Rolling Stones keep a-rollin'

To cop a song title from the band to which he'll be forever linked, Michael Cohl is . . . happy.

With the Rolling Stones on a record-shattering run with their Bigger Bang world tour, as well as hot tours by Barbra Streisand and the Who under his direction, it is easy to see why Cohl's spirits are high.

The Canadian promoter took time for a chat when the Stones visited Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., on September 29. Best-known as the home of the Kentucky Derby, the venue had never hosted a concert before the Stones came to town for the first time since 1989 with Alice Cooper. "This is sensational," Cohl said.

According to the set list Cohl provided, Louisville was No. 99 on the Bigger Bang tour. Despite a hypothermia-inducing rain storm and 50-degree weather, the Stones gamely took the stage just before 9 p.m., plowing through stalwarts like "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "It's Only Rock'n Roll" and lesser-played cuts like "Dead Flowers" (with its well-received Derby reference) and Keith Richards' "Little T&A."

The rain eventually abated and the Stones hit high gear, utilizing their massive 90-foot-high main stage and the crowd-pleasing satellite stage to full effect.

The (highly inebriated) sellout crowd of 40,000-plus was in nirvana. As well as things went well back-of-house, the front-of-house personnel at Churchill Downs seemed a little overwhelmed by a concert crowd, with most ushers rather clueless as to where to direct fans for seat locations. The show came off fine, though -- yet another historic Stones performance.

And A Bigger Bang rolls on. Cohl would not confirm talk that the tour will extend into 2007, but the massive trek will easily top $400 million this fall, a box-office record. "This is great fun," he said.

Before Louisville, Cohl had just attended the first rehearsal for Streisand's tour, which started October 4 in Philadelphia. "It was amazing," Cohl said. "I can only describe it as 'one-take Barbra.' She walked out, started singing, and it was fabulous."

Cohl scoffed at industry scuttlebutt that the Streisand tour was not performing up to par at the box office. "All the naysayers, they're taking their own expectations and attributing them to us," Cohl said. "At the rate we're going, Barbra will have the (box-office) record at every building she plays."

Cohl was the subject of recent Canadian Broadcasting Corp. documentary "Satisfaction: The Life & Times of Michael Cohl." Asked how he liked the film, Cohl replied, "My mother was really proud, so I like it. That's the only reason I did it in the first place."