SoundBoard

Back in the early days of promoting arena rock concerts, The Beatles were without  a doubt the most celebrated and well known of all the concerts done at the then Pittsburgh  Civic Arena.  The Stones went to Puttsburgh on November 24, 1965, two months after The Beatles, but they did poorly in comparison having sold only 9,131 tickets for a gross of $32, 614.

The Stones skipped Pittsburgh on the ’69 tour, so by the time they returned they had quite a bit more firepower (with by WDVE FM playing their records and hyping the show) having churned out “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Street Fighting Man,” “Sympathy for the Devil” and “Brown Sugar.”

This tour was legendary, following the release of “Exile on Main Street.” At the tour opener in Vancouver, 31 policemen were injured in a fan stampede. On July 18, Jagger and Keith Richards were arrested after a fight with a photographer and were bailed out by the mayor of Boston, who feared a riot if they didn't play that night.

On the next to last date, The Stones were greeted in Pittsburgh by a crowd of 13,845 (breaking the record of 13,759 set a week earlier by The Jackson Five). Tickets were $5.50 and $6.50 and were being scalped for up to $20 outside. Several hundred fans outside were shut out of tickets and caused trouble for police, resulting in four dozen arrests, according to the Press.

Stevie Wonder and Martha and the Vandellas opened, and then Jagger refused to go on if the band was introduced by the radio people in attendance, according to promoter Pat Dicesare. The Press review didn't mention a single song, while noting, “It was nearly impossible to hear the words to the songs, but no one could care less.” I'm guessing if you actually knew the words, you could probably hear them.

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