RSFCO

The show this evening was with warm-up of Soulive. The show was according to audience we spoke to very good and a Jagger on fire.

Jumping Jack Flash - You Got Me Rocking - She's So Cold - Rough Justice - Tumblin' Dice
Worried About You - Rain Fall Down - Midnight Rambler - Night Time Is The Right Time - Intros - This Place Is Empty - Happy - Miss You - Start Me Up - Get Off My Cloud - Honky Tonk Woman - Sympathy For The Devil - Paint It Black - Brown Sugar - You Can't Always Get What You Want (encore) - Satisfaction (encore)

your hip" was the message on a sign one wisecracking Rolling Stones fan hung from the nosebleed seats at Savvis Center on Friday night, where the classic rock band performed a two-hour, sold-out show for more than 15,500 fans.

The message implied that, at 62, Mick Jagger and his cohorts, Keith Richards, Ron Wood and Charlie Watts, might be too old to rock 'n' roll despite their tour grossing $162 million last year, making it the top tour of 2005 - and in history.

But make no mistake, the Rolling Stones are still rockin' the house as only they know how, with a show featuring the greatest hits, loads of funky swagger, a fantastic stunt or two and the spectacle of seeing these men with crypt keeper-like faces and bony teen bodies doing their thing better than many rockers half their age.

Still, is it too much to ask that they might try singing a different tune? The Rolling Stones have the live thing down pat, and probably see no need to tinker with what still works on most levels. But while it can't be accused of showing signs of wear and tear, it could still use some freshening.

The Stones, including auxiliary players Darryl Jones on bass and Lisa Fischer, Blondie Chaplin and Bernard Fowler on supporting vocals, opened the 20-song set with the standard "Jumpin' Jack Flash," backed up by more recent favorite "You Got Me Rockin" and the classics "She's So Cold" and "Tumblin' Dice." New songs "Rough Justice" and "Rain Fall Down" slid right in alongside classics without missing a beat (though sportscaster Greg Gumbel, who had a floor seat, found the latter the perfect time for a concession stand break).

The night moved along rapidly, with more hits ("Satisfaction," "Brown Sugar," "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Sympathy for the Devil," which remains one of the coolest songs ever) and new songs (last year's "A Bigger Bang" is really worth a listen). Jagger adopted a weird falsetto while seated at the keyboards for "Worried About You," and dug deep into the bluesy romps that were "Midnight Rambler" and "Night Time is the Right Time."

Though the show didn't feel frills-heavy by Stones' standards, there was one glorious stunt: A huge chunk of stage lifted up and glided across the center of the arena floor, carrying the band with it to the rear end of the arena where a new stage was mounted for "Miss You," "Start Me Up," "Get Off My Cloud" and "Honky Tonk Woman."

Still, in the end, it all felt like business as usual.

They can do whatever they want on tour, so why not (as has been stated in this space previously) try an all-blues tour, or perform classic albums in their entirety? Wouldn't it be glorious if the Stones mounted a tour with folks like B.B. King and Chuck Berry, and the three acts performed their hits and each others' hits in various combinations? The tour possibilities are endless.

Mildly overwhelmed band Soulive opened with the words "you've definitely figured out who we aren't," which for surely all the fans in the house was easier than figuring out who they were. The soul-jazz, mostly instrumental band delivered upon a number of vintage-sounding, James Brown-inspired riffs that occasionally dipped into acid jazz. Singer Reggie Watts added vocals to songs such as "What Can You Do" from the band's "Breakout" CD and covers of "Come Together" and "Tighten Up."