The Rolling Stones, Anfield. 9th June 2022

It’s time for another stadium gig, this time with probably the quintessential stadium band, The Rolling Stones. I remember coming to see this lot before. Thinking, ‘well we don’t know how long they’ll keep doing this’. That was 20 years ago! We’re here in Anfield to kick off the (very short) UK leg of the Sixty tour. Celebrating them marking six decades of globe trotting blues rock. That’s quite a feat and worthy of me visiting enemy territory for. This ground’s reputation precedes it and I’ll admit having never been before, I thought it’d feel bigger. With it’s almost cozy feeling you’d think it would be great for live music. As the screens fade on a tribute to Charlie Watts and the band take the stage though, ‘Street Fighting Man’ does kinda struggle to ring out. Granted I’m stood half way down the pitch, but the sound is a bit muddy… and quiet. The view isn’t great either. I’m hoping that the soundman finds the volume knob, but as they dedicate ‘Get Off My Cloud’ to Charlie, it’s looking unlikely. Don’t worry though, a Stones crowd have got you covered. Nah, I’m pushing a bit there too, the atmosphere is great, but not amazing. Maybe everyone just needs to warm up a bit. These songs are still amazing though. Even ‘Tumbling Dice’ that sees Mick legging it around the stage, pointing at stuff like an excited politician. He’s already putting a shift in, which brings the first jacket change of the night into a sparkly number that I guess only he can get away with. Now maybe it’s just that ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ is one of my favourites or that it’s a bit more stripped back but it sounds ten times better than anything else so far. Even Ronnie who up to this point has looked a bit bored, cracks a smile as he’s given the chance to solo. It brings the first big singalong too, with Mick all jazz hands as the band milk the finale by stretching it out as long as possible. ‘Living in a Ghost Town’ follows, so I go stand in a mercifully small queue at a comically small bar. Seriously the facilities for a crowd this size are a joke. What I find coming back in though, is by moving a bit further back, the sound improves drastically. I mean the view is worse, but at least there’s some umph. Unfortunately the next song is Keith’s turn, meaning we get the usual ropey blues numbers with slightly duff vocals. As he and Ronnie get a bit self indulgent with acoustic guitars. The proper ones come out again for ‘Connection’, but thank fuck when Mick comes back on and slinks into ‘Miss You’. Shimmying along with bass solos and whipping up the crowd with the “Whoo ooo oo ooo”s, before the sax guy comes on to let loose. This is finally turning into a proper performance! ‘Midnight Rambler’ is the cork in the bottle, the palette cleanser, the calm before the storm, before the all out assault of some of the best rock n roll from any band, anywhere, ever. Fittingly they switch into high gear with ‘Start Me Up’ as dusk falls, the jackets are off, it’s a statement of intent. Buckle up Anfield we’re gonna show you why we’re the greatest Rock n Roll band in the world. Enter those wistful opening licks of ‘Paint it Black’ and the place ignites. The woman in front of me dancing like she’s having a sixties flashback. It’s a brilliantly bleak song to get such a big crowd so excited. What better song to follow than ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ as the soundman finally takes control, cranking Keith’s guitar up to ‘av some of this’! Keith lives for this doesn’t he. Mick too, they probably all do, although it’s sad to think that the original band members are dwindling. Outnumbered on stage by the extra live band muscle. By the time they close out with the face melting ‘Jumpin Jack Flash’ any early wobbles are forgotten. Anfield bouncing as we lose ourselves in the euphoric hedonism. And what does Anfield do when it gets excited? It sings “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. It’s loud and as a Manchester City fan I should feel awkward. I don’t. It’s beautiful. A heart warming interlude, before The Stones are back to unleash ‘Gimme Shelter’. Sasha on backing vocals (not really backing on Gimme), doesn’t have the raw power of Clayton, but she’s not far off. “Rape, murder”, the Ukrainian flag flying on the giant screens, it’s both brilliant and chilling. You can’t finish on that though and why would you when you’ve got the sexy swagger of ‘Satisfaction’ in your arsenal. Mick wiggling his hips and so is everyone around me, it’s like a comical orgy. Then they’re gone. A bow and done. It’s a great gig, but I’ll be blunt, despite the classic songs, it doesn’t match the atmosphere of the other gigs I’ve seen in recent weeks in venues this size. The Stones are still fantastic and worth spending silly money on though and you never know when they’re gonna say that’s enough.