Well, what a night!!! :yahoo: I have to tell you that the Blues and Rock n Roll is alive and well and in the safe custody of the Rolling Stones!!!
Bear with me and allow an old fart to share some memories
They came on stage at about twenty past eight and the place erupted, I'm still completely blown away by the fact that these guys at an average age of 68 can not only play Rock n Roll for nearly 2 and a half hours straight but they still it do it so well. I saw them 5 years ago at the O2 and they were good then, they were as good if not better last night, maybe because it's a bit more of a "stripped down" performance and wasn't part of a huge world tour set with all the attendant pyrotechnics, videos and light shows that go with that type of gig? They are just so tight as a band.
Here's the set running list for those who want to know what they missed
'Get Off My Cloud'

'I Wanna Be Your Man'

'This Could Be The Last Time'

'Paint It Black'

'Gimme Shelter'

'Lady Jane'

'Champagne And Reefer'

'Live With Me'

'Miss You'

'One More Shot'

'Doom And Gloom'

'Honky Tonk Woman'

'Before They Make Me Run'

'Happy'

'Midnight Rambler'

'Start Me Up'

'Tumbling Dice'

'Brown Sugar'

'Sympathy For The Devil

'You Can't Always Get What You Want'

'Satisfaction'
Some of the highlights for me were:- Florence Welch from Florence And The Machine duetted with Jagger on Gimme Shelter and then Ronnie & Keith indulged in acoustic guitars for Lady Jane which sent chills down the collective spine of the audience.
No time to take that all in as they then wheel on Eric Clapton to join them on Champagne & Reefer encompassing three cracking solos from EC, Ronnie & Keith, this is how the Blues should be played IMHO, "The Ancient Art Of Weaving" as Keith calls it Here's a linky:-
Jagger took his only break of the night for two songs which ironically drew the biggest cheer of the night as Mr K Richards took the microphone for Before They Make Me Run and Happy, I swear he was visibly moved with the reception he got.
Bill Wyman joined them for it's Only Rock n Roll and Honky Tonk Women but Mick Taylor's guitar work on Midnight Rambler was outstanding. Outstanding BV's as usual form Lisa Fischer and Bernard Fowler and Bobby Keys can still capture an audience with his superb sax solos.
And then for You Can't Always Get What You Want they bring on two female voice choirs for those haunting backing vocals, superb, and finished with Satisfaction. What a night, I'll never forget it. I met a very good mate there and we reminisced about seeing them at Earls Court in 1974, if you had told us then that we see them perform in London again in 2012, ....................................well they are, as far as I am concerned legends in my lifetime.