By Bethany BROWN

The Rolling Stones paid tribute to late drummer and friend of nearly six decades Charlie Watts on Oct. 14 at SoFi Stadium. This marked the band’s first performance at the newly built Rams/Chargers stadium and its first return to LA since Watts’ death.

The No Filter tour, which was previously delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, kicked off in St. Louis, Missouri in late September. Watts passed away a month prior, in late August, due to underlying health issues, but the band went on with the tour as scheduled.

The show opened with an empty stage, a mellow drum beat and a compilation of videos and images of Watts throughout the many years displayed across four massive screens. The stadium roared with fans in remembrance of the drummer.

Watts’ bandmates – Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood – took the stage and began the show with “Let’s Spend the Night Together” (1967) followed by “19^th Nervous Breakdown” (1966). After the first two songs, Jagger greeted the audience with a lively shout.

“Hi, Los Angeles,” Jagger said. “It’s great to be playing here; we’ve never played in the SoFi Stadium before; not many people have.”

Jagger continued as he was joined by Richards and Wood, each standing next to him on opposite sides, resting a hand on his shoulder.

“I want to say it was great to see those images of Charlie up there on the screen. It reminds us of all the years that we all spent together, and I’m sure lots of you guys have memories of Charlie and seeing him play too, so we’d like to dedicate this show to him.”

“Here’s to Charlie,” Jagger shouted as he lifted an arm and pointed a finger up to the sky. The packed stadium erupted with cheering and clapping in appreciation.

The Stones continued the show in memory of Watts, performing 15 more songs and returning for two encore songs.

Replacement drummer for Charlie Watts is Steve Jordan, a seasoned veteran and Watts’ personal choice to replace him on this last leg of the tour. Jordan performed admirably, channeling the drumming style of Watts. He was greeted by welcoming cheers of the crowd.

Among the thousands in attendance were Sir Paul McCartney, Megan Fox, Lady Gaga, Leonardo DiCaprio and Governor Newsom.

Jagger joked, “Paul McCartney is here. He’s going to come help us with a blues cover later on,” which was seemingly in reference to a recent interview McCartney did with The New Yorker.

“I’m not sure I should say it, but they’re a blues cover band; that’s sort of what the Stones are … I think [The Beatles] net cast was a bit wider than theirs,” McCartney said in The New Yorker interview.

McCartney made comments about The Beatles being better and more diverse than The Rolling Stones in an April 2020 radio interview, while also declaring that he loved The Stones.

Jagger was asked about McCartney’s 2020 comments that same month while chatting with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, and he called Sir Paul a “sweetheart” and insisted that there was “obviously no competition” between their two bands.

The band closed the show but shortly returned on stage for an encore. They lastly performed “Gimme Shelter” (1969) and “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (1965).

The tour closes on Nov. 23.