Stones' last 2012 show an all-star celebration

THE LAST TIME? The Rolling Stones capped off their run of shows Saturday night at Newark’s Prudential Center by mixing it up with a slew of guest stars. “The brisk pace of the show didn’t leave much room for ballads or idle chit-chat, Rob Sheffield writes on Rollingstone.com. “Mick whisked the guests on and off the stage so fast that at one point he joked that he felt like David Letterman. Lady Gaga did a spectacularly soulful duet on ‘Gimme Shelter,’ teetering in a striped jumpsuit and platform heels that could have come straight from the inner sleeve of Tattoo You. The Black Keys sat in for Bo Diddley’s ‘Who Do You Love,’ while the Freddie King tribute ‘Going Down’ became a metallic blues jam featuring Gary Clark Jr. and John Mayer, who played extended solos with Wood and Richards. Jagger told the crowd that some of the Stones’ guests had flown thousands of miles to be there in New Jersey: ‘They’ve flown from Moscow and Los Angeles and Saskatoon and God knows where else.’ Then he added, ‘Our next guest, he just had to walk here.’ And with that, Bruce Springsteen came on for ‘Tumbling Dice,’ the undisputed highlight of the night. Springsteen traded verses with Jagger while playing guitar, grinning broadly, busting out his Otis Redding moves as he grunted ‘You got-ta roll me!’ over and over.” Also sitting in was Mick Taylor, who joined Keef and Woody on an extended “Midnight Rambler,” “luxuriating in all the sex-and-doom longeurs,” according to Sheffield. The Stones have yet to announce any shows for 2013, leading many to wonder whether that was all she wrote. (12/17a)