Rolling Stones and Lady Gaga give stunning performance at intimate album release show
NEW YORK – The Rolling Stones will not go quietly.
Nearly 60 years since dropping their blues-steeped debut, the legendary rock band rooted by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards continues to make a glorious noise, continues to pique our attention with every utterance of a new tour and, simply, continues to matter.
The band’s latest album, “Hackney Diamonds,” their first new material since 2005’s “A Bigger Bang,” arrived Friday.
But a few hours before the clock struck midnight, the Rolling Stones roared through a seven-song set that blurred the lines between vintage and fresh – the dozen tracks on “Hackney” really are that robust – at an invite-only club show at Racket NYC.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Jagger uttered as he roamed the corners of the small stage to greet the crowd of about 650 before offering a sly smile. “We’re gonna play some old, and we’re gonna play some new.”
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What Jagger didn’t mention was the band was going to welcome a surprise guest to close their set – and really, how could there not be something special at a show this intimate? – in the form of an absolutely kinetic Lady Gaga, who performs on “Hackney.”
The groove-infested “Shattered,” their 1978 seedy ode to New York, proved the ideal opener for the night. Jagger, his vocal delivery as elastic as his facial expressions, slithered between Ronnie Wood and Richards, his feet following his hips, as he spat the lyrics “pride and joy and greed and sex, that's what makes our town the best” and the famous aside, “shadoobie.”
But first Jagger, Richards, Wood, longtime bassist Darryl Jones, drummer Steve Jordan (who took the seat of the late Charlie Watts in 2021), keyboardist Matt Clifford and singer Chanel Haynes had a few other tunes to unleash.
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Seesawing between classic and new, the band stomped through the staccato rocker “Angry,” the Stones-iest Stones song in decades. Richards, all scarves and bandannas, ripped out the instant classic riff, filling in the notes between Jones’ rumbling bass lines.
Everyone on stage appeared to be steeped in joy. Wood, who has endured a few bouts of cancer, grinned as he stepped up to solo during “Whole Wide World,” while Jones thundered behind his kit, already a master at Watts’ signature playing style of never hitting the high hat and snare drum simultaneously. (Watts played on two songs on “Hackney Diamonds” – “Live By the Sword” and “Mess It Up.")
Jagger, as if it needs to be said, remains an indefatigable wonder at 80, his moves a blend of peacock strutting and karate chopping, his voice as distinctive and grainy as ever.
While the turbocharged newcomer “Bite My Head Off” (featuring Paul McCartney playing bass on the album) already sounds primed for the stadiums the Stones still rule, it was the memory-ingrained guitar chords of “Tumbling Dice” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” that galvanized a crowd speckled with celebrities including Chris Rock, Daniel Craig, Trevor Noah, Elvis Costello, Diana Krall, Jimmy Fallon and Christie Brinkley.
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The band, however, saved its showstopper for the inevitable encore. “Sweet Sounds Of Heaven,” a muscular gospel-blues standout on the new album, was already landing with visceral intensity thanks to Jagger singing like a preacher, drawing the crowd in with his gestures and falling to his knees.
But then Lady Gaga strutted out with her blond hair in a Debbie Harry-esque rocker ruffle, sparkly jumpsuit cut low in the front and divided vertically between pink and black.
She immediately confirmed she is a worthy sparring partner for Jagger as the pair circled each other, each approaching the other as prey. Their intensity was palpable as they traded soulful wails, simultaneously bounced – she in platform heels – and fed off the force of the music. After Gaga tossed down the mic stand in a frenzied moment of singing, Jagger ceded the spotlight to her to close out the song with iron-lunged ferocity.
The two pros were left breathless, and as Jagger led her to the front of the stage to take a bow with the band, it solidified that not only do the Rolling Stones still matter, but their legacy continues to inspire.
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