This was my first show....

Anybody care to share any stories from that day/show?

i mowed the lawn and bought some groceries that day; i remember it well.

I went to that show too and loved it...It seemed that the Stones gave us Philly fans a little more to cheer about
with that show to make up for the very short one in 78..They kind of rush their 1978 show at the vet...Seemed Jagger had a cold back in 78. Anyway 81 was a great concert and i was near the front center of the stage.. I have a picture of the back of my head in some stones book i have...ha...

wow--just read my post back----Sorry they played at JFK not the VET...They both have been torn down..

I've heard them play much better... before and since. Several mistakes that day.

I drew this picture :
(I must've been on something... the wavy lines coming out over the crowd are "sound waves," I think.)



©1981 schillid

I recall Ron Wood clowning around a lot. I wasn't as familiar with the stones then as I am now. I have heard the tapes & songs are train wrecks. I recall thinking that these guys are really not from around here...when I heard RW talk about losing his ring...& then getting it back. Seems his accent was much thicker then.

turns out ron knew G

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schillid
I've heard them play much better... before and since. Several mistakes that day.

I drew this picture :
(I must've been on something... the wavy lines coming out over the crowd are "sound waves," I think.)



©1981 schillid

You drew this WHILE you were watching the show??? Btw, that's Veterans Stadium in the background of schillid's drawing, across the street from JFK. I wasn't at that show, but I saw them there in '78.

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tatters
You drew this WHILE you were watching the show???

That's a good indication that the Stones had an off day...

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tatters
Btw, that's Veterans Stadium in the background of schillid's drawing, across the street from JFK.

And the Spectrum is in between

They did Mona and Down the Road Apiece. Wow.

I was at that show with the woman who would be my wife...it was a very warm day, like a summer day, very crowded, we moved way down, that was when MJ was on the cherry picker, I still have the post card mementos as a stage depiction..was better than 78 at The Vet, cdnt hear em then...
RnR
RB

They played JFK in 78, not the Vet

I was there, both shows actually. It was hot both days. The opening with Under My Thumb was great the -- crowd ate it up!

The sound was at times very garbled, almost inaudible noise, which i attributed to the new unplugged guitar technology. That was disappointing.

I remember two girls at this show or the other carrying a huge banner that said "Philadelphia remembers John Bonham."

These shows due to the garbled sound, and sloppy playing, probably led to many saying "The Stones Suck!" My cousin was quite fond of rubbing my nose in it.

I remember a boy about 9 years old who walked up to me and asked me where I got that cool Stones Tongue logo pin while his father watched from their seats so I gave the kid the pin and made his day.

Despite the technical flaws, and well, the Stones guitar section being all too typical, it was still a great time.

BTW, I remember the "jovani cologne' (?) tour sponsors on tour posters and thinking "sellouts!"

Now I think 'smart.'

.

Was this one of the few concerts of the 81 tour where they played street fighting man?

George Thorogood got the crowd going early, big party atmosphere, lots of booze flowing (guess security wasn't as tight back then). Journey was technically flawless but the crowd wasn't into them, Steve Perry clearly recognized this. Before the Stones came on, I remember there was a plane flying a banner protesting Black and Blue / treatment of women. Then after a long break the Stones - Under My Thumb was the classic opener. I was close enough to see Keith's smile during his Tumbling Dice solo. I think Keith and Ronnie both had small pouches attached to their waist with who knows what substances attached. Mona was very cool and totally unexpected. They did close with Street Fighting Man on one of the two days. Much better show than in '78 at JFK, which was my first show so I still loved it, even if they skipped out on playing an encore cause Mick was sick and he'd had enough Rebel Yell.

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UGot2Rollme
George Thorogood got the crowd going early, big party atmosphere, lots of booze flowing (guess security wasn't as tight back then). Journey was technically flawless but the crowd wasn't into them, Steve Perry clearly recognized this. Before the Stones came on, I remember there was a plane flying a banner protesting Black and Blue / treatment of women. Then after a long break the Stones - Under My Thumb was the classic opener. I was close enough to see Keith's smile during his Tumbling Dice solo. I think Keith and Ronnie both had small pouches attached to their waist with who knows what substances attached. Mona was very cool and totally unexpected. They did close with Street Fighting Man on one of the two days. Much better show than in '78 at JFK, which was my first show so I still loved it, even if they skipped out on playing an encore cause Mick was sick and he'd had enough Rebel Yell.

i was there .do you remember when steve perry from journey said to the booing crowd "philly thank you for making us number one this week on the charts"also the small pouches you mention were the wireless transmitters for there guitars .

Interesting set list, awful performance, possibly the worst Stones show ever.

Even though the '78 show was relatively short (as were all the shows from that tour) and Jagger had a cold during that show, I'll take it over 9/25/81 anytime. That said, neither one is a high water mark for the Stones.

I was at both show's and i loved both but 81 i think, for fan excitment and how pumped the fans were and how much the Stones were getting into it. I think it was the best Stones show that Philly ever saw! It seemed like everyone was a Stones fan...Every paper, tv, radio had the Stones in their headlines.. It seemed like the town went wild for them...
My 1st show was in 1975 and that show was out of this world..(front row on the right) but 1981 was so big
and everyone was so pumped up....The sound was good the closer you got to the stage...

Schillid i LOVE the drawing of the stage..Very cool..But your 1st L of Rolling, covered my head.....ha

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deadegad

BTW, I remember the "jovani cologne' (?) tour sponsors on tour posters and thinking "sellouts!"

Now I think 'smart.'

.

And I think 'the day they jumped the shark'. It was their first truly uncool move.

Technically awful show, but the boot is a real hoot to listen to, which makes it memorable. How can you get the two chords of Satisfaction wrong?

i was 13 at the time, heard it on the radio forget if it was wmmr or94wysp but what i heard got me into the stones and been a fan ever since

I was at the second show which was a significant improvement over the first show. I have posted my experiences at this show here before, but I will say the Stones have played better. I think the '89 show opening Steel Wheels at the Vet was much better and even more excitement since it was their return to stage after a seven year hiatus.

With that said, the highlights for me in '81, my first Stones show at the age of 16 were: Shattered was played well, rocked as Mick said "I'm feeling shi-doo bee" right before Keith jumps in to start the song. Although on a bootleg it doesn't sound great, I remember the excitement of the crowd for "Start Me Up" since it had been released only about six weeks prior to this show. No "Satisfaction" for the second show (the first show on 9-25 they did play it), but a good 10 minute version of JJF/ curtain closed, and reopened by Mick wearing his flag/cape and Keith hitting the opening chords to Street Fighting Man.

Beautiful warm September afternoon. Thorogood opened the show an hour late at Noon instead of the scheduled 11 a.m. Journey followed the hour long set with 75 minutes of their own at 1:30 p.m. Music from Escape was featured and they received a much warmer reception than on 9-25. Still, they weren't the Stones. You recognized their music since it was in heavy rotation at most FM stations back then, but, not my favorite, "corporate rock" if you will. Stones came on at 4:05 and finished right at 6 p.m. Sorry for the details, but that is my recollection of 9-26, IMO a much better show than 9-25, but pales in comparison to their shows in the Meadowlands in November of that year or tour closer in Hampton.

My first Stones show. Missed school that day. Just turned 17 - went with a buddy of mine. Didn't know quite what to expect. Was a little nervous. Most of the Stones footage I only saw back then was from Altamont so I was very leery about the crowd.

We carved out a nice spot , maybe twenty yards from the stage - just a little off to the left of center stage. I do remember this one guy and his girlfriend asking if they could setup right next to us. Of course I said yes. The girlfriend was cute too. So he sets up his blanket and whatever else he has and takes out a mirror and lays these four lines of white powder on it. He does a line, she does a line, then he asks me and my buddy if we want to do one. We politely decline - didn't need to start that crap. That dude was like a big brother to us the rest of the show making sure me and my buddy were OK.

Thorogood came on and was OK - most of his songs sound the same so after 2 or 3 songs I was done with him. I remember Journey getting booed off the stage and they finished up around 2:00. Then came about a 2.5 hour wait for the Stones. I remember Free's song "All Right Now" being played a number of times over the PA system and people getting aggravated.

Once the Stones hit the stage it was all I had imagined. I loved every minute of the show. Was it ragged? - Yes, but I didn't care. I was at my first show and that is all that mattered. I've been to most of the Phily shows since that '81 show but it's still my favorite concert.