By Joe Puccio

Shuffleboard. Gardening. Wordle. Scrapbooking. Relaxing.

All of the above are standard activities for typical senior citizens that nobody would bat an eye at. Sir Michael Philip Jagger, however, is not your typical senior citizen.

The superhuman, better known as Mick Jagger, frontman of the Rolling Stones, sprinted, shimmied, shook, and, well, sang for two straight hours at the iconic act’s first of two sold out stops at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on May 23.

It defies conventional wisdom that an octogenarian could possibly perform at half the level in which Jagger continually still does, and with not even a hint of slowing down. But to be clear, this is far from a solo effort. Keith Richards, whose role is admittedly not nearly as physically strenuous as his Glimmer Twins partner, exuded his usual chilled out aura, effortlessly alternating between lead and rhythm guitar with the immensely underrated Ron Wood, a non-original member of the outfit whose tenure still shockingly spans almost a half-century.

If there was a single performance that truly personified just how young at heart the lead singer is, it was “Gimme Shelter.” The war-themed rocker, first heard on 1969’s Let It Bleed, while serious in subject matter, was basically a spellbinding duet between Jagger and backup vocalist Chanelle “Chanel” Haynes. The two traded parts beautifully, with Jagger profoundly keeping up with the exceptionally talented gospel powerhouse, 35 years his junior.

Making its tour debut was “Shattered,” a fun 1970s ditty that Jagger wrote in the back of a New York City taxi cab. But it unfortunately took the spot of the far superior “Let’s Spend the Night Together,” the “sexually charged” track with lyrics that the band infamously was forced to sanitize on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1967. There would be no text alteration or eye rolls on this night.

This was the Stones’ first show in the Garden State since 2019 and the most glaring change to their makeup in those five years was the death of drummer Charlie Watts. The reticent, yet gifted, musician, widely considered to be the glue that held the group together through a significant number of tumultuous years, was naturally missed. But current percussionist Steve Jordan, the individual that was given the seal of approval by Watts himself years ago, is the next best thing. The former Late Night with David Letterman and Saturday Night Live band member paired wonderfully with the steady, consistent bass-strumming of Darryl Jones.

Perhaps their most defining anthem, the fitting “Start Me Up,” led off the evening, as it periodically does, in a raucous way, followed swiftly by the energetic “Get Off of My Cloud.” “Wild Horses,” unsurprisingly, won the fan vote in a competition that also included the brand new “Depending on You,” “Fool to Cry,” and “Worried About You,” and proved to be an appreciated breather of sorts.

The 19-song setlist ultimately didn’t veer dramatically from the norm, as cornerstones like “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Honky Tonk Women,” “Paint It Black,” and “Tumbling Dice” all forced the approximately 55,000 fans to their feet, while a diplomatic encore of “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” and “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” was an equitable combination of new and old.

Speaking of diplomacy, Jagger was clearly in a playful mood. “I was a bit worried about the weather tonight,” he said. “I thought we were going to get a Stormy Daniels but we’re all right.” He also recounted the band’s excursion to Clifton’s Tick Tock Diner during their last tour, boldly exclaiming that the restaurant now offers an item named for the English singer. “I’ve never had a fucking sandwich named after me. I’m very, very proud,” he joked.

Richards, always up for a laugh, had a quip of his own before he took over lead vocal duties on “Little T & A.” “This next one I haven’t the faintest idea what it’s about, but I wrote it,” he cracked.

A pair of numbers off the Stones’ latest offering, the almost astonishingly strong Hackney Diamonds, “Angry” and “Mess It Up,” held their ground among the plethora of classic tunes, while “Sympathy for the Devil,” in which Jagger sings in first person narrative as the Devil, was a categorical highlight.  

If there’s a complaint to be made, it’s one that is beyond the legendary group’s control – the sheer vastness of their catalogue. With the abundant amount of exceptional songs in their repertoire, there simply isn’t an opportunity to experience even a fraction of them all unless they followed in KISS’ footsteps and became digital avatars, which, thankfully, will never happen.

While “Brown Sugar,” absent from their set going forward due to its controversial nature, would obviously be welcome, rarely played gems such as “Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow,” “Blue Turns to Grey,” “Mixed Emotions,” and “As Tears Go By” would be ideal.

At a time when many of the Stones’ peers are planning farewell jaunts and often coasting on their reputations, it’s refreshing to witness a true pioneering rock and roll band still gorgeously demonstrating what made us fall in love with them in the first place.

Setlist:

1. Start Me Up
2. Get Off of My Cloud
3. Shattered
4. Angry
5. It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It)
6. Wild Horses
7. Mess It Up
8. Tumbling Dice
9. You Can’t Always Get What You Want
10. You Got the Silver
11. Little T & A
12. Sympathy for the Devil
13. Honky Tonk Women
14. Miss You
15. Gimme Shelter
16. Paint It Black
17. Jumpin’ Jack Flash
18. Sweet Sounds of Heaven
19. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction