadow of his old self, hardly even playing. Then Paris 2014, I was stuck in the second half of the stadium and mainly saw the gig on the screen. Quite an emotion with Mick Taylor, but I had thought it would be my last : Maybe I knew the songs, the stage moves too much by now. Maybe the chill was gone.
Then news came over: The Stones would be playing in Marseille by 2018. An hour drive from home. My kids started to know a bit of the Stones songs by my putting them to sleep while scratching an acoustic guitar. And I thought, wow, why not take my oldest son, aged 9 ? A way to share that with him. His mum agreed. Financially, I opted for Lucky Dips Tickets : in the worst case, we would be sitting in the back looking at the screens, like at thome with a DVD.
So off we went on June 26th. Driving across Marseille was quite a challenge, but we managed to be there an hour prior to the beginning of the show. I was feeling like a teenager, running along my child to the ticket office. And then, first surprise, our Lucky Dips were… in the Filter Pit, Keith’s side ! Always will remember Gabriel’s eyes : “Hey Daddy, what are we doing beind the security people ? Walk on, son !” And there we were, a few meters from Keith’s microphone. Gabriel was quite a sensation in the crowd, everybody flabbergasted by such a young boy in the crowd.
Then, the lights went out. Keith appears and here we go with Street Fighting Man ! Gabriel now sits on my shoulders, and moves to Charlies’s beat. Mick is quite close. I’m happy as hell since THEY HAVEN’T SOUNDED AS GOOD for many years !! Even Ronnie gets his interventions right ! On with the show : A perfect Tumbling Dice, It’s Only Rock’n Roll to which Gabriel sings backing vocals in the end. And then, second blast : Fool To Cry, just perfect, sung and played perfectly, the band tight behind Mick. Gabriel swinging on my shoulders to YCAGWYW (Ronnie, that’s the best solo I heard of you on that track !!! Finally !) and Paint It Black, with Mick bending on his microphone just like back in 1966 !
Then Keith’s songs : You Got The Silver way much better then the three preceding versions I had heard. Keith will always break my heart on that one. Gabriel seems to become tired. Comes in Sympathy with the flames : Gabriel wakes up and can’t keep his mouth shut during Keith’s solos, screaming ooh ooh out of his longs ! He seems to have fallen in love with the backing singer on Gimme Shelter… “Dad, I want to go home, now“. “What ! Wait a bit !” One of his favorite song bursts in : JJF ! The boys are really rocking tonight. Crescendo until Satisfaction blows us apart. During the fireworks, Gabriel starts to take his thumb as I carry him out of the Velodrome. He falls asleep in the car, while I drive, eyes spread apart : I have seen, and witnessed with my son, what seems to be the Best Stones gig I have been to.
Was it because of Gabriel being there, the father-son transmission thing ? Was it because the boys have slowed down on Alcohol as we learned later on Stonesnews.com ? I don’t know, but THANK YOU. It was a brilliant night that I and Gabriel will always remember.
And can re-visit a bit of that again on the few videos on youtube : at times, you see a small little blond boy figure high above the heads : that’s us, me the happiest father of the World.
So thank you, Mick, Thank you Keith, Thank You Ronnie, Charlie and the rest of the Band. You MUST come back to France since Gabriel’s brother, Judicaël, two years younger, now wants his turn ! That’s what he said this morning while drinking his milk out of Filter tour yellow glass. We’re waiting for you.
Woah! That’s one cool and cute story, Rafael. Thanks a lot for sending it in!!
And here is the content from last year which you can find in the archive, 2018-4, for a re-visit:
June 26 – Aujourd’hui: Marseille!
==> Feeds were almost impossible tonight. However here are some snippets:<==
DEBBIE LIVE on Periscope Unfortuantely, her connection was bad and the feed now has ended…
The opening – SFM (Instagram)
It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (Facebook)
Honky Tonk Women (Facebook)
Snippet of Paint It Black (Facebook)
2:30 minutes of Fool To Cry (Facebook)
Snippet of You Got The Silver (Instagram)
6:40 of Sympathy For The Devil (Instagram)
Snippet of Start Me Up (Instagram)
Brown Sugar, Gimme Shelter, first part of Satisfaction – Eva Cardi (Facebook)
Today it’s the south of France again! Let’s have a blast tonight and let’s keep our fingers crossed for Debbie’s planned stream! As for the song vote: Get Off Of My Cloud has won! – Some of the french press: Pour son premier concert à Marseille, ‘Mick Jagger a reçu un projectile et s’est ouvert l’arcade’
=> Setlist:
- Street Fighting Man
- It’s Only Rock’n’Roll
- Tumbling Dice
- Just Your Fool
- Get Off Of My Cloud (vote song)
- Fool To Cry
- You Can’t Always Get What You Want
- Paint It Black
- Honky Tonk Women
band introductions - You Got The Silver
- Before They Make Me Run
- Sympathy For The Devil
- Miss You
- Midnight Rambler
- Start Me Up
- Jumping Jack Flash
- Brown Sugar
- Gimme Shelter
- Satisfaction
