After 50 years, Stones still satisfy

June 18, 2015 at 12:05a.m.

If the Rolling Stones taught us anything over the past 50 years, it would be: “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try, sometimes you just might find you get what you need.”

That was the feeling experienced last month as the Rock Hall band performed its only Buckeye State show to more than 60,000 rabid fans at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.

And what you need is clearly a night of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Gimme Shelter,” “Start Me Up” and a half dozen more classics that felt so good to hear from the British Invasion band, which now only features original members Mick Jagger, 71, Keith Richards, 71, and Charlie Watts, 73, as well as longtime guitarist Ron Wood, 67.

The band’s “Zip Code” tour comes to Pittsburgh on Saturday for a show at Heinz Field.

The Columbus concert began with a video montage of the group’s history before the band launched into “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” with a finger-wagging Jagger showing off his swagger. Sure, he may be of retirement age, but the flashy frontman – donning the same longhair style and wiry but fit body he’s had for decades – showed very few signs of being a senior citizen.

When he wasn’t showing off his iconic abstract dance moves or pouty facial features, the singer was running onto the catwalk. He seemed timeless until my son, 12, noted he wasn’t running as much as skipping (you’ll have to forgive the boy).

There were plenty of signs the Stones were torn and frayed. Jagger’s vocal miscue at the beginning of “Miss You” was so obvious he could be seen saying an expletive on camera. As for Richards, it wasn’t necessarily a mixed bag as a realization throughout the night the pirate rocker’s age may have caught up to him.

The Richards highlight, of course, was his lead vocals on “Happy.” The crowd-favorite song began with a giggly Richards acting out the song title while Wood, with a cigarette fabulously burning away in his right hand, added sonic texture from a lap steel guitar.

Considering Richards is still alive, let alone rocking, at his age (and his history) is nothing short of a miracle, but the telling moment of his stamina and prowess came during the encore performance of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” which featured the Ohio University Choir.

History serves that Stones’ classic in concert includes a monumental Richards guitar solo, which didn’t come. Instead, Wood jaunted out onto the catwalk for a nice moment, but the message was clear. That said, Richards provided amazing moments throughout the night, not limited to but including “Let’s Spend the Night Together,” “Paint it Black” and “Sympathy for the Devil.”

The latter found Jagger dressed in a 1969 Altamont era – only more upscale and clearly designer – cape, an apropos aesthetic that seemingly captured the once perceived dangerous side of the rock ’n’ roll band. The frontman danced, paraded and swayed around the stage and catwalk much to the delight of the crowd.

Without a new album to promote, the band did pay special attention to its 1971 album “Sticky Fingers,” which was recently re-released. A dusting off of fan-favorite “Bitch” was tight, while a touching “Wild Horses” proved to be the sing-along of the evening.

What remained unsaid during the two hour-plus show was the fact this is more than likely the last time the Rolling Stones will appear in Ohio, a place the band first played in 1964.

Overall, despite the nitpicking, the 2015 Rolling Stones didn’t disappoint, with an impressive amount of jamming to boot. And despite the show ending with “[I Can’t Get No] Satisfaction,” the audience indeed left satisfied and more.