The Rolling Stones rock Pittsburgh with great success, energy

The spread of the pandemic has moved several groups away from Pittsburgh this year.

But it was going to take a lot more than the threat of covid-19 variants to stop the Rolling Stones from coming to Pittsburgh, the final stop on the group’s “No Filter Tour”. The show was originally scheduled for June 2020 but has been postponed by the pandemic. However, this was not going to happen a second time.

Even the death of longtime Stones drummer Charlie Watts just six weeks ago couldn’t stop them from performing a rock show in front of an estimated crowd of over 50,000 fans at Heinz Field on Monday night. Drummer Steve Jordan replaced Watts and did a great job keeping the pace consistent.

The Rolling Stones have been around for a long time and their song catalog is extensive. So one of the questions fans probably wondered before the show was what songs would Mick Jagger and his company perform?

“‘Wild horses’ are probably my favorites, but (also) ‘Satisfaction’ and ‘Memory Motel’,” said Amanda Mills, 31, of Cecil County, Md. “And you?” Amanda told her sister Stephanie Mills, 28. “Paint it black,” Stephanie replied without hesitation.

The girls’ mother, Kristen Mills, saw the Stones about 20 times but wasn’t going to miss this show. “I still think it could be the last,” she said.

Sisters Amanda and Stephanie Mills of Cecil County, Maryland are thrilled to be part of the “Burgh for the Rolling Stones” concert. pic.twitter.com/Y3VChIqZ3x

-Paul Guggenheimer (@PGuggenheimer) October 4, 2021

If this was the Rolling Stones’ last show in Pittsburgh, the band certainly came out on a high note – which Jagger can still knock out. Stones frontman and guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood left it all on stage in an approximately two hour and 15 minute show that was grueling to watch let alone play.

The evening began with a tribute video to Watts played on four giant video monitors. After Jagger burst onstage and embarked on “Street Fighting Man” and then “Spend the Night Together” to open the show, he became moved when he announced that the Stones were dedicating the show to Watts.

After a hearty rendition of “Tumbling Dice,” Jagger told the crowd, “Blimey, it’s good to be back at Heinz Field, the scene of so many dramas.”

Dressed for most of the evening in an all-black outfit that made his chest super slim and his arms and legs downright slender, Jagger was blurred. He was hopping, hopping, dancing, moving and running all over the stage, and the track that accompanied it, so fast, it seemed slightly outrageous that a 78-year-old would perform with such energy.

Just when he was starting to look a little tired, Jagger was pulling himself together, no doubt helped by those high intensity workouts he had been seen doing on social media.

The Stones may have surprised the crowd when Jagger sang a version of the Chi-Lites “Troubles a ‘Comin”, a true rarity that the Stones recorded in Paris in 1979 during the sessions of the album “Emotional Rescue” of the. group. It went unreleased for over four decades before they recently decided to release it.

While he didn’t surprise the crowd, “Troubles a ‘Comin” seemed to throw Richards on a loop when he seemed to stop playing before he figured things out and turned back.

This was followed by the night’s fan vote song “Angie,” then “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” which saw Jagger playing acoustic guitar before walking the track and cheering. the crowd singing the chorus.

“Thank you, you sang brilliantly, even better than Cleveland,” he remarked.

Following a pandemic-inspired version of the 2020 release “Living in a Ghost Town” that featured a harmonica solo by Jagger, the band performed a jaw-dropping rendition of “Start Me Up” in which Richards and Wood swapped brilliantly. guitar solos.

After a version of “Honky Tonk Woman” that featured what appeared to be voodoo-inspired video effects, Jagger told the crowd he was a little frustrated that he didn’t have enough time to see much of Pittsburgh during this event. trip.

“I didn’t even have time to go to the Andy Warhol museum and look at myself,” he said. “I had time to queue for a sammich (yes, Jagger said so) at Primanti.”

Jagger certainly burned those calories Monday night. He paused, however, to let Richards take advantage of the spotlight on a few songs, including “Before They Make Me Run” and “Slipping Away”.

Richards, wearing a yellow wool ski cap and a silver earring in his left ear, told the crowd: “It’s great to be in Pittsburgh. It’s great to be anywhere.

Jagger roared back on stage for the Stones’ disco-era gem “Miss You”, on which he played rhythm guitar. He also encouraged the crowd to join him on the high “whoo hoo hoo ooo, ooo” parts of the song.

He followed that up by sweating with a 15-minute version of the intensely bluesy “Midnight Rambler,” a song for which Jagger once again released his formidable harmonica. Then he lengthened the song, engaging in a bit of a call and response with the crowd as he walked up and down the track.

Between songs, Jagger mentioned the group’s Pittsburgh debut in June 1964 at Danceland in West View Park, the first of the Stones 11 appearances here.

“Did anyone here come under the fence (that day)?” Jagger asked. “Well, thanks for coming back.”

“Paint It Black” was next. Stephanie Mills had her wish.

Jagger was at his best dance for “Jumpin ‘Jack Flash” which ended the pre-still part of the concert.

The encore could have been the best part of the show. Jagger, now resplendent in a black frock coat with silver sequins, was joined on “Gimme Shelter” by Sasha Allen, a New Yorker who has been a backup singer with the Stones touring group since 2016. She took her turn in the spotlight. , creating a fabulous duet with Jagger that rivaled singer Merry Clayton’s iconic voice on the song’s recording in 1969.

The grand finale was a staccato version of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” which Jagger undoubtedly decided to repeat after singing it so many times. It was a little different but still satisfying – and included Jagger pulling out a terrible towel and swirling it around vigorously as if to show he hadn’t given up on the Steelers.

The consensus among veteran Rolling Stones watchers on this show was that those age-defying rockers, Richards at 77, keep getting better and better. Maybe they’ll come back here, if only to perform “Wild Horses” for Amanda Mills. He didn’t make the playlist this time. Sorry, Amanda, but you can’t always get what you want.

Local band Ghost Hounds opened the show with a solid 45 minute set that included a bunch of beautiful original songs performed by frontman Tre Nation, as well as a cover of the song “Devil Woman” made famous by Cliff Richard.

The Ghost Hounds must have impressed Jagger who thanked them while the Stones were on stage.