LIVE REVIEW + PHOTOS — The Rolling Stones, SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles CA

by Christina Wright • July 29, 2024

The stage was set, and the stars aligned. We had made it to the center of the floor at the freshly built SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California, eager to see The Rolling Stones. I was still riding the high from the night before when our band, The New Brutarians opened for The Joneses at The Whisky A Go Go. Man, what a combo of emotions and excitement, I was so ready to see The Rolling Stones and was invited to this incredible show by one of the most knowledgeable fans I know, our guitarist and lead singer, Adam.

We arrived at SoFi Stadium early and achieved ‘kojak’ parking. We stopped on our short walk to enjoy some bacon-wrapped street hotdogs with grilled onions, and it hit the spot. We overlooked the man made waterfalls behind an artfully designed sculpture of an airplane. I was into the modern design and layout of the stadium. It reminded me a bit of home. It was a beautiful and breezy evening but it was time to go inside. We wanted to ensure we didn’t miss The Linda Lindas, a local punk rock band from Los Angeles that is making waves, especially at their young age. These talented you ladies blew us away with their disco punk rock sergeant peppers vibes. The calm and humble confidence that exuded from the youngest, the drummer and singer, was an inspiration, and she is only 13! All four members of the Linda Lindas sang and their range in style and emotion was felt. The Linda Lindas expressed their gratitude and mutual excitement to see The Rolling Stones with us and ended their set with a bang.

We took the opportunity for a break and found a new spot with a clear view of the stage and the catwalk. Managed to make friends with our neighbors and got to chatting about all the fun shows we have attended. Looking at the stage, all we can see is a close up of what appears to be diamonds. As if on cue, another fan turns around to us and asks if we happen to know what hackney diamonds were. “As a matter of fact I do,” said Adam. We learned it was an East London slang term to describe the shards of glass after a burglary in Hackney and was sometimes referred to as a good night that had gotten out of hand. The name of the Rolling Stones’ last album was Hackney Diamonds, and now the name of this tour we had the privilege of witnessing.

The sun had gone down and the whole hangar style stadium was lit up by these diamonds and silhouettes of the band members until all of a sudden the diamonds shattered and the boys got us started with “Start Me Up.” Such a feel-good way to start the set and with so much energy! It was impressive to see them floor it right out the gate and nail every note. True rock stars. Mick Jagger had on his referee jacket and was revving us all up. Now we were ready for “Get Off Of My Cloud.” The stadium sang wholeheartedly in call and response style to “Hey, Hey You, You, Get Off of My Cloud.” I was on cloud nine and feeling just fine.

It wasn’t until “Tumbling Dice,” that I started to appreciate and notice the other musicians and singers on the stage. Bernard Fowler and Chanel Haynes’ vocals “keep on rolling,” perfectly complementing the song. The next song they played was from Hackney Diamonds, “Angry.” This catchy tune from last year is hard not to sing along with. I would love to pull that song out the next time someone is angry with me. The riff and hook are so catchy that it would be hard to stay angry after hearing it.

On this tour The Rolling Stones have been having their fans vote for a song to play each show, and the fans voted for “Heartbreaker.” This is where Karl Denson & Tim Reis shined on their saxophones. Tim has been with The Stones since 1999 and I was pleasantly surprised to see Karl Denson on stage with them too. I had no idea he had been touring with The Rolling Stones for the last 10 years or so. Last time I saw him was on Jam Cruise 20, earlier this year. He was picked up after Jazz Fest some years back. These two add just the right amount of sax ‘n’ soul to The Rolling Stones’ rock ‘n’ roll.

Then, just to keep us on our toes, they played “A Fool To Cry.” It’s been over a decade since they’ve performed this song in the states. We could hear the excitement and awe from the crowd as we all enjoyed this iconic ballad. A true rarity, and just for us in Los Angeles! Adam and I had looked up the set list from their performance earlier in the week at the SoFi Stadium, and so far we have been pleasantly surprised. Up next was another newbie, “Whole Wide World.” You can tell the distinction between their newer songs versus their classics, they are catchy in a fresh new way and are almost made for us to sing along to.

I was so excited to hear that “Monkey Man” was next. Mick Jagger showed us what he was made of and was all over that stage sashaying around in his silk-like purple button down, unbuttoned. How he still exudes so much energy and charisma is inspiring. Bassist Daryl Jones holds down the groove while Ronnie slides around on the guitar, and together with Keith, they have a bit of their own fun. The boys have been slaying all the right riffs and in all the right ways.

After all that singing and dancing it was time for me to get a drink. Mick Jagger grabbed an acoustic guitar and started “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” I should have known better then to try to get what I wanted in a timely manner during that song. We were redirected and placed in a long line inside the stadium (instead of on the field). It was here that I debated on skipping the drink to enjoy the song. Instead, we reveled in the irony and had a few laughs with the others in the same situation. Luckily I could still see out the glass walls and doors and we could hear Ronnie Woods rip it on the guitar. We got what we wanted and made our way back to our spot to “get what we need.”

Keith Richards, in his zebra print button down, grabbed an acoustic and played “You Got The Silver” followed by “Little T&A” and got us all moving and grooving. “Before they Make Me Run” had me wanting to run up closer to the stage. It was when Steve Jordan, their most recent drummer, started the beginning percussion of “Sympathy For The Devil,” that I knew it was time to make a run for it. Adam and I decided to try our luck getting a little closer, and that we did. Just in time to see Mick Jagger’s next wardrobe change into a purple bedazzled coat and a lime green silk button down, showing off all his classic moves. The stadium starts to sing “woo woo” in unison. The whole stage had transformed into an Egyptian/Greek style rock ‘n’ roll monument, and Mick Jagger and the rest of The Stones were being worshiped. Soon the whole stage was on fire as we let the night of fabulous music and true legends sink in. We watched, listened and sang along in awe. I had been so starstruck this whole adventure out to Hollywood with my band, and this was one of those moments I acknowledged my gratitude for all that had led me there. We were close enough to see the stage pretty well, I was starstruck. We managed to make it to the end of the song before we were politely asked to move along.

That was fine with me, we had overstayed our welcome and influenced others to do the same and drew more attention. Had I known Leonardo DiCaprio was somewhere in that crowd, I may have lingered a bit longer. Then the cowbell began and I knew it was time to go back to our spot for “Honky Tonk Woman.” By the end of this song, Mick Jagger had lost the jacket. Then we heard the count, and that classic bass line along with the harmonica of “Miss You.” The stage had transformed to a neon framed stage of fame. The crowd clapped and sang while Steve Jordan and Darryl Jones held down the beat. There were sax solos, bass solos, and the whole crowd was grooving. We had no idea what was in store next.

“Gimmie Shelter.” We needed shelter, absolutely blown away by the performance, especially the vocals and electricity between Mick Jagger and Chanel Haynes. Chanel did justice and then some, to Merry Claton’s originally recorded in Los Angeles’ version from 1969. Chanel channeled the star power of L.A. and beyond and became almost possessed by soul and rock ‘n’ roll. Mick Jagger kept up with his swagger and his voice sounded just like I remembered it from Let It Bleed. I had chills from this performance.

Jagger continued to complement the crowd and then on cue, Keith broke out in that iconic harmonic minor riff. Steven Jordan came in on the toms, and the stage lost all color and all we could see was black and white. “Paint It Black’s” driving beat and catchy chorus is unforgettable. With sounds of the sitar through Ronnie’s guitar, we were transported back to the ‘60s. This may be the closest I’ve ever gotten to experiencing a different time. “Jumpin Jack Flash” brought me right back to reality and before I knew it, the song was over. “Thank you very much LA, good night!”

Still reeling, I knew what had to be done next. We beelined to the restrooms, even though we all know there will be an encore. “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” played as we made our way towards the exit, but hoping by some chance that Lady Gaga herself would show up. She didn’t, but I got my “Satisfaction” and we left the stadium feeling so much more than satisfied. “Hey, hey hey, that’s what I say.”

Shout out to Adam, Billy and George from our band The New Brutarians for having coinciding tour dates with The Rolling Stones in L.A.! This trip was all about the music. From writing previews on the plane for Shows I Go To, to playing The Whisky, to taking a music history tour around with Ricky Menace, joining his podcast to help promote our show and then connecting me with photographer Steve Allen who has stellar photos capturing what would be one of my favorite shows of all time!

So happy to have the honor and privilege to share the Shows I Go To with you!

See y’all at the next show!