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Rolling Stones
Soldier Field, Chicago
June 21 & 25, 2019
By Robin Zimmerman
How fitting that
fate—and Mick Jagger’s quick recovery from heart surgery— aligned the dates for
the Rolling Stones “No Filter” tour to start in sweet home Chicago. After all,
Solider Field is practically a “stones” throw from Chess Studios where they
first met their idol Muddy Waters in 1964. Of course, the band got its name from
Muddy's song "Mannish Boy." As Mick himself said, Friday, June 21st
marked the 38th time that the “World’s Greatest Rock & Roll Band”
descended on the Windy City.
It’s been
well-documented that the Rolling Stones got off the ground due to their shared
love of the blues. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards first bonded, back in Dartford,
England in the early ‘60s, over rare American blues records. As the band gained
worldwide acclaim, they helped introduce artists like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf
and Buddy Guy to a brand-new audience.
Flash forward to 50-plus
years later and the Stones are still trying to give Chicago blues its due. Their
2016 release, Blue and Lonesome
featured songs by some of Chicago’s finest blues artists. With the Stones doing
their spin on tunes from Magic Sam, Little Walter, Willie Dixon and others, it’s
rewarding to see these local legends gain greater recognition.
But, it’s also a bit
sobering to think that fans who swarmed over to Soldier Field most likely missed
the marker that’s right off Roosevelt Road. This Mississippi Blues trail marker
pays homage to the many musicians who took the Illinois Central as part of the
“Great Migration.” While dreams of the
“Promised Land” didn’t usually pan out for many of these artists, their Southern
blues took on a harder-edged, citified vibe that electrified blokes like Jagger,
Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and others.
There was an electrified
vibe in and around Soldier Field on that cold, misty Friday night. There was
also an air of trepidation as many wondered if mortality would finally catch up
to Mick. How would the heart surgery affect his moves, his mobility and his
mastery of his audience?
The 60,000 some fans
that filed into Soldier Field that night can testify that Mick was still up to
his old tricks. He sauntered, shimmied and totally shook up the notion that time
was catching up to him. He sang his heart out, played harp with abandon and
strutted down the concourse like a front man on a mission. He had a point to
prove and drove it home throughout the course of the two-hour show.
Jagger, the former
London School of Economics student, showed he was no slouch with topical issues
either. He talked about everything from the art of ordering an Italian beef and
joking about Alderman Ed Burke’s legal troubles to touching on the fact that
marijuana had just been legalized in Illinois on Tuesday night.
While much of the buzz
centered around Mick’s seemingly miraculous recovery, it was also a joy to see
the rest of the core group of septuagenarians having so much fun in the north
end zone. Ronnie Wood continued his resurgence with some stellar guitar solos
mixed in with intermittent mugging for the big screen. There was also the usual
back-and-forth interplay and “cutting” between Wood and fellow guitarist Keith
Richards.
The band was going full
throttle for much of the night but they also took it down a notch for a few
acoustic numbers. In yet another nod to their Chicago blues roots, Jagger,
Richards, Wood and Watts strolled over to the smaller stage with “2120 S.
Michigan Avenue” playing in the background. This instrumental was penned by all
the original band members as an homage to Chess Studios where they recorded
their second EP in 1964. This 5 x 5
EP featured “2120 S. Michigan Avenue” along with some of the band’s favorite R &
B covers.
Although Richards seemed
a bit subdued on Friday night, he still turned in his usual virtuoso guitar work
including solos of “You’ve Got the Silver” and his rebel anthem “Before They
Make Me Run.” Richards’ solo turn was followed by a heavy dose of hits delivered
with new twists and plenty of vigor. When Charlie Watts, the taciturn drummer,
cracked a smile towards the end of the show, the Stones faithful knew that they
had witnessed something special.
The Stone’s support
sidemen (and woman) deserve a special mention for their outstanding musicianship
that helped make the music come alive: singers Sasha Allen and Bernard Fowler,
keyboardist Chuck Leavell and Chicago’s hometown hero on bass Darryl Jones (Jagger
introduced him as “the South Side’s finest”).
The rains held off for
Friday night but there were the same weather worries for Tuesday. In typical
Chicago fashion, the temperatures had risen dramatically and there was a chance
of storms firing up. Following the
glowing reviews for the Friday night show, the demand for tickets seemed to have
risen as well. There were plenty of people outside Soldier Field in search of
elusive AND expensive show tickets.
On that second night,
the Stones showed why they can still sell-out stadiums after over a half-century
of performing. After opening with “Street Fighting Man” on Friday night, they
came out with a blazing “Jumping Jack Flash” for the second act. They also
trotted out the fan-picked “Monkey Man” as well as an acoustic “Sweet Virginia”
for a goose bump inducing moment on a muggy night.
One of the main Tuesday
night highlights was when they paid homage to their Chicago blues heroes with a
rousing rendition of Eddie Taylor’s “Ride ‘em on Down” where Richards and Woods
reveled in this return to their roots. The
Washington Post reported that
Richards is hoping to break out more obscure tracks like “Mercy, Mercy” on this
tour. Playing a less-traveled cut from the Stones’ catalog like “Ride ‘em On
Down” did seem to energize the iconic
guitarist.
While seeing larger than
life images of Chicago blues legends splashed upon the big screen during “Ride ‘em
on Down” was special to the many blues enthusiasts in audience, it was an
especially meaningful moment for Joseph Morganfield.
The youngest son of Muddy Waters said
he “absolutely loved the song, it was nice and bluesy” and added that “I
especially loved the video!”
Although the Rolling
Stones’ storied impromptu performance with Muddy Waters at the old Checkerboard
Lounge happened long before viral videos, that clip of them singing “Baby Please
Don’t Go” now has over three million YouTube hits. The younger Morganfield was
there on that that historic night in 1981. During a pre-show meetup, he had the
chance to reminisce with the band and joke about the Stones crawling across the
tables to get on stage with their musical idol!
Morganfield said he and
the band “talked about my Pops and they told me how much I looked like him.”
Morganfield added, “It was an amazing feeling knowing that my father was a major
influence on one of the biggest Rock & Roll bands ever!” He also noted that the
Stones’ reverence for his father’s contributions to the genre shows the
character of the band. He added, “they were so kind and loving to me because of
the love that they had for my father.”
Now recording and
performing under the moniker of “MoJo” Morganfield, he hopes to “pull another
rabbit out of the hat” and have Richards join his band of “Mannish Boyz” on
their next release. Coincidentally, one of Morganfield’s bandmates is guitarist
Rick Kreher, who backed Morganfield’s dad and was on the Checkerboard Lounge
stage with the Rolling Stones.
Although the Stones have
rolled out of town and are off conquering new cavernous arenas, there are still
plenty of ways to check out the blues sounds that inspired them. Morganfield
will open for Bad Company and The Empty Pockets at
Hammond Festival of
the Lakes in Hammond, IN on July 19.
Plus, be sure and mark
your calendars for a special evening for
Chicago Plays The Stones at the Lakeside Pavilion on the
College of DuPage Campus in Glen Ellyn. On Thursday,
August 1st, Billy Branch,
John Primer, Jimmy Burns, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Omar Coleman and an all-star
blues band will take the stage and play an entire show comprised of all Rolling
Stones songs done up Chicago blues style. Stay tuned to the weekly “Hot Shows”
section here in the Chicago Blues Guide for complete details on this
event and a host of other local gigs!
STONES SET LISTS
Friday June 21, 2019
Street Fighting Man
Let’s Spend the Night Together
Tumbling Dice
Sad Sad Sad
You Got Me Rocking (audience request)
You Can’t Always Get What You Want
SMALL STAGE
Angie
Dead Flowers
BACK ON BIG STAGE
Sympathy for the Devil
Honky Tonk Women
You Got the Silver
Before They Make Me Run
Miss You
Paint It Black
Midnight Rambler
Start Me Up
Jumpin’ Jack Flash
Brown Sugar
ENCORE:
Gimme Shelter
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
Tuesday June 25, 2019
Jumpin’ Jack Flash
It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It)
Tumbling Dice
Bitch
Ride ‘Em On Down
Monkey Man
You Can’t Always Get What You Want
SMALL STAGE:
2120 South Michigan Avenue
Play With Fire
Sweet Virginia
BIG STAGE:
Sympathy For The Devil
Honky Tonk Women
Slipping Away
Before They Make Me Run
Miss You
Paint It Black
Midnight Rambler
Start Me Up
Brown Sugar
ENCORE:
Gimme Shelter
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
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