Instead the group answered the best way possible — with its music and a roof-raising two-hour-and-15-minute show to prove that nearly 60 years on the Rolling Stones have hardly run out of gas, gas, gas.
But on Monday the Stones sounded — and for the most part even looked — as strong as ever, defying age to stake yet another claim to the assigned mantle of World’s Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Band.
From side to side, down a ramp that took him to the center of the stadium floor, sporting nearly a dozen different shirts and jackets, Jagger was in nearly constant motion, pausing only to play guitar on a couple of songs and take a break while guitarist Keith Richards performed a pair of songs.
The group broke its COVID bubble a bit to welcome Motown legend Martha Reeves for a pre-show visit backstage, while on stage Jagger talked about the Stones’ affection for Motown as youths, and said “we can’t come to Detroit and not do a Motown song” before performing the Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” for the first time since 2007.
Richards was equally sincere, telling the crowd in between a rough and tumble “Connection” and a more successful “Before They Make Me Run” that, “It’s really good to see you all.
The concert opened with a video clips and an isolated drum track, while before “Tumblin’ Dice” Jagger, Richards and guitarist Ronnie Wood stood together center stage, noting that this is the first tour the band is playing without Watts and dedicating the show to him.
There a couple of semi-deep catalog digs such as “You Got Me Rocking” and a new song, the pandemic-inspired “Living in a Ghost Town,” while the mellow “Wild Horses” was named the winner of the Internet fan vote.
There is much speculation that the No Filter Tour, which began back in 2017, could be the Stones last — though the band has said no such thing.