aaamusic | On 02, Jul 2014

Sunday 22nd June, Italy

In the breathtaking beauty of Roma’s Circo Massimo, with a sunset that has no equals for colour and warmth, the kings of rock’n’roll The Rolling Stones play this unique Italian date. 70,000 people are in attendance and it’s uncountable the number of who are packed outside the exclusive event just trying to listen from afar.

After the acoustic rock and blues opening of John Mayer, it’s time for Mick, Keith, Ron and Charlie to ride the stage. And they rock straight away, opening with ‘Jumping Jack Flash’, ‘Let’s Spend The Night Together’ and ‘It’s Only Rock’n’Roll (But I Like It)’. An opening that is worth the lifetime wait for some, and the seven-year wait for others; those who had the luck of seeing them at their last Italian concert. Mick Jagger and his mates keep the show going with all the great hits: ‘Streets Of Love’, ‘Honky Tonk Women’, ‘Doom And Gloom’ (featuring Mick Taylor) and ‘Respectable’, a song which was the winner of a social network contest and played specially for the Italian public with John Mayer. Then it’s the turn of Keith Richards who performs ‘You Got The Silver’ and ‘Can’t Be Seen’ with his unmistakable smile, his bandana and his cigarette.

Mick Jagger, after another jacket changing, is back on the stage for ‘Midnight Rambler’, ‘Miss You’ and ‘Gimme Shelter’ featuring the chorister Lisa Fischer, who has been accompanying with The Rolling Stones since 1989 with her powerful and soulful voice. The simple intro of ‘Start Me Up’ is enough to make the all-ages crowd go crazy, and it’s impossible not to dance, especially if Mick (71 years old) is dancing, jumping and running the same as 50 years ago, when The Rolling Stones were at the forefront of rock’n’roll, becoming iconic and mythical.

For ‘Sympathy For The Devil’ Mick gets onstage dressed like Satan with the public screaming the riff “Uh uh”, moving then to ‘Brown Sugar’ for the closing. And just when you think there is nothing else to add, a whole chorus jump onstage for the intro of ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’, with a perfect and sensational sound that leads to the grand finale with fireworks for ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’.

Time hasn’t pass by for The Rolling Stones, rock’n’roll keeps them young and fit and this amazing show in Rome will be noted down in history as a unique event with no equal for location and style.

Camilla Pascucci