The Rolling Stones
Prudential Center
Newark, NJ *
*December 13

As soon as they announced their mini-tour – first four dates, then a fifth added – the snickering and the conjecture erupted: Would this be “The Last Time” ? Would time still be on their side? Would they come out in wheelchairs? But while the media and the haters had their fun with them, the Rolling Stones were setting off a feeding frenzy for available tickets, with the few that weren’t going directly into scalpers’ hands (and then selling online for upwards of five figures) disappearing in a blink.

So what exactly does a $10,000 Rolling Stones ticket buy in the year 2012, or even a $150 list-price seat in the upper reaches of an arena? Well, it buys a Rolling Stones concert, an opportunity to say one was in the room with Mick, Keith, Charlie, Ron and whomever else is on that stage with them, and for thousands of fans in London, then Brooklyn and New Jersey, that was enough of a reason. (Those who weren’t quite that hungry or flush were welcome to pay $45 to see them on a pay-per-view cable TV feed on the final night in Newark.)

Were they worth it? Of course. They’re the Rolling Stones; they’re never going to be less than entertaining. Was it on par with their classic tours of decades past? Of course not, and there was no way around that. The tour was titled “50 and Counting,” after all, and even if Jagger never stopped moving for a second during the two-plus-hour set – and seriously, he did not stop moving – there’s got to be some dropoff in dexterity and stamina. It’s 2012, not 1969 or ’72 or even ’81, and though they were once routinely called “The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World” and few dared question that appellation, today “Satisfaction” for most loyalists amounts to simply being able to see them one more time.

There was no question what kind of show this was going to be: Save for two new songs, there was nothing to push, so it was oldies night all the way. And from the opening volley – “Get Off My Cloud,” “The Last Time” (hmm, a hint?), “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll” and “Paint It Black” – this was about celebrating a history, not making it anew, which was fine with the assembled, deliriously ecstatic multitude. Working the stage – with its king-sized lips as a backdrop and a tongue-shaped ring extending halfway onto the floor so they could go visit those who paid a few thousand less – Jagger and the guitarists played their roles impeccably. And then things started to get interesting.

During the two opening shows in London and the one-nighter in Brooklyn, guests had been in attendance to help out on specific songs: Mary J. Blige and Florence Welch (of Florence and the Machine) took on the role originally filled by Merry Clayton on “Gimme Shelter,” while guitarists Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Gary Clark Jr. had each done their bit on a blues. At Newark, on the first of the two nights played here, the female foil on the former number was Lisa Fischer, the longtime Stones backup singer, who proved as exciting and capable (and probably more so) as the others as she nailed the “Gimme Shelter” female lead, while John Mayer was called up to add guitar licks to “Respectable,” the scorcher from the 1978 Some Girls album that was making its debut on this run: Mayer, Richards and Wood, huddled together and bearing down for real, knocking out explosive licks in successive, quite different solos, incontestably provided some of the musical moments of the night with that one. “Wild Horses,” the only ballad attempted during the entire set, was another. And when Jagger announced that the next song would be one chosen by fans in an online poll, it’s doubtful anyone in the hall would have expected it to be the Chuck Berry cover “Around and Around,” first cut by the Stones on 1964’s 12×5 album and not played live by the band since ’77. Jagger preceded the short and sweet rocker by asking the others if they remembered it. They did – they killed.

But then, slowly but perceptibly, things slowed down, and not just because they knocked out the two new tunes, “Doom and Gloom” and “One More Shot,” back-to-back and followed them with “Miss You,” everyone’s least favorite Stones staple. More and more it became apparent that, with the exception of drummer Charlie Watts, who never lost his machine-like resilience and startling proficiency, a bit of lethargy was creeping into the proceedings. Jagger mugged and danced and ran and did that pointing thing that he does, but more and more it seemed that he was on autopilot, not so much singing those songs as letting the songs trigger pre-programmed moves and faces. Richards, whose swagger and outlaw demeanor are every bit as important as Jagger’s persona to the band’s image, began to look droopy, almost as if he were a sideman, churning out the requisite licks but occasionally flubbing a note, dropping a chord and generally laying back. Following “Honky Tonk Women” he dutifully delivered his two lead vocals, “Before They Make Me Run” and “Happy,” but then he receded again, allowing Wood to deal with most of the heavy guitar lifting.

It was no surprise when Mick Taylor emerged, unannounced, to join his old mates for “Midnight Rambler.” The Stones’ guitarist from 1969-75, absent from their scene since, he’d guested in London as well (as had original bassist Bill Wyman, a no-show in the U.S.). But even he was missing the spark that had ignited his playing during his years with the group. Still technically adroit, Taylor spilled out a solo or two that reminded of his prowess, but there wasn’t enough of him to hang on to and then it was back to business as usual.

From there on out it was greatest hits time: “Start Me Up,” “Tumbling Dice,” “Brown Sugar” and, to close the main set, “Sympathy for the Devil,” a rather wretched, discordant version that at times felt like it was being performed by musicians and a singer who had no interest in paying attention to what the other was doing. It was alarming, really, to realize that the Rolling Stones, who’d begun this same show with such fever and promise, had simply grown so tired by the close that they hadn’t bothered to notice who was in tune and who wasn’t. Even the usually reliable support cast – saxophonist Bobby Keys, pianist Chuck Leavell and bassist Darryl Jones, and singers Fischer and Bernard Fowler – were unable to rescue the sorry finale.

As they’d done at the previous shows, the band returned with one vocal choir on each side of the stage for a rousing take on “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” followed by two can’t-miss crowd-pleasers to close it out, “Jumping Jack Flash” and “Satisfaction.” Two nights later, they played a near identical set for pay-per-view customers ( “Dead Flowers” replacing “Around and Around” as the poll-winner), tossing in cameos by Bruce Springsteen ( “Tumbling Dice” ), the Black Keys ( “Who Do You Love?” ), Lady Gaga (yes, that Lady Gaga, on “Gimme Shelter” ), and Mayer and Clark bluesin’ it up on Don Nix’s “Going Down.”

And that was that. With their brief road trip concluded, the speculation returned, but this time some were asking not only if they would continue on, but whether they could: Can the Rolling Stones still handle the rigors of a full-scale summer stadium tour? Should they even try or – sorry, but it has to be asked – will this be the last time? Stay tuned, but keep in mind that there’s one thing this band that’s tried just about everything has never tried, and that’s giving up. 60 and Counting? Yeah, why not? We can deal.