Gimme Shelter

Music can be a reflection of its time. In late 1969, the Rolling Stones wrap up their U.S. tour with a gig at the Altamont Speedway Free Concert. But Mick Jagger is forced to stop the third song, “Sympathy for the Devil”, after just a few bars to appeal for calm. As a result of poor organization, widespread drug and alcohol use, and the conduct of the Hells Angels, hired as security, the atmosphere is explosive.

It comes as a shocking contrast to the jubilant Madison Square Garden performance seen earlier in the film, with Jagger at his most exuberant in iconic songs such as “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”. Yet “Street Fighting Man”, inspired by the growing unrest of the era, can already be read as an omen. Even more so “Gimme Shelter”, with which the Maysles brothers bring their film to a close.

Culminating in the killing of a crazed concertgoer in front of the stage, Altamont has come to be seen as the moment that marked the end of the hippie and peace-and-love era. In the film, the band members watch the footage back in stunned disbelief. Scenes of the chaotic preparations for the concert provide a chilling sense of the circumstances that led up to it.

This film is part of Snapshots in Concert, this year’s summer program presenting five legendary artists captured at defining moments in their careers. Supported by the Brook Foundation.