Mick Jagger beat the braggadocio boasts of “Start Me Up” to the punch Thursday at a packed Soldier Field. The Rolling Stones vocalist was already riled up and running hot before the resonant chords of the recognizable anthem signaled the opening of the legendary band’s first of a two-night stand at the lakefront venue. (The group returns Sunday.
) For most of the next two hours, Jagger nearly single-handedly carried the concert. He defied the limitations often associated with his 80-year age and refused to mail in a single verse. Questions about the Stones’ predictability, purpose and joyfulness aside, the physically fit singer continues to take performance as seriously as anyone in the business.
He nailed his deliveries, projected enthusiasm, embodied determination and gave a master class in the art of animated dance moves. AARP, the tour sponsor, couldn’t have dreamt up a better advertisement. Playing the 40th Chicago concert of their career and the first local gig without their late drummer Charlie Watts (who died in 2021), the Stones frequently needed the boost.
The impossible task of succeeding Watts fell to the talented Steve Jordan, whose collaborative relationship with guitarist Keith Richards stretches back to the Reagan era. In a possible nod to Watts’ famously keen fashion style, Jordan sported a smart suit and black sunglasses. He knew the parts inside-out, though his approach — slightly busier and heavier, with less swing, glide and refinement than t.