The iconic classic rock band The Rolling Stones returned to Nashville, TN on their much maligned No Filter tour and showed the huge crowd why they have endured for almost sixty years- because they are incredible. Mick Jagger, surreally, seems to never age. Aside from a few more wrinkles, he looks as good, sounds as good, and moves as great as he did in the 1970s. His voice is almost indistinguishable today compared to forty years ago.
The When It Was Cool family originally were slated to see the Rolling Stone’s No Filter Tour way back in 2019 in New Orleans, LA but a hurricane blew into town and postponed the tour. Then, we rescheduled for the Nashville, TN concert only to have a worldwide pandemic derail us as the concert was postponed a full year. Then, sadly, just two months ago, Charlie Watts, the Rolling Stones founding drummer, died at the age of 80. But the Rolling Stones endured and arrived in Nashville, TN for their October 9, 2021 concert, a show they dedicated to Charlie Watts.
It was well worth the wait. Mick Jagger was perfection on this hot and sweltering evening. Already noting the heat following the first song, Mick Jagger took a sip of, presumably water, and soldiered on and only got better and better as the night progressed. Keith Richards was in fine form and the always under rated and under appreciated Ronnie Wood put in a flawless performance. Most importantly, all three seemed to be having fun and in these times we need more of that… and good ole gritty solid rock and roll.
The setlist for the Rolling Stones 2021 No Filter Tour stop in Nashville, TN was:
1) Street Fighting Man (Mick Jagger notes that it’s really hot tonight and sheds a shirt)
2) Let's Spend the Night Together
3) Tumbling Dice (Things really kick up a notch here. Mick Jagger really hits his zone.)
4) 19th Nervous Breakdown
5) Troubles a' Comin’ (A cover of The Chi‐Lites classic)
6) Dead Flowers (Winner of a fan vote contest for this show)
7) You Can't Always Get What You Want
8) Living in a Ghost Town (Written during the pandemic shut down)
9) Start Me Up
10) Honky Tonk Women (My personal pick for performance of the night… almost)
11) Connection (Keith Richards on lead vocals)
12) Slipping Away (Keith Richards on lead vocals)
13) Miss You (Tremendous, Mick Jagger sounds indistinguishable from the 1970s here)
14) Midnight Rambler
15) Paint It Black
16) Sympathy for the Devil (Extra pyro and a wardrobe change for Mick Jagger)
17) Jumpin' Jack Flash
Encore:
18) Gimme Shelter (Brilliant performance. The vocals by Sasha Allen were incredible turning this into my favorite performance of the night)
19) (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (Followed by a substantial fireworks display)
Opening for the Rolling Stones in Nashville on the 2021 No Filter tour was a band called Ghost Hounds which I had never heard before, however, they were outstanding and I’m certainly going to dive into their music following this show. The lead singer was tremendous, one of the best I’ve heard in a long time. Their sound was solid classic rock as I heard influences from ZZ Top, Bad Company, and Lynyrd Skynyrd mix a thick layer of blues poured over the top. One of their songs was even dedicated to the legendary Robert Johnson.
I seriously cannot rave about the Rolling Stones No Filter Tour 2021 tour enough, it far exceeded expectations. Be sure to catch the Rolling Stones if they are coming anywhere near you, it was an exceptional experience. (And check out those Ghost Hounds too!)
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