The Rolling Stones rock the Waldbühne

By Johannes Malinowski

What was possibly the last Rolling Stones show on Wednesday evening was definitely a special concert. Around 20,000 fans came to see one of the greatest rock bands of all time live.

The Stones only announced the location of the 14th and final concert of their Sixty Tour on June 23rd. The tickets (between 192.65 and 560.65 euros) were sold out in no time. After the Olympic Stadium in Munich (70,000 tickets) and the Schalke Arena in Gelsenkirchen (50,000 tickets), the atmosphere in the Waldbühne at the third German concert was almost intimate.

It’s been almost a year since drummer Charlie Watts (80) died. Before the show, the band commemorated him with video clips from his rock life. A dignified homage.

Exactly at 7.45 p.m. Messrs. Mick Jagger (79), Keith Richards (78) and Ron Woods (75) entered the stage. Jagger with a lanky hip swing as ever. A gait as iconic as the tongue outstretched in the band’s logo, perhaps a little slower than it used to be. Nevertheless, an overwhelming picture.

“Street Fighting Man” at the beginning, to the cheesy sunset “Out of Time”. To “You can’t always get what you want”, the master himself picked up the western guitar. Later, of course, “Paint it black”, “Sympathy for the devil” and the smash hit “Satisfaction”.

Jagger: “It’s great to be back in Berlin!” Living monuments and the realization of the fans: the seemingly ageless gentlemen can still do it even after 60 years on stage. Not every tone has to be there.

Wednesday was not quite as wild as when they first appeared here in 1965. At that time the band stopped playing after 20 minutes, the disappointed fans scrapped the forest stage.