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By Dave Miller

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The Rolling Stones turned to an old friend to help celebrate their 50-year anniversary.

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A third of the way into Friday's show at the United Center, Mick Taylor joined his old mates for "Can't You Hear Me Knocking," and reminded there used to be more than one formidable guy in the band named Mick. Keith Richards has called the guitarist the best musician the band ever had, and Taylor showed why with a delicious solo as Richards and Ronnie Wood fell back with their guitars and Mick Jagger moved behind Charlie Watts' kit. The four Stones watched in admiration as Taylor took the music on a melodic journey. Taylor seemed to repay the respect by turning to them and dropping to his knees while playing. When the Stones finished the song, an engrossed Taylor continued to play on his feet with his head down before Richards touched his shoulder and gave him a kiss. Wood slapped him on the back as he left the stage.

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Taylor returned to play on two other songs -- "Midnight Rambler," which saw him go nose-to-nose with a harp-blowing Jagger, and a finale of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." The difference in how the band sounded with Taylor was dramatic. Hardcore fans have been salivating to hear Taylor on more songs, but you can't blame the Stones for limiting his involvement considering Taylor left the band in 1974 (after playing on some of the group's best albums -- Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St.). Jagger, Richards, Watts and Wood deserve to take their final bows by themselves after keeping the band alive and rocking for so many years.

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The Stones have put the focus squarely on the music on this tour. Regular props of the past such as giant blowup dolls, pyrotechnics and confetti were absent. Even video was basic once an opening montage of admirers, including Pete Townshend, Iggy Pop, Perry Farrell and Martin Scorcese, was shown. The Stones, especially Jagger and Watts, defied their age and sounded better than they had a right to after all this time. The performance turned out to be one of the of top shows of the tour, according to Internet buzz among the diehards.

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"Get Off Of My Cloud" didn't pack a proper punch as an opener, but Richards' Chuck Berry-like guitar on the following "It's Only Rock 'N' Roll (But I Like It)" put the second of three Chicago concerts on solid ground. "Gimme Shelter" provided the first goosebump moment with the guitarists playing nasty licks and and backing singer Lisa Fischer wailing with Jagger. "Shine A Light," the voting online request of the night, was a highlight thanks to Jagger's invested singing and Wood's nimble guitar.

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Jagger's voice has held up remarkably well. It had no trouble traversing through the high range of "Emotional Rescue." And, remarkably, the 69-year-old, slinky singer, arguably the greatest frontman in rock history, showed no obvious signs of slowing. Watts remained as potent as ever behind his modest kit, snapping his wrists like mousetraps on "Paint It Black," bringing Richards' "Happy" home with a chugging beat and playing all night with the strength as if he has more tours in him.

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Wood and Richards played more sparesly than in recent memory, picking the moments to sharply jab back and forth as if staging a fight with broken bottles. Wood was the more active contributor, though it was a minor miracle to see Richards in passable shape after his weak appearnace at The Concert for Sandy Relief back in December when it was a challenge for him to get through two songs.

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The Stones have been bringing out guests to play with them at most of their shows. This one brought Sheryl Crow on "All Down The Line," which exceeded expectations and energized the sold-out crowd early in the show. Another added touch was the Roosevelt University Conservatory Chorus singing on "You Can't Always Get What You Want," an inspired choice to start the encore before "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Satisfaction" closed the nearly two-and-a-half hour show. While it's been fashionable in some corners to dismiss the Stones in the last decade or two for being too old to rock, this concertgoer finds them to be admirably carrying on in the tradition of blues greats such as a couple of their heroes, Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy.

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It looked and felt like it was the band's final stop in town. "We've been coming to Chicago for a very long time," Jagger said late in the proceedings. "Thanks for keeping coming back to see us." If this was indeed the last time the Stones play in Chicago, it was a good show to go out on, for fans and band alike.

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The setlist:

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Get Off Of My Cloud

It's Only Rock 'N' Roll (But I Like It)

Paint It Black

Gimme Shelter

Shine A Light

Emotional Rescue

All Down The Line

Doom And Gloom

One More Shot

Can't You Hear Me Knocking

Honkey Tonk Women

You Got The Silver

Happy

Midnight Rambler

Miss You

Start Me Up

Tumbling Dice

Brown Sugar

Sympathy For The Devil

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You Can't Always Get What You Want

Jumpin' Jack Flash

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

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Start: 8:59 p.m./Finish: 11:24 p.m.
Totals: 22 songs, two hours 25 minutes

 

The Rolling Stones

May 31, 2013 @ United Center

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The Rolling Stones

May 31, 2013 @ United Center

The Rolling Stones

May 31, 2013 @ United Center

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