Barcelona, Estadi Olímpic de Montjuic, June the 13th, 1990
I was on the seats area,second floor, stage right. It was the first time I saw them live and, I'm so sorry, but I did not like the show. It really was
such an exciting thing to see them first time in person, but the fact is that I got quite disappointed. I was just expecting some 2nd '81-82 kind of show.
The sound was too low and they seemed to stroll around the stage rather than having their minds on playing
(nevertheless is needed to say that on the movie "The Stones at the Max" they really play a professional set and is worthwhile to pay for that expensive session).
But after all I'd heard from the previous tours of the Stones that seemed to me a bit ridiculous. The Stones trying to be some kind of Pink Floyd big show, when they had always been
just a simple band of rock'n'roll with just a platform to play on. I just found a notorious decrease of quality in his performance.
In addition, I think there were some songs in the set not really suitable for an energetic and vital Stones concert, with songs like "Paint it black".
For more frustration, people started clapping at the middle bluesy part of "Midnight Rambler" just like if it had finished.
The audience was hardly heard on "Miss You" and "Terrifying" suffered some mistakes from Mick, apart of being filled with some "Corrida de toros" trumpet tunes.
Well, this was the whole feeling after the concert...frustration. But after the years, with the chance of re-viewing the concert on video and listening to other concerts
of that tour it seems to me not that bad. In fact I like many things of that period. But another point to explain that frustration feeling is to be found on the fact that I had watched
a few months ago the TV broadcast from Atlantic City '89, and it seemed to me really great how they played (I'm still highly convinced this is one of their biggest-best gigs ever).
During they're stay in Barcelona I had the chance to take a photo of Charlie Watts entering the hotel (and two more of Matt Clifford and Chuck Leavell). I also talked with Chuck and had his autograph (but I can't find it right now, so I can't put around for you by now).
Madrid, Estadio Vicente Calderón, June the 16th, 1990
3 days after the concert in Barcelona, same show, but something changed. I think
it was due to my position, first row on the field, sticked to the fence. but they really seemed more concentrated on his work.
They looked more enthusiastic, maybe due to highest feedback from the audience, much more than Barcelona. The Calderon was really packed.
I turned myself around to see the crowd during "You Can't always get..." and it was amazing to see and hear all that amount of people singing this wonderful tune.
They inserted "Blinded by love" into the set. One the highs of the show.
But why did they suppress for the European tour those greatly performed songs on the Steel Wheels tour like "Bitch", "Undercover",
"Dead Flowers",...?
I have a copy on private camera video-tape of the show and it's really great to remember those great moments.
London, Wembley Stadium, July the 15th, 1995
Great show. This time my place was 3rd or 4th row on the field. The Stones playin' at home. Playin' and enjoying themselves. I remember specially "I go wild" with all them having a great time.
All those who had the chance to live it will remember it for ever. The fabulous and legendary
Wembley stadium (where on May the 20th, 1992, F.C.Barcelona football team won European Cup with that extraordinary score by Ronald Koeman).
The stadium was packed to the tops. There were people with flags from many countries (including me and my friends with a catalan one). Jagger noticed that and started
asking "Is there someone from Germany? ¿Someone from Sweden? ¿From china?
They gave us two surprises: "Love is strong" and "Heartbreaker".
Someday I'll put here the pictures I took from the concert.
I went to Bill Wyman's Sticky Fingers Restaurant and got delighted with the many treasures he's got in it. A temple for Stones' fans. Got to visit it if you ever go there. What a pity we had no money left and just could take a look inside
and walk our way out.
Here you have the setlist of the show (hope none's missed):
Brown sugarGijón (Asturias), Estadio El Molinón, July the 22nd, 1995
One week later after the London show, I took myself to Gijon, beautiful place. This time I was on the seating area, lower floor, stage left. Supporting act was The Black Crowes (better tha Wembley but a lot boring anyway). Curiosity was that I brought binobulars with me, and watching th stage with them before the concert, leaned on a piano was a long-haired and bearded man with binoculars too. For my first surprise, I start watching him waving his hand (at me, I thought). I do the same and I was right! How funny! We both had a lot of laughs and commented with our mates. We repeated the "experience" several times. For the second surprise, he ended up being the Black Crowes' percussionist! We'll have something to talk about if I ever meet him again!!
And the Stones show ended up being as good as Wembley's, maybe even better. El Molinon's a very, very smaller venue than Wembley is. It was thick and tight packed. No one else could have ever gotten inside.
The best of all it was that all that magnificent atmosphere got transmitted to the Stones who put all they're effort in maybe one of the best concerts they might have played on that tour. Keith got possession of a catalan flag given to him by the audience, after deciding not to move away from first row audience, who he approached to play a solo, nonstop-claiming to him. Even the Stones had to wait a lot before starting to play "Beast of Burden" for how loud and enthusiasticly the audience cheered and waved and singed.
You can find great pictures from that day at this site
http://www1.uniovi.es/asturias/gijon/rolling-stones/
The set-list in Gijon just suffered two changes from Wembley: "Rocks Off" and "Rock And A Hard Place" replaced "Love is Strong" and "Doo,doo,doo,doo(Heartbreaker)"
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