Rolling Stones in top form in Newark concert

NEWARK, N.J. - Golden anniversaries are rarer in rock-and-roll bands than marriages, so maybe it's the momentousness of the occasion that's spurring on the Rolling Stones during the five-show London-New York-New Jersey run with which they are marking their 50th year in show business.

Whatever the motivation, one thing is certain: At the Prudential Center in Newark on Thursday, from the "Get Off of My Cloud" start to the "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" finish, the Stones sounded great.

After celebrities such as Cate Blanchett and Iggy Pop offered prerecorded testimonials to the band's transgressive power, Mick Jagger emerged from a giant lip-shaped proscenium arch and began prancing about in the New Jersey night.

More than two hours later, he was still going, catching his breath only with the superbly sung "Wild Horses," the evening's only ballad, and the one-two Keith Richards punch of "Before They Make Me Run" and "Happy." At 69 - yes, the Stones' average age exceeds that of the U.S. Supreme Court - the whippet-thin Jagger is an inexhaustible marvel. He's happy to make himself look ridiculous, as when donning a fur cape for "Sympathy for the Devil," but delivers the musical goods.

It's not just the singer, it's the songs - and the band playing them. On Thursday, Richards, guitarist Ron Wood, brilliant-as-ever drummer Charlie Watts, and bassist Darryl Jones were uncommonly sharp, delivering the built-from-the-blues ramshackle precision that's their trademark.

A glance at the 22-song set list - "Start Me Up," "Miss You," "Jumpin' Jack Flash" - might lead fans who opted to not plunk down from $95 to nearly $800 for tickets to conclude all they missed was a run-through of the hits.

But the Stones brought the tried and true to life with well-seasoned swagger, crisp and jagged in all the right places.

The lean mix was augmented in spots by Bobby Keys and Tim Ries on saxophones, Chuck Leavell on keyboards, and vocalists Bernard Fowler and Lisa Fischer, who wailed with Jagger with commanding authority on "Gimme Shelter," dedicated to New Jersey's Hurricane Sandy victims.

Mick Taylor, a Stone from 1969 to 1974, joined the band to reprise his rippling guitar solo on a fabulous "Midnight Rambler." Guitarist John Mayer traded licks with Wood on a deliciously  louche  "Respectable." And Chuck Berry's "Around and Around," was played by request, according to Jagger, though the band had a video clip of Berry duckwalking at the ready.

On Saturday, the Stones wrap up their 2012 anniversary party with a pay-per-view event complete with guest appearances from Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, and the Black Keys. (Detail at rolling stones.com.)

Will there be a 2013 tour? Nothing's been announced, but now that the Stones have started up again, it doesn't seem likely that they'll stop soon.

at 215-854-5628 or deluca@phillynews.com, or follow on Twitter @delucadan. Read his blog, "In the Mix," at www.philly.com/inthemix.