It’s been a tough month for the octogenarians who refuse to leave the scene in the United States. So let’s be thankful that the Rolling Stones are still lighting up stadiums as brightly as ever.
On Wednesday at SoFi Stadium, the Stones did what they’ve done for decades: They performed in support of last year’s fresh and catchy new rock ‘n’ roll album, Hackney Diamonds. They had every right to make this run of shows a fan-affirming nostalgia tour, especially in light of the loss of drummer Charlie Watts in 2021.
But as America grapples with a culture dominated by gerontocracy, the Stones refused to get excited about anything on Wednesday night. Performing at the highest octane, this group is capable of creating surprising and exciting moments on stage that they create rather than impress.
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, through all the decades of dark glamour and dazzling excess, still take the stage with that famous, humble introduction: “Ladies and gentlemen, The Rolling Stones.” Since the Johnson administration, it has been rock ’n’ roll’s most sacred and trusted covenant.
On Wednesday, Mick Jagger will perform with the Rolling Stones at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
However, with the death of Watts, known for his cool reserve and steady, jazzy style behind the kit, it was surprising how long the deal would last. Against all evidence so far, the Stones will hang it up one day.
Well, wait. From that horn-like riff on “Get Me Started” to the restless pulse of closer “(I Can’t Not) Be Satisfied,” the Stones roared and roared like a well-maintained Aston Martin, confirming the dangerous pleasures of their current catalog. They did it in 1964 and they’ll do it in 2064.
If you’re disappointed in the world, at least be thankful for this: We’re alive to see the skill and strength Jagger brings to every stage. Those low little twirls, the robe billowing in the night breeze; who perfectly captures the R&B statement on “Cargo Sports.” Don’t believe him when he jokes that “our first show in San Bernardino was so long ago some of you might think we were plucked from the La Brea tar pits.” You can still imagine that seething lust from just the press of the microphone at his waist.
Special respect to Richards too. Most Illegal Killed Stone was in fine form on Wednesday night and took advantage of the age limit.
SoFi Stadium has become a fixture for all the great pop shows of our time, a place where backing tracks are a prerequisite for dazzle. But we bet nothing sounds better in that venue than Richards’ well-earned, haunting, grinding riff.
The Stones’ hits “Paint It Black,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Tumbling Dice” glowed with geothermal energy that was old but still burning at SoFi Stadium Wednesday night.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Wood does all the fretboard acrobatics in the band these days, but when Richards leans into “Midnight Rambler” as Jagger laments Robert Johnson’s Hellhounds, he really lights up. That wistful minor chord that opens the verses of “Wild Horses” sounded even more poignant the way those hands sounded in 2024. When Richards sings “Everybody asks questions, yeah / I’ve got one, too … Is the future all in the hands of the past?” on “Tell Me the Truth,” you felt like he was spitting at death.
The hits – “Paint It Black,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Tumbling Dice” – glow with an aged but still fiery geothermal energy. The band is what the Honky Tonk Women can draw from a rollicking crowd that now spans three generations.
Even the tracks on “Hackney Diamonds” showed how relentlessly the Stones were moving forward. There’s a reason they turned to young producer Andrew Watt, a modern-rock whisperer, for their first LP of original material since 2005. “Gangry” and “Mess It Up” are perfectly calibrated for this moment in the Stones’ career and the carefree attitude of a group so confident in its resonance.
If you’re disappointed in the world, at least be thankful for this: we’re alive to see the skill and strength Mick Jagger brings to every stage.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Much of the credit goes to the creative band the Stones recruited. Drummer Steve Jordan lived out the Watts style with dignity and power, keyboardist Chuck Leavell played beautiful piano solos, and Chanel Haynes brought a Tina Turner-worthy vitality to the backing vocals. (So did War and Treaty by Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter, who opened the set in the spirit of Southern Kingdom.)
Even if we go to the rocks for the velvet and silver jewels, the jeers and jeers and the social rituals of stadium rock, the band isn’t satisfied. No maudlin homages, not even to themselves. No memory lanes to traverse. Just guitars and the devil wrestling through the final years of the greatest rock band we’ve ever had.
