MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE

Lindquist: Rolling Stones electrify Indianapolis Motor Speedway

David Lindquist
david.lindquist@indystar.com
Rolling Stone frontman (and "Freejack" actor) Mick Jagger performs with the rest of the band during their stop at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 4, 2015, as part of their "Zip Code" tour.
Mick Jagger, performs with The Rolling Stones at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, Saturday, July 4, 2015.

Chicago had the Grateful Dead and Washington, D.C., had the Foo Fighters, but give Indianapolis the prize for best rock 'n' roll party on the Fourth of July.

The Rolling Stones electrified Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, drawing on style, history and showmanship to outgun any rivals from yesterday or today.

The event, a once-in-a-lifetime convergence of rock royalty and the world's largest sporting venue, attracted an estimated audience of 50,000 and battled logistical hiccups that arrived with the first non-race weekend concert in the track's 106-year history.

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood were making their first appearance in Indianapolis since 1994, but the decades melted away when the Stones showed off their skills as a small country & western combo on "Let It Bleed" and roared as masters of epic guitar riffs on "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction)," "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Brown Sugar."

Richards, who flawlessly banged out those riffs, took a nasty-looking spill on the catwalk extending from the stage. Holding his guitar aloft in his left hand while running the path during a rendition of "Miss You," Richards tumbled headfirst but quickly rose to collect himself and he laughed off his fall by the end of song.

While he favored his left wrist at times during the rest of the show, Richards rallied to deliver blistering solos on "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Satisfaction." A concert attendee posted video of Richards' fall at YouTube.

Wood attacked his guitar showcases with remarkable vigor, even leaping to catch air during a segment of "Midnight Rambler." This 1969 tune included Jagger singing a few lines from Robert Johnson's "Come On In My Kitchen" ("You better come on in my kitchen, well, it's going to be raining outdoors").

The gyrating vocalist pushed "Midnight Rambler's" villainous persona as close to a caricature as possible, but it was a treat to see the Stones revisit the "black hat" days that came before their extended era of being universally loved icons.

Earlier in the show, Jagger told a playful "dad joke" about the band contemplating a cameo appearance Saturday by New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. "I'm finding the idea a bit deflating,' he deadpanned for the crowd filled with Colts fans.

In a nod to the concert's setting, Jagger introduced Wood as "the winner" and handed him a jug of milk that the guitarist happily gulped in the tradition of an Indianapolis 500 winner. On Saturday afternoon, Wood tweeted a photo of himself standing under the track's famed "Gasoline Alley" sign.

Across the show's 19 songs, Jagger came through as an ageless marvel. Twenty-two days before his 72nd birthday, he zipped to and from all corners of the massive stage, progressively shed jacket and shirt from his red-and-black wardrobe and employed an F-bomb to emphatically praise the crowd's singing on "Miss You."

Yet it can be reported that the singer is mortal. He muttered "Jeez Louise" after expending energy on the show's second song, "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)." It's a rare moment when Jagger lets you see him sweat.

Fans at the back of the concert site -- in the infield northeast of Pagoda Plaza -- heard a decent sound mix. A rendition of "Bitch" fell apart because of too much volume, pushed to distortion by saxophone players Tim Ries and Karl Denson. And the farther you were from the stage, the images on video screens were less synchronized with what you heard.

Anyone who purchased the $40 T-shirt adorned with customized lips-and-checkered-flag-tongue logo should count themselves as lucky. This item flew out of merchandise stands long before the Stones arrived onstage. For now, the instant collector's item is available at RollingStones.com.

In terms of logistical hiccups, traffic ranked as the primary problem. Despite the venue's pre-show attempts to advise fans to avoid 16th Street, this road south of the track became a stalemate even as free parking was available to the north and west of the track.

Davey Barrett, a 25-year-old Indianapolis resident, was one of many to tell the tale.

Saying he spent 3 hours in 16th Street gridlock, Barrett expressed regret at missing out on the checkered-tongue T-shirt. He paid $100 for a jacket because it featured a smaller version of the logo. Through it all, Barrett said he had a great time.

"Mick Jagger is still the coolest person to walk the Earth," he said during a mid-show interview.

Barrett's sentiments dovetail nicely with the Stones' encore song that featured notably formal vocals from the Butler University Chorale: "You Can't Always Get What You Want." Thousands of fans found what they needed at this historic IMS show.

After the Stones left the stage, a 19-minute display of more than 10,000 fireworks blast capped the Fourth of July experience.

Saturday's setlist

1. "Jumpin' Jack Flash"

2. "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)"

3. "Let's Spend the Night Together"

4. "Tumbling Dice"

5. "Out of Control"

6. "Let It Bleed"

7. "Wild Horses"

8. "Bitch"

9. "Honky Tonk Women"

10. "Before They Make Me Run"

11. "Happy"

12. "Midnight Rambler"

13. "Miss You"

14. "Gimme Shelter"

15. "Start Me Up"

16. "Sympathy for the Devil"

17. "Brown Sugar"

Encore

18. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" (with the Butler University Chorale)

19. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"

Call Star reporter David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.