The Rolling Stones hit NYC

It sure didn't feel like a farewell. The Rolling Stones - average age 68-plus, if you're counting - were in rollicking form as they rocked the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for 2 1/2 hours Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012, their first U.S. show on a mini-tour marking a mind-boggling 50 years as a rock band.

Every time the Stones tour, the inevitable questions arise, whether it's "The Last Time," to quote one of their songs. But there was no sign that anything is ending anytime soon.

"People say, why do you keep doing this?" mused 69-year-old Mick Jagger, the band's impossibly energetic frontman, before launching into "Brown Sugar." "Why do you keep touring, coming back? The answer is, you're the reason we're doing this. Thank you for buying our records and coming to our shows for the last 50 years."

Jagger was in fine form, with strong vocals and his usual swagger - strutting, jogging, skipping and pumping his arms like a man half his age. And though he briefly donned a flamboyant feathered black cape for "Sympathy for the Devil" and later, some red-sequined tails, he was mostly content to prowl the stage in a tight black T-shirt and trousers.

The band's guitarists, the brilliant Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, alternated searing solos and occasionally ventured onto a stage extension that brought them closer to the crowd. The now-gray Richards, wearing a red bandana, exuded the easy familiarity of a favorite uncle: "While we wait for Ronnie," he said at one point, "I'll wish you happy holidays." Watts, the dapper drummer in a simple black T-shirt, smiled frequently at his band mates.

The sense of nostalgia was heightened by projections on a huge screen of footage of the early days, when the Stones looked like teenagers.

Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones performs during "The Stones - 50 and Counting" tour December 8, 2012 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The Stones formed in London in 1962 to play Chicago blues, led at the time by the late Brian Jones and pianist Ian Stewart, along with Jagger and Richards, who'd met on a train platform a year earlier. Bassist Bill Wyman and Watts (pictured) were quick additions.

Wyman, who left the band in 1992, was a guest at the London shows last month, as was Mick Taylor, the celebrated former Stones guitarist who left in 1974 and replaced by Wood, the newest Stone and the youngster at 65.

From the opening number, "Get Off Of My Cloud," the band played a generous 23 songs, including two new ones - "Doom and Gloom" and "One More Shot" - but mostly old favorites. The rousing encore included "Jumping Jack Flash," of course, but the final song was "Satisfaction." And though the song speaks of not getting any, the consensus of the packed 18,000-seat arena was that it was a satisfying evening indeed.

From left: Ron Wood, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Mick Jagger.

Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones performs during "The Stones - 50 and Counting" tour December 8, 2012 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The band performed its first American concert celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Fans watch as the Rolling Stones perform during "The Stones - 50 and Counting" tour December 8, 2012 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

"If you like the Stones, this was as good a show as you could have had," said one fan, Robert Nehring, 58, of Westfield, N.J., who'd paid $500 for his seat. "It was worth it," he said simply.

Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones performs during "The Stones - 50 and Counting" tour December 8, 2012 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The band performed its first American concert celebrating its 50th anniversary.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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