Allow them to introduce themselves, they are men of wealth and taste. They may be 60-somethings, but the Rolling Stones proved that they can still rock during their appearance at the Bradley Center Sept. 8.
Mick Jagger must have sold his soul to the devil, because the man can still move as suggestively as he did in the '60s and get away with it. Also, unlike other performers his age, he still has a voice that can fill an arena.
The immortal Keith Richards on guitar was playing the way he did on Let it Bleed and Sticky Fingers. Despite the greatness of his performances on those albums, they pose no match for his live solos.
Ron Wood's guitar more than complemented Richards, and his solos proved to any leftover skeptics concerned with the replacement of Mick Taylor that he is indeed a staple in the band.
Charlie Watts continued to provide the backbeat he's been famous for since the band formed in 1962.
The Stones garnered rave reviews from both fans and critics at the opening of their 2005-'06 World Tour in Boston last month. Milwaukee was the eighth stop on the 35-city U.S. and Canada leg of the tour.
A Bigger Bang, which debuted Sept. 6, is the first Stones album since Bridges to Babylon came out in 1997. Critically it is considered to be one of the Stones' better recent albums.
Chicago Blues legend Buddy Guy opened for the Stones and joined them on stage for a rendition of the late Ray Charles' "Night Time is the Right Time."
Guy, who collaborated with Richards on his latest album, was the perfect artist to get the overwhelmingly 40-plus crowd going.
An audio-visual display featuring the infamous lips spiraling through the galaxy and then the members' faces formed in the stars (suggesting that they truly are legendary?) introduced the Stones.
One of the most familiar guitar riffs of rock and roll reverberated through the Bradley Center as they began with the one of their most popular songs, "Start Me Up." The song set the tone for the evening and the concert only got better from there.
Playing for a solid two hours, the Stones performed three songs off the new album including a song sung by Richards titled "Infamy." While Richards never ceases to amaze on the guitar, he should leave the singing to Jagger.
Other new songs included "Rough Justice" and "Oh No Not You Again." While they certainly had the option to play more from their latest album, the Stones opted to stick with older stuff and fan favorites.
The ever-manorexic Jagger exuded a charismatic stage presence that had the nearly full Bradley Center belting out "You Can't Always Get What You Want" halfway through the show.
An acoustic version of "Waiting on a Friend" was played to commemorate those lost in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
A grand finale of old favorites that made the crowd go wild consisted of: "Honky Tonk Woman," "Sympathy for the Devil," "Paint it Black," "Brown Sugar," "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" for the encore.
"Honky Tonk Woman" and "Sympathy for the Devil" were particularly excellent and the Stones' performance during both songs set an almost unattainable standard for any other live show — ever.
Any band that has been around since the early '60s, whose members have grandchildren and whose lead singer can still cause women to throw their bras on stage after all these years must have something.
The Rolling Stones have got something and despite what skeptics say, they will stick around as long as they want. Sure they're getting up there and yeah it's only rock and roll, but they like it.
Grade: A
This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on September 15, 2005.