The Rolling Stones
Stadio San Siro - Milan July 11 2006
|
July 11th was a really hot day in Milan, and the crowd was just as hot as the climate. Italy has just won the world cup, and the stadium was packed with fans wawing the italian flag. The show started at 9:30 PM in an almost sold out stadium, and the crowd's welcome to the band almost covered the beginning of Jumping Jack Flash. Keith and Mick were obviously in excellent shape. The shows 1st good surprise was the live premiere of last year's single Streets Of Love. Even if the studio version, is by far not my favorite track on A Bigger Bang, I have to admit that the live rendition was wonderful. Next came Con Le
Mie Lacrime, the italian rendition of As Tears Go By, a song the
band released in Italy only back in 1966. The emotion in the stadium was
huge and this short song was the absolute highlight and unforgettable
moment of the concert. |
|
The next song was Midnight Rambler. Here
again, I found the band performed a tremendous version of the song, with
both guitars at their maximum volume.
Night Time was next. Not the best version I heard on the tour, but Lisa's part was simply astonishing. She was roaring like a lion and put all her soul and guts in it. After that came Keith's sequence. He of course received a hige acclamation and the emotion was obviously as big for him as for us. Slipping Away was a deception for me. Not that the song wasn' played well, but I was feeling kinda frustrated not to hear This Place Is Empty. The B Stage set was interesting, with Under My Thumb. The way the band played the song was not very different from what we could hear during the Bridges To Babylon Tour, but it was enjoyable. |
|
|
|
Before the encore, the stage was lit with the colors of Italy on the left and France on the right, and the screen showed Italy's goals during the final, after what the whole stage went green, white and red. The crowd was cheering more than anytime before during the show and went totally insane at the very end of the concert when Marco Materazzi and Alessandro Del Piero showed up to give the band some italian Jerseys. Charlie seemed not to understand what was going on and the whole band looked astonished when Materazzi took the microphone to make the whole stadium sing the anthem of the world cup in Italy, the White Stripes' Seven Nation Army, followed by something very fine and elegant that meant that whoever wasn't jumping in the stadium was french. Mick finally managed to get the microphone back and gave an end to an unforgettable evening for the italian fans, and a good concert for all.
Click HERE to see the photo page |