ninehertz

First up, you're probably thinking, 'what the fuck are the Stones doing on ninehertz?' Well, for starters this site is for 'Stoner/Doom/Sludge/Whatever' and as the Stones practically invented rock and roll as we know it I think they're worthy of inclusion...let's look at the facts. Stoner rock, as a genre, seems to walk hand in hand (though not exclusively) with drug intake...The Stones (and Keith Richards on his own) have done more drugs than you or I could ever conceive of and still come out on top. In 'Sympathy for the Devil' they managed to distil the satanic nature of evil with far more style and inherent foreboding than any pissant face painted screeching Norwegian twat ever could! Last but not least, musically, with songs such as Midnight Rambler and Live With Me they created some of the thickest most rocking tunes and grooves that would give any modern stoner band a run for their money. Rob Zombie once said that Tony Iommi wrote all the best metal riffs ever...well, Keith Richards wrote everything else!!!! Quite simply, without the Stones there would be no MC5, no Stooges, no Aerosmith, no Guns and Roses, no Black Crowes, no Lynrd Skynrd, no ZZ Top, no AC/DC, no Motorhead...no rock and roll as we know it...THE STONES BELONG!!!!!!

Right, on with the show! The Millennium Stadium was at capacity with around 75,000 bums on seats, yeah the crowd were a little older in general, a little greyer, a little portlier and a little balder, but it was a mix of rockers, metallers, business men, townies, punks, every walk of life all here for one thing, rock and roll and the Stones didn't disappoint. From the opening bars of Jumping Jack Flash to the last note of Satisfaction the Stones delivered a 2 hour set packed with the kind of energy most 20 year olds fail to muster. Given that 3 of the 4 remaining Stones are into their 60's and Ronnie Wood ain't far off, these guys show no signs of stopping and can kick the arses of just about every band on the planet right now. Jagger in particular has so much abundant energy it knackers you out just watching him. Even after 2 hours with barely a let up he is sprinting about the stage like he's trying out for the Olympics. Keith Richards is the perfect foil for this, cool, laid back with his guitar slung low and peeling out riff after riff and lick after lick as if it's flowing from his blood. They play all the hits, you don't need me to name them, you should know them, and throw in a couple of tracks from the latest album 'A Bigger bang' as well as a couple of more obscure numbers from the back catalogue. The energy only dips slightly when Keith takes centre stage to croon a couple of tunes, showing how much a part Jagger does play in keeping the show going. One criticism that can never be levelled at the Stones is that they're boring and predictable live, yeah they play the hits, but they play them how the Hell they want on any given night. Songs are stretched out and jammed, riffs are changed, Ronnie and Keith don't even know who's going to play a lead in a song until it's upon them half the time! This is how they stay relevant and fresh and are able to give the most incredible performances night after night. In an age that seems to be dominated by genres, fashions and safety in music the Stones keep doing what they do and still have that element of danger so sadly lacking in rock and roll these days. Quite simply, The Rolling Stones, after 44 years are still the greatest rock and roll band the world has ever seen and to be honest I can't see anyone ever bettering them! It's only rock and roll but I like it!

By the way, lame-ass indie kids the Kooks supported...didn't bother watching them and by the looks of it not many other people did either!!!