The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones 
No Filter Tour 2019
Lincoln Financial Field
Philadelphia, PA
July 23, 2019
Article by Dennis Morgillo
Photos by Estelle Massry 

The Rolling Stones are the greatest Rock n Roll band in the world. 

The Stones were always my favorite band. I was born into a Stones household. With 4 older siblings, the neighbors could always count on a daily dose of “Sticky Fingers”, “Exile on Main St” or “Goats Head Soup” blaring out of our windows. I was basically raised by Mick & Keith. They were my role models, my heroes. While other kids were doing book reports on George Washington, I was writing about Mick and Keith. 

I first saw The Stones in June, 1975. I was 10 and my oldest brother and sister took me to MSG in NYC to see Mick & the boys.  The sights, the sounds, the smells, I remember it vividly. The concert left a lasting impression on me.  

Fast forward 44 years. It’s 2019. A lifetime of Rock n Roll excess in the rear view mirror, I am sitting in Lincoln Financial Field in Philly, waiting with anticipation, for The Rolling Stones yet again. I have seen the band many times over the years, but I am still as excited as that 10 year old boy was in MSG, but this time I am at the show with my own kids. My kids were raised properly, and they love the Stones too. 

It’s showtime. There is nothing as exciting as the moment when the stadium goes dark and the band is about to hit the stage. The Stones have always been innovators in stage design and lighting. The stage is impressive as usual, with a bank of towering digital screens. Instead of just the usual one or 2 angles of the band, it is a stunning multimedia extravaganza. 

There they are! Mick! Keith! Ronnie! Charlie! The band! The opening chords of “Street Fighting Man” fill the stadium. A better protest song has yet to be written! Mick looks incredible as he gyrates across the stage. My old friend Mick, the greatest frontman of all time. He has the energy of a squirrel on crack. I was tired just walking up the ramp to my seats and this guy is wiggling, undulating and dancing for 2 hours straight.  

The Stones setlist is like a greatest hits of the 20th century. It is amazing that one group of men created all of this music. The greatest music ever recorded: “Bitch”, “Tumblin’ Dice”, and an incredible version of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” including a blistering solo by Ron Wood. The show gets intimate as the boys perform as the Billion dollar quartet and do a moving stripped down acoustic “Angie” and “Dead Flowers”. 

“Honky Tonk Women”! What an incredible beat and riff. Gotta love that open G tuning! Keith! The coolest man to ever walk the face of the earth. What can I say, the man is an International treasure. The king of the riff. Keith takes over for “Slipping Away” and “Before They Make Me Run”, before the band band goes into a show stopping funky “Miss You”. Daryl Jones shines and funks up the place with some exquisite playing. I miss Bill Wyman, but Daryl is a great player and nice addition to the bands sound. 

Then of course there is Charlie and Ronnie. Charlie is the heart and soul of the band. He is the main reason the band has stayed together all these years. You can see the love and admiration Mick and Keith have for the man. He’s an incredible drummer to boot. Ronnie is always good for a laugh and a smile. His playing is very underrated. He was killing it all night.  

“Gimme Shelter”, “Sympathy For The Devil”, “Midnight Rambler”, “Jumpin Jack Flash”, “Paint it Black” and an encore of “Brown Sugar” and “Satisfaction”. Are you kidding me!? It does not get better than this. The rain came down during “Gimme Shelter” and the wind howled, but no one cared, as Sasha Allen rattled the stadium walls with her spine tingling vocals. 

It was an incredible night. 2 hours, 19 songs and a million memories. I can’t tell you how much each of these songs mean to me and how much the band means to me. Will this be The Stones final final tour? I hope not. I never want to know a world without the Rolling Stones. They are clearly the greatest Rock n Roll band in the world. There will never be anything close to them ever again. I have witnessed the best. Thank you for the music sirs.