By Scott McLennan

Returning to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on Thursday night, the Rolling Stones, miraculously, sounded dangerous again.

The Rolling Stones, May 30 at Gillette Stadium

Defiance has long been the fuel for the Rolling Stones. From the brash bluesy rock that separated them early on from the Beatles, through the narcotic outlaw machinations of the late ’60s and early ’70s, into the later eras of decadent sleaze, the Rolling Stones became notorious for shattering the rules and the mores of civilized society.

They also fell prey to the trappings of wealth and fame, going through long spells of playing greatest-hits sets that were inevitably enjoyable but rarely daring.

Returning to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on Thursday night, the Rolling Stones, miraculously, sounded dangerous again. Before the band had completed its third song, one guy next to me passed out after smoking a joint. He needed to be removed from the premises; two others behind me started a fist fight. In other words, Foxborough felt dangerous, like rock ’n’ roll shows used to feel before the perversions of “platinum” tickets and “VIP access” separated the commoners from the elites.

The Stones reclaimed their rebellious spirit, thanks in large part to releasing the excellent Hackney Diamonds album last year. The band is using it as a springboard into a tour in which Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, both 80, and Ronnie Wood, 76, are not just playing well, but performing as if they realize that the style of music they serve up is no longer the coin of the cultural realm. But they aren’t about to let their legacy be washed away by the waves being made by new pop titans.

The very predictable show opener “Start Me Up” hinted at the direction the Stones would go through a two-hour concert. The song’s energy was high and frenetic, with Wood and Richards playing off of each other in a very loose and natural way as Jagger rallied the stadium (which was far from full, but held a respectably large crowd) into partaking of what was promising to be a rock ’n’ roll bacchanal.

The Stones then veered into the insouciance of 1965’s “Get Off of My Cloud” before uncorking the steamy tensions of “Bitch.”

Three songs in and the Stones had covered roughly 30 years of rock ’n’ roll milestones: an exhilarating lineup of indelible riffs, choruses, and lyrics; unparalleled attitude; and sharp, provocative performances.

While Jagger (in remarkably excellent voice), Richards (in remarkably upright position), and Wood comprise the heart and soul of the Rolling Stones, a lot of credit for the show’s success must go to the cast members surrounding the triumphant trio.

Drummer Steve Jordan had the unenviable task of following — since nobody will ever “replace” — the beloved Charlie Watts, who died in 2021. But, because he was the percussionist in Richards’s solo band the X-Pensive Winos, Jordan has a great feel and understanding for the Stones’ sound. He is well aware of how everyone else in the band keys in on the drummer’s work.

The sax tandem of Karl Denson and Tim Ries, keyboard players Chuck Leavell and Matt Clifford, bassist Darryl Jones, and singers Bernard Fowler and Chanel Haynes all contributed mightily to the effort — each had his or her moments in the spotlight.

But the essential dynamic for the evening went something like this: Jagger and everyone else except the guitarists performed with impeccable precision while Wood and Richards played with a sense of wild abandon. The guitarists were not sloppy, but neither were they particularly clean and crisp as they traded lead and rhythm parts. That jaggedness is what injected the pricklier, rougher tones into the songs.

“Angry” was the first of four songs plucked from the Hackney Diamonds album, and it was a solid inclusion in the set. That wasn’t the case for “Mess it Up,” a newbie that was sandwiched between classics “Tumbling Dice” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” “Mess It Up” became the diamond that got snuffed, because the Stones pumped real life and blood into “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” a song that for many years seemed lost in a fog of nostalgia but has recently reconnected with its original dread.

In the early goings of the 19-song concert, the Stones played the slinky “Emotional Rescue” for the first time since 2014 (it was the night’s song chosen by fans by way of online voting). Jagger nailed the tune’s signature falsetto as the rest of the band captured the spectral creep of the number.

The loping ballad “Wild Horses” was another top-half stand out, especially with Richards contributing world-weary backing vocals.

As has become custom for the Stones, the concert’s midpoint is marked when Richards steps up to sing a couple of songs. In Foxborough, he started with the plaintive “Tell Me Straight” from Hackney Diamonds, working up nice instrumental conversations with Wood. Richards then just opened up the engines for a blast through the still-raunchy “Little T&A.”

The second half of a Stones show has for years been a predictable affair, and set list–wise that was the case on Thursday. Performance-wise, it was a different story.

Richards gave a clinic with his solos on “Sympathy for the Devil” and “Honky Tonk Women,” methodically sculpting riffs and exploring tones that sounded fresh as they reiterated his lasting influence on generations of guitar players.

“Midnight Rambler” ran the gamut of wiry small-combo blues to woozy full-on psychedelic splurge. Haynes and Jagger struck libidinous sparks on “Gimme Shelter” before the Stones revisited the garage-rock glory of “Paint It Black.” Few other bands could hold all of this variety together with as much natural flair.

The Stones closed the regular set with what seemed a very intentional revue-style read of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” as Jagger took on the role of rubber-limbed dancer as the band behind him deployed big, sweeping feel-good waves of music.

The encore offered one last mighty display of defiance with the soaring soul of “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” a Hackney Diamonds track that has earned its spot in the canon of Stones classics. Jagger, aided by Haynes, sang it with a passionate verve, knowing that once again he and his mates — old as they may be — stole fire from the gods.

Seeing Richards projected onto the huge screens flanking the stadium stage as he fired off the opening riffs to “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” was the rock ’n’ roll equivalent of viewing the Mona Lisa. We’ve all seen and heard this before, but the Stones still make it precious.

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Scott McLennan covered music for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette from 1993 to 2008. He then contributed music reviews and features to the Boston Globe, Providence Journal, Portland Press Herald, and WGBH, as well as to the Arts Fuse. He also operated the NE Metal blog to provide in-depth coverage of the region’s heavy metal scene.