THE TAYLOR TOUCH

Fleet of finger and tender of touch guitarist Mick Taylor may be, but he’s no bandleader. Performing at a packed Palomino in Saturday night’s first show, the former Rolling Stones riffslinger spotlighted plenty of the quicksilver tone and sweet slide work for which he’s noted, and precious little else of substance.

Backed by a workmanlike trio--none of whom can sing, although the keyboardist and bassist tried--Taylor tossed off an hour’s worth of excursions into sub-Jeff Beck fusion, the obligatory minor-key slow blues, a pair of pointless non-originals (Freddy King’s “I’m Going Down” and Billy Preston’s “Will It Go Round in Circles”) and--the set’s highlight--a version of the Stones’ “Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’ ” complete with the extended jam.

Taylor’s first employer, British blues vet John Mayall, sat in on the encore. Hardcore Stones fans and any guitarist worth his pick enjoyed themselves. The once-cherubic Taylor never unbuttoned his now-ample double-breasted blazer.