As the Rolling Stones rolled along on their 1978 tour, people were calling them old.

After all, most of the members were in their mid-30s, long past the age when anyone should be playing rock 'n' roll. And they'd been together for more than 15 years, which seemed like eons compared with the shelf life of the average band at the time.

So when I saw them that summer at the late JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, it was with the sense that they just might be nearing the end of the road. What was next, a rock group lasting 20 years?

When the Stones hit the road a decade later, the title of their then-current album lent itself to an obvious joke, and everyone started calling it the "Steel Wheelchairs" tour. Here were guys in their mid-40s who had stuck with each other for a quarter century. Enough was enough. Right?

No such joking was apparent as the sixtysomething version of the Rolling Stones took the stage at Pittsburgh's PNC Park last night. From what I gathered, the folks in attendance were overwhelmingly grateful to hear songs they know so well performed by the guys who did them in the first place.

I mean, Mick Jagger still is belting out "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," a song that often tops lists as rock's greatest, just as he did 40 years ago. And the litany of selections from Classic Rock playlists: "Jumpin' Jack Flash," "Honky Tonk Women," "Sympathy for the Devil," "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)" ... these are the Stones still doing it, and doing it well, no matter what their birth certificates might say.

Let's not forget Mick's other half. Keith Richards is alive, well and playing those chords that only he could have come up with, plus giving his vocal chords a workout here and there.

And let's certainly not forget Charlie Watts, the one Stone who's always looked like a respectable citizen, looking grandfatherly but keeping time like noboby's business, as he's done since meeting up with Mick, Keith and another kid named Brian Jones some 43 years ago.

(I'll mention Ron Wood, too, because I like his work with the Faces.)

About the concert: It was the extravaganza that's become synonymous with the Rolling Stones, featuring a stage that was surreal in its massiveness, especially considering that it became portable midway through "Miss You." The sound seemed to be about as good as it gets for a ballpark, which was no mean feat considering the sludge coming through the speakers when the opening act, Pearl Jam, started playing. The technicians did wonders in adjusting everything so that we could enjoy it.

As far as the song selection, the Stones got a few '80s-era numbers out of the way quickly before tapping their most revered album, "Exile On Main Street," for a reading of "Tumblin' Dice." Perhaps the highlight of the show followed, when Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder joined Mick for a vocal duet on "Wild Horses." The crowd sing-along kicked into gear for "You Can't Always Get What You Want," then came the night's cover, Ray Charles' "The Night Time Is the Right Time." (What happened to doing Chuck Berry songs?)

A few new songs and a few old songs filled the bill for a while before nonstop Classic Rock filled the evening, beginning with "Get Off My Cloud" and concluding with the encore of "Brown Sugar" (I called it). They didn't play "Gimme Shelter," unfortunately, but made up for it by doing "Paint It, Black."

The well-oiled Stones machine played mostly everything just as we've known and loved it for decades, rarely straying off the beaten path. But that's OK when you're responsible for so many true rock 'n' roll standards.

All things considered, the night was almost worth the second mortgage I took out to cover it all. But I wanted my kids to have a chance to witness history.

After all, there will come a time when the Rolling Stones actually are too old to keep being the Rolling Stones. Fortunately, it's not just quite yet.

Here's an interesting idea:

Package recordings of four concerts from 36 years ago into a 10-CD set. Send word that only 10,000 sets will be pressed. Announce a "pre-order" about three months before the sets actually will be available.

Then watch 'em sell out.

It took only a few weeks for all the copies of the Grateful Dead's "Fillmore West 1969: Complete Recordings" to by spoken for by the band's continuing legion of fans. And we'll be waiting until approximately mid-November to actually receive the discs.

But they're all gone already.

Let's see some other band pull that off!

PS -- Phil Lesh & Friends' "Shadow of the Moon Winter Tour" kicks off right here in Pennsylvania and hits the Palumbo Center at Duquesne University on Tuesday, Nov. 29. Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes is singing.

Three weeks into my freshman year of college, I was feeling right at home.

I'd met and settled in with a good bunch of guys. And then there were the young ladies. I'd met an attractive one in the school cafeteria that Thursday afternoon, and we'd hit it off so well that I was feeling pretty darned good when I returned to my dorm room.

I happened to see my buddy Ross, my neighbor two doors down (and today a corporate executive). He didn't appear to be as happy as I was.

"Well," he announced. "Led Zeppelin's not coming to Pittsburgh."

"Why not?" I mean, we'd all been looking forward to the return of rock's biggest act, three years after their last American tour, which none of us had been able to catch.

"Because John Bonham died."

"Oh."

John Henry Bonham - Bonzo, as he was known and revered - was the band's high-energy drummer. We had seen him performing in celluloid form just a few nights before during a screening of the Zeppelin film "The Song Remains the Same" in IUP's Fisher Auditorium. He looked healthy enough in that, percussing away during shows at Madison Square Garden seven years before.

But on Sept. 25, 1980, a quarter of a century ago, he apparently imbibed a bit too much and met his demise. His band, which still is regarded as king in many circles, decided a few months later against soldiering on without him. (They probably learned a lesson from the Who when they tried to replace the late Keith Moon. Nothing against Kenney Jones, but ...)

I can't admit to being a Zeppelin fan these days, although I kind of enjoy the band's acoustic-based material you don't hear too often, songs like "Thank You," "Hats Off to (Roy) Harper" and "The Battle of Evermore." And thanks to it playing in the background during some romantic interludes of the distant past, Side 3 of "Physical Graffiti" always holds a special place.

But back in '80, we couldn't get enough of Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham, spinning their records until the needle nicked them to oblivion. And they day Bonzo died was a shock we wouldn't get over any time soon ...

... at least until the dark night of Dec. 8 of the same year. But that's another story.

One of the most ludicrous statements I've heard from someone who professed to be knowledgeable about rock music went something like this:

"I don't know what's so great about Jimi Hendrix. A lot of guys play guitar like him."

In a way, that may be true. But all those guys - from Frank Marino to Stevie Ray Vaughan - all came down the pike well after Jimi did his thing.

Sure, there were some electric guitar players who could pump out some hot licks before Jimi's time: Cliff Gallup and James Burton playing early rock 'n' roll, Buddy Guy and Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones with the blues, to name a few. But no one even dreamed of exploring the sonic dimensions of the instrument we now take for granted before Mr. Hendrix hit the scene.

The lasting images are of him torching his axe during the feedback-screaming outro to "Wild Thing" at Monterey, or of his radical redefinition of Francis Scott Key at Woodstock. Mix in his repertoire of seminal proto-metal tunes like "Foxy Lady" and "Purple Haze," and you have the popular conception of Jimi as pure wildman.

But check out the scene in the 1973 documentary "A Film About Jimi Hendrix" when Jimi, perched on a stool in a boutique, picks an extremely fluid version of "Hear My Train a-Comin'" on acoustic 12-string. Shorn of all his electronics, Jimi demonstrates he still has the chops, chiding the folks present during filming that they probably didn't think he could do that.

While Hendrix tops a consensus list of greatest rock guitar players, he also explored new frontiers in recording. Handling the production reins on his masterwork, the two-record "Electric Ladyland," Jimi took full advantage of the primitive technology available at the time to develop a soundscape that still sounds fresh nearly four decades later. Take a listen to the extended "1983 (A Merman I Shall Turn to Be)" into "Moon, Turn the Tides (Gently, Gently Away). And while you're at it, take another listen to his reinvention of Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," rock music's greatest achievement.

Since Jimi died 35 years ago yesterday, he certainly has had plenty of players following in his footsteps. But even they will acknowledge that the followers always play second fiddle to the master.

Here are some of our friends playing around town:

The Primatives will be playing at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, at The Uptown Theatre in Washington. They're opening for bluegrass veterans Mac Martin and the Dixie Travelers. Tickets are $12 at the door. Call 724-223-8101 for more information.

Boss Diablo plays Friday, Sept. 16, at the Old Large Hotel, 5100 Oak Road, Clairton, starting at 9:30. Call 412-384-9950. These blues-busters also are playing tonight at Auggie's Roadhouse, just north of Washington.

The Social Coyotes are at Spice Caf?©, 328 Atwood Street, Oakland, for a jamband show tonight.

Guitarists Tom Breiding and Bill Toms are playing their regular Saturday afternoon acoustic gig from noon to 3 at Leaf & Bean in the Strip District.

The opening guitar riffs sound like they belong on the classic "Exile On Main Street." Bass and drums kick in, and that's it - no orchestration, no slick production. And the singer still belts it out with the chutzpah of a man one-third of his age.

I never thought I'd say this again, but the Rolling Stones are back, baby!

In anticipation of their coming appearance at PNC Park, I picked up their brand-new album, "A Bigger Bang" (or, as it's listed on the cover, "therollingstonesabiggerbang"). I put it on as soon as I got home, and about midway through the first track, "Rough Justice," I ran into the other room to tell my wife:

"This Rolling Stones album actually sounds like the Rolling Stones!"

I'll admit, I've been somewhat prejudiced against the guys' new releases since they burned me with "Emotional Rescue," the follow-up to the superior "Some Girls" that they foisted on us in the summer of 1980. It got no better for the Stones that decade (did it for anyone?), nor the one after.

But here they are again, practically senior citizens, with material that truly recalls their glory days.

"A Bigger Bang" kicks off with a triple dose of old-school rockers - "Let Me Down Slow" and "It Won't Take Long" are the other two songs - before "Rain Falls Down" kicks in with a danceable beat (recalling the underrated "Black and Blue" era). A ballad, "Streets of Love," follows, then a very rootsy "Back of My Hand," demonstrating how adept the Stones are at playing the blues.

Mixing it up again, "She Saw My Coming" puts some sly lyrics to a reggae beat, and "Biggest Mistake" has some influence from Motown. "This Place Is Empty" slows it down again, and "Oh No, Not You Again" gets back to rocking out, along the lines of "Lies," one of the lesser-known but standout tracks on "Some Girls."

And still there's more ... "Dangerous Beauty" is driven by a riff that reflects its subject matter. "Laugh, I Nearly Died" is another ballad, and "Look What the Cat Dragged In" features a dance beat driving some very catchy guitar playing by Keith Richards and Ron Wood (yes, they can still do it!). "Driving Too Fast" is another rocker, and Keith closes the album by singing a song with a title that seems appropriate: "Infamy."

Oh, yeah, then there's Track No. 13, "Sweet Neo Con," which takes a jab at either Mr. Bush (which Mick Jagger denies) or his followers. Check out these lyrics: "But one thing that is certain/Life is good at Halliburton/If you're really so astute/You should invest in Brown and Root." In case you guitarists are interested, the song has a simple chord structure: A minor and G on the main verses; E-D-C-D-G on the chorus. And the lyrics are printed on the jacket, so it's easy to learn.

I hope the Stones trot out a lot of the new stuff at PNC Park. I mean, I won't mind hearing "Jumping Jack Flash" for the millionth time. But if they want to dig deeply into "A Bigger Bang," I'm all for it!

New Orleans has been known for a lot of things, and music is right up there at the top.

Obviously, a lot must be done in the ravaged city before anyone starts to even think about music. The best we can do is hope New Orleans someday recovers sufficiently to continue its vaunted legacy.

In the meantime, my esteemed colleague Alan Wallace sent a suggestion to revisit a memorable concert in Pittsburgh with a definite N'awlins twist.

The Grateful Dead played the Civic Arena in July '87, just a year (almost to the day) after Jerry Garcia went into a diabetic coma that almost cost him his life. For fans, it was a pleasure just to see him take the stage again. But this night had another special treat in store.
Seems that New Orleans' first family of funk, the Neville Brothers, were in town at the same time. And a little way into the Dead's second set, four members of the Nevilles' band joined them onstage.

The rest of the set was tailored to the Nevilles' sound, with the Dead drawing from their more calypso-oriented repertoire ("Man Smart, Woman Smarter," "Iko Iko" and even "The Banana Boat Song") and playing some time-tested favorites ("Knockin' On Heaven's Door" and "Good Lovin'") before a scorching encore of "Johnny B. Goode."

The show dispelled any notion that the Dead didn't know how to get funky, while expanding the Nevilles' music - and by extension, the music of New Orleans - to many fans who otherwise would have been none the wiser.

Thanks, guys. And we know your city will be back one of these days.