Rod Stewart, Somerset County Cricket Ground, Taunton - thousands flock to gig in support of St Margaret's Hospice
 

By Kevin Coffey / World-Herald staff writer
 

By Kevin C. Johnson

Post-despatch.com

By Kevin C. Johnson

Carlos Santana answered what many music fans wondered about he and Rod Stewart sharing a bill on a tour that came to Scottrade Center Friday night.

What the two legends have in common has been asked often, Santana pointed out.

“We both play black music for white people,” Santana said to applause and laughter.

The Latin jam great and the classic rocker joined forces on stage at one point during the evening for their joint take on Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind,” a fine coming together of two disparate artists who met in the middle.

Stewart and Santana each performed separate, full sets beginning with Santana’s sizzling, jubilant percussive sounds you literally wished would never end.

Master guitarist Santana’s show-stealing set was all about nailing the groove, and in the case of this 75-minute Latin party, he and his musicians including his wife Cindy Blackman-Santana and singer Andy Vargas and Tony Lindsay burrowed deep into that groove.

Forget about the massive crossover hits such as “Smooth” and “Maria Maria,” obvious crowd pleasers in concert that got the mostly older, tranquil audience members moving.

Where it was at was with songs such as “Black Magic Woman,” “Oye Coma Va” and “Jingo” (featuring footage of tribal African dancers), gems that never get old.

Santana, whose new album is “Corazon,” brought up Isley Brothers singer Ronald Isley, who attended the show with his family and friends. (Isley’s sister-in-law Kimberly Johnson Breaux is one of Stewart’s three backing singers.)

It was a super impromptu moment in which Santana clearly caught Isley on the spot. “Santana got me up here. I don’t know what I’m doing,” Isley said after humming along, before finding his groove when he gave the crowd bits of “Who’s That Lady” and “It’s Your Thing.”

This deep into his career, it’s clear it’s still Santana’s thing.

Stewart was more of the flashy showman, the spiky-haired Brit with the shiny colored suits, blond female musicians in a number of short dresses and airborne soccer balls.

On a set that brought to mind the set of an old “American Bandstand”-type show, Stewart opened with rousing disco number “Infatuation” and kept it in party mode with “Having a Party.”

Stewart told the packed house to “enjoy, enjoy enjoy” and he gave them reason to believe with hits galore, tunes any fan would want from his repertoire such as “You Wear It Well,” “Some Guys Have All the Luck,” “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright),” “Forever Young,” “Maggie May” and a nod to his old band the Faces with “Stay With Me.”

Stewart made a special mention of D-Day on its 70th anniversary with the song “Rhythm of the Heart,” which included vintage footage of soldiers at war.

An acoustic departure saw Stewart with several violinists and guitarists seated and lined across the stage for “First Cut is the Deepest” (he said his version was the best), “Reason to Believe” and “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?”

Was Stewart all the way there? Vocally, no. He sounded just good enough to still be doing this. But he made up for it with personality, flash and youthfulness.

St. Louis guitarist Billy Peek, who recorded with Stewart “200 years ago” as Stewart said, was brought on stage for “Sweet Little Rock ‘N’ Roller” that included footage of the two of them playing together back in the day. Peek matched the duck walk seen in the video live on stage.

Stewart didn’t disappoint in the one staple fans look for at his concerts — the avid soccer fan expertly kicked a number of autographed soccer balls deep into the audience during “Hot Legs.”

Stewart, in full goofy mode, donned a straw cowboy hat and pulled out a few inflatables for “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy,” which culminated in a massive balloon drop onto fans on the floor.

Jeffrey Lee Puckett

At age 69, Rod Stewart remains one of the lads, a lifelong entertainer who just kind of sails though a show, playing the lovable lead singer role to the hilt, and that's part of his considerable charm. It's also a lot harder than he makes it look, and that's part of his considerable professionalism.

Tuesday night at the KFC Yum! Center, Stewart provided a career retrospective that was 95-percent hits, from 1971's "Stay With Me" to 1993's "Have I Told You Lately." And while Stewart has also enjoyed massive recent success as a crooner of standards, he ignored all of that and danced only with the "Sweet Little Rock 'N' Roller" that first brought him fame.

Stewart breezed through nearly two hours, bouncing from dross ("Infatuation," "Some Guys Have All the Luck," "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?") to classics ("You Wear it Well," "Maggie May") without pausing to worry about relative artistic value. He was just having a blast singing, dancing and kicking a couple dozen soccer balls into the crowd.

Stewart brought almost no flashy special effects — he showed YouTube videos of stuff he thought was funny at one point, if that counts — but he did bring a 14-piece band, including himself. Half were women, four of them blondes, and all of the ladies wore 1960s-style go-go skirts.

It wasn't all fun and games, however. For a short acoustic segment, Stewart was joined by a local string section (all women, of course) and delivered beautiful versions of "The First Cut is the Deepest," "Reason to Believe" and "Have I Told You Lately." His familiar grit-and-gravel voice was most clearly showcased here, and he often sounded indistinguishable from his younger days.

Stewart could easily have put together a show filled with artistically undeniable classics, but that wouldn't have told the whole story. With Rod the Mod, you take the good with the bad and keep smiling. There was plenty of that Tuesday night.

Carlos Santana opened with a lengthy set that almost qualified him for co-headliner status. He doesn't have the songs to pull that off, however, although he does have some jams.

Santana is known for his distinctive touch and tone on the guitar, and he was sharp, as was his band. But a lot of his material, other than stone-cold classics such as "Oye Como Va," blurred into one big groove.

Clck link for more photos

http://www.courier-journal.com/story/entertainment/music/2014/06/04/rod-stewart-review/9944199/

By Jeff Miers | News Pop Music Critic

By Jack Fordyce

Published: Wednesday, May 28, 2014, 1:12 p.m.

The history, the hits, the awards. The accolades Rod Stewart and Carlos Santana have earned the last five decades are too numerous to list.

The combined album sales for the Rock and roll Hall of Famers top 250 million worldwide, ranking them among the greatest performers of all time. And while they have each achieved residency status in Las Vegas venues, the two are joining forces this summer for the 18-city The Voice, The Guitar, The Songs Tour through North America that arrived at Consol Energy Center on Tuesday.

Santana started things off with “Yaleo” from his 1999 album “Supernatural,” followed by “La Flaca,” the first single from his new Spanish-language album, “Corazon.” Supported by an ensemble of three percussionists, trombone, trumpet, keyboards and vocalists Tony Lindsay and Andy Vargas, Santana showcased his legendary guitar expertise to a crowd of nearly 13,000.

Fans were on their feet to welcome Rod Stewart onto the stage as he opened his set with a 12-piece band playing a jazzy rendition of “Infatuation” that segued into a cover of the 1962 Sam Cooke

http://triblive.com/aande/music/6183502-74/santana-album-rod#axzz335PrLnaV

Santana overpowers Rod Stewart in Consol show

Most of this summer's double packages -- from Bey/Jay down to Styx/Foreigner -- combine artists with an obvious chemistry, history, aesthetic, ability or even common wardrobe.

Exhibit A in the disparity of Tuesday's night combo were the Rod Stewart/Santana bootleg shirts outside Consol Energy Center. Who in their right mind puts Rod Stewart's face on a tie-dye?!

He is a glammy ol' Brit gone spandex gone Vegas strip. More suited to the tie-dye is the fiery Latin guitar wizard from San Francisco via Tijuana who still talks like a live-preaching hippie prophet. What they discuss backstage on this tour is anyone's guess.

But Carlos Santana did hint at it saying he and Mr. Stewart come from a generation before lip-synching. "We don't even know virtual. All we know is real."

They had their own wildly varying degrees of real before a crowd of about 13,000.

Santana hit the stage hot, in front of a colorful Aztec-designed screen, with Latin fusion fired by an 11-piece band with three drummers/percussionist, horns, singers Andy Vargas and Tony Lindsay and, of course, his searing guitar work burning on top. He cast his spell with extended versions of classics "Black Magic Woman" and "Oye Como Va" that had you wondering how the ice below didn't become a hot tub. God bless his 66-year-old fingers.

"Oh man, I'm having a flashback," the guitarist said. "I was here in Pittsburgh in 1970 with Janis Joplin."

Of course, he's returned many times since then, with a singular vision of moving body and soul, like he did with everything from the romantic "Maria Maria" to the festive "Foo Foo" to the tribal jams, complete with video of wild natives, to the stunning guitar instrumental "Europa."

On "Evil Ways/A Love Supreme" he let the guitar talk beautifully and then urged that we transmit a vibration to create love not fear and prevent rage incidents like the one last week in Santa Barbara, Calif. The band signed off with a turbulent "Smooth" and returned, amid images of Woodstock, with "Soul Sacrifice."

The headliner did have the benefit of not having to beat Santana at his own game. Mr. Stewart's production was a much slicker show-biz affair with a clean TV show-looking set, blondes in sparkly aqua dresses playing horns and disco opener of "Infatuation."

It was clear by his third song, the beloved folk-rock ballad "You Wear it Well," that his voice, at 69, is a fraction of what it once was. It's not Dylan-level worn; just a weakened, lower-range version of its old self that dampens some of the emotional impact of the songs. His adoring fans were happy to serve, taking over the vocals at times, like on "Tonight's the Night" and "Maggie May," and his three backup singers also did their share on the choruses.

Having plundered the American Songbook, he's returned to his roots with the new album "Time," which he represented with the by-the-numbers rocker "You Can't Stop Me Now," delivered as a tribute to his father. He tapped into sentiment for the troops with the military march "Rhythm of My Heart."

Mr. Santana re-emerged to fire off some straight-ahead blues on Etta James' slow-burning "I'd Rather Go Blind." Rather than fanning those flames, Mr. Stewart oddly retreated off stage, but at least the song was suited to his range. He also got to wander off, for a suit change, during a dumb jungle drum solo, with girls in leopard skin, on "Forever Young."

The unplugged portion featured a folksy sweet "Reason to Believe" and local string players on "The First Cut Is the Deepest" and a syrupy sweet "Have I Told You Lately."

Somewhere there was a bar band doing a "Sweet Little Rock & Roller" that rocked more, and the cliched "Proud Mary," sans Rod, put the Vegas revue shtick over the top. He did some of his best work of the night kicking soccer balls on "Hot Legs."

Basically, one rock legend delivered big time Tuesday, One pleased his fan base with a hit-filled nostalgia show more suited to a casino than an arena.

http://www.thehour.com/gallery/rod-stewart-in-concert/collection_f7ff7c36-e4f4-11e3-9dc5-001a4bcf6878.html

Every night’s still the night when Rod Stewart is onstage

By Mike Weatherford
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

May 15, 2014 - 3:21pm

Tom Jones is missing in action and Tony Bennett doesn’t come around much anymore. So it’s up to Rod Stewart to be the senior hep cat of Las Vegas.

Las Vegas needs — nay, demands — a gray lion, Phase-Two Sean Connery to serve as old-guy-on-the-town role model, ever since Sinatra settled into the autumn of his years at Caesars Palace in 1974.

And now — and at least through next year — Caesars plays host to Stewart, who has enough character wrinkles in his 69-year-old face to make us appreciate the vitality of his duck-walk on to that ridiculously large Colosseum at Caesars Palace stage in his white jacket and black-and-white two-tones.

Members of the press were invited back last week on the promise of an overhauled set list and a guest appearance by Carlos Santana, who will tour with Stewart this summer. The latter promise was fulfilled on this one night by Santana and his lyrical guitar making a virtual duet of the gritty blues ballad “I’d Rather Go Blind.”

But the set list was largely unchanged from last fall (given that Stewart’s flexible light show makes it easier than roomies Celine and Shania to swap out a song or two). So instead of rehashing a November review that’s easily kicked up by a search engine, here’s a few more reasons to believe Stewart should play Las Vegas until he drops dead kicking a soccer ball from the stage.

■ Why just have a band when you can have “The Mini-Skirt Mob”? A proud employer of women, Stewart makes sure not just his backup singers, but his horn section and fiddler surround him like Charlie’s Angels. At one point, six sparkly fuchsia dresses are spread across the stage, the better to frame the cat who can still pull off red trousers topped by a floral-pattern shirt.

There’s that odd, high-heel kettle-drum duet. And when Stewart rolls in an extra string section for a few extra songs? Well the album was called “Blondes Have More Fun.”

■ “Alright Mr. Caesar, I’m ready for my close-up.” You can pay a lot of money for the Colosseum’s divas and be really, really frustrated that the giant overhead screens only show you conceptual video instead of their faces.

But Rod rocks the video screens in full “Twistin’ the Night Away” body shots, along with close-ups which prove every picture tells a story: that wizened face shooting us a knowing eyebrow as his voice reaches for the final “find …” when he sings, “Still I look to find a reason to believe.”

■ Damn the Teleprompters, full speed ahead. Stewart doesn’t say much, but when he does it pays to listen. There is usually a new way to suggest weeknight audiences at the Colosseum could be a bit more effusive in their praise. This time, it was “Every night can’t be Christmas, can it?”

And along with his usual dedication of “Rhythm of My Heart” to the troops, Stewart mused that the Russian incursion in Ukraine is “like World War II starting all over again,” before telling himself, “Cheer up Rod, let’s get on with it.”

■ An hour and a half to cover about 45 years of career means tough choices. Just as the heavy face grounds the flyaway hair, a single song or two can be all you need to remember Stewart was more than just “Infatuation” or “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?”

This time around, you might have joined me in missing “The Killing of Georgie,” while thanking yourself he has given up on the standards albums. At least we got the Faces anthem “Stay With Me.”

■ Sinatra never booted soccer balls into the balcony. With previous Las Vegas legends, an awkward question lingered: When is it time to hang it up? With Sinatra, we winced as he blew the lyrics on the prompter screen in front of him. With Dean Martin, it was seeing him slumped on a stool, clutching his chest.

But here, metrics. A tangible barometer. An acid test. When Stewart can no longer land a ball at least in the middle-priced seats, it’s time to go home and count the money. But Mr. Old Guy In Blazer who almost started a fight to wrestle a ball away from your neighbor? You can go home now...

As Rod Stewart and Carlos Santana team up, execs plot MGM Resorts arena opening night

By Robin Leach

Las Vegas Sun

Wednesday, May 7, 2014 | 9:24 a.m.

It was a moment of music history. They barely spoke a word, but they stood in reverence of each other as they performed onstage for the first time ever in their combined 90 years of music entertainment.

Raspy rocker Rod Stewart hushed his Caesars Palace audience Tuesday night: “Ladies and gentleman, the world’s greatest guitar player — Carlos Santana!” and the 4,000-plus audience erupted in cheers and a standing ovation.

Together, they performed a blistering rendition of “I’d Rather Go Blind” that Rod had first performed with his group The Faces in the early 1970s and seen here with The Rolling Stones Ronnie Wood on guitar on You Tube.

Rod wowed with his vocals and bowed to the guitar guru, on his knees at one point in admiration of the guitar solos.

“We’re going to play a few dates on the East Coast starting very soon,” he told the enthusiastic crowd. Those 18 select dates start May 23 in Albany, N.Y., when Rod finishes his current Las Vegas run at the Colosseum and Carlos packs his traveling bags from his Las Vegas home. The tour runs through Aug. 20 and includes four Canadian cities in between Santana’s Corazon Tour, which includes a weekend of shows in Atlantic City.

“They are both huge fans of each other’s music. They have tremendous respect for each other. They’d always wanted to play together, but it never proved possible with their schedules. You could say this was years in the making, and it finally happened,” I was told.

Carlos returns home to resume his residency at House of Blues in Mandalay Bay on Nov. 5, where he has extended his contract. There is a Wicked Whisper & Racy Rumor that Rod and Carlos could team up again for Caesars Palace shows and might be part of an all-star concert being plotted for the opening night of the new MGM Resorts arena in May 2015.

I was reliably told that discussions have already begun between MGM and AEG officials about staging that first concert.

“It’s highly possible you could see The Rolling Stones as the big act. Can you imagine Elton John being part of the show, too? It’s highly possible you could see Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr reunited in some way. It’s highly possible that Rod and Carlos could be involved with it.

“It’s going to be the ultimate blockbuster superstar music show ever staged. Everybody has already decided that. Now it’s putting all the pieces together with the superstars. We’ve got two years to set everybody, and that’s already begun.”

Click the link for photo gallery

http://lasvegassun.com/vegasdeluxe/2014/may/07/photos-rod-stewart-and-carlos-santana-team-execs-p/

Guitar in tow, Carlos Santana drops by Rod Stewart’s place

By John Katsilometes 

Las Vegas Sun

Wednesday, May 7, 201

In introducing Carlos Santana on Tuesday night, Rod Stewart spoke of the song about to be performed originally being recorded “after a glass of wine and three tokes.”

The tune was one Stewart recorded ages ago, “I’d Rather Go Blind,” on his 1972 breakthrough album, “Never a Dull Moment.” Etta James first recorded the song five years prior, but Tuesday it belonged to the unlikely pairing of Stewart and Santana. The two have only in common their status as rock royalty and their shared career arc, booming to stardom in the late 1960s and early ’70s. Despite dissimilar styles (Santana known for his Latin-rock fusion and Stewart for his instantly recognizable raspy voice), the two have sold many millions of albums and singles over the years and are two of the most enduring artists ever in contemporary music.

Finally, after all those decades, the two are co-headlining a tour this year. As Stewart said in bringing out Santana at the Colosseum in Caesars Palace, “This is the first time we’ve been onstage together, to my knowledge.” Santana did not address the crowd aside from his spirited playing. The two stood side-by-side, and at one point Stewart took a knee while cajoling a Santana solo. The guitar great paused for a moment as Stewart laughed, then played through the solo as Stewart slapped his leg.

The Stewart-Santana U.S. and Canadian tour is aptly titled “The Voice. The Guitar. The Songs.” It opens May 23 in Albany, N.Y., and closes Aug. 20 in Wantagh, N.Y. There are no dates on the West Coast, but Santana returns to House of Blues in November. Stewart, too, is back at his Las Vegas venue this year, with dates scheduled in September, October and November.

Stewart said at the top, “I am going to struggle to hit some notes tonight,” as the dry desert air can do a number on a singer’s voice. But the show was highly entertaining, as Stewart strode through the crowd for “Sweet Little Rock ‘N’ Roller” and again booted 20 or so signed soccer balls into the crowd, which was at or near a sellout.

As for Santana, the appearance at the Colosseum continued his own mini-tour of Las Vegas performance venues. He’s headlined at the Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel and House of Blues at Mandalay Bay and also has appeared with keyboardist Gregg Rolie in an unannounced performance with Journey, reuniting with Neal Schon from the days of Santana’s band in the early 1970s. The three are working together on “Santana IV,” being recorded at Odds On Studios in Henderson, due for release this year.

Rod Rocks Chile

Rod Stewart sang, danced and even played football in the Fifth
With a jacket and a bright beam of light that made it shine more than disco ball appeared on the stage of the Quinta Vergara important British musician, who swept the fifth day of Viña 2014.
Who turned out the lights? No doubt that Rod Stewart was not! Because the British artist was on stage at the Quinta Vergara and landed with glitter to give away.

It came with a shiny silver jacket that made perfect game with a beam of light that pointed directly to him and his blond hair , which made him outshine disco ball .

And if that were not enough, his backup singers , who entered the stage as Aretha Franklin , vienieron the three with bright pink beaded dresses , like the trumpeter and saxophonist, two beautiful girls who brought the same dress.

The artist had predicted a 90-minute show on stage with a single intervention of animators to deliver the prizes and serious restrictions on the press .
When the show took about half an hour of hits, the English invited on stage to his daughter Ruby Stewart , who stole all look , and incidentally, the singer transformed into the ideal father

But it was not there , the blonde artist presented his single " Just one more day" and then sang the classic "Forever Young" with his famous father hyper .
After the meeting of the (sexy ) daughter of Rod down Fifth , the " chascón " singer gave way to an acoustic segment of his show, which included some Chilean musicians to accompany with violins and basses.
Songs like "The first cut is the deepest " (originally by Cat Stevens) and " Have i told you lately" were chanted by a " Monster" star delivered , nothing more and nothing less than 69 years.

In a small pause to take a breath , and through a translator , good Stewart dedicated the public a " I'm very happy to be here."

Then, if we thought the show would have it only English to him or his daughter of actors , the chorus of the band took the Quinta Vergara to version the classic " Proud Mary" by Creedence Clearwater Revival . A true sign of talent, and why not , a lot of sensuality and energy.

Now with a third costume change , Rod Stewart returned to the stage to perform " You're in my heart" and " Hot Legs ," a song in which he started throwing footballs signed to the public , showing that , despite having nearly 70 years, still has strength and skills to practice the " beautiful game " .

After nearly an hour and a half presentation, Carolina de Moras and Araneda Rafa took the stage to make delivery of all prizes to Stewart , who kindly allowed recognized by the public.

Note that I ever seem uncomfortable when it comes to Anglo artists , was less awkward than usual thanks to a timely De Moras , with fluent English , explained how the British consisted awards .

Finally "Da ya think I'm sexy? " and " Sailing" closed the tremendous spectacle of Rod Stewart , who fell away from the stage.

Rod rocks Uruguay

Divertite 26/02/2014

Ben Elton talks Tonight's The Night

Nottingham Post  |  Posted: January 27, 2014

IT wasn't the first time that Rod Stewart had been asked about basing a musical on his work.

Ben Elton's pitch had an original story that had little to do with the superstar's own life, going from working-class London to fronting rock group the Faces, then international pop idol.

Set in Detroit, Tonight's The Night would tell the story of Stu, a shy young man, so tongue-tied that he cannot find the courage to declare his love to the girl of his dreams. So he makes a deal with the Devil and trades his soul with that of Stewart, his hero.

"In the past, any ideas for musicals revolving around my songs just didn't work for me," says Stewart, 69. "It was only when we were approached to do Tonight's The Night that the idea really took off."

Says Elton: "I initially approached him about a musical because his songs are all about storytelling and I felt that a great story could grow from them.

"I came up with a story that reminds us of that thing we're always been told over and over again in drama – "to thine own self be true".

He sent a script to Stewart's manager, who liked it, but Elton is unsure if the star has read it, even now, more than a decade later.

But he adds: "He came to our workshop and turned to me at the end and said, 'Well, you've made me a legend, haven't you?' – which was hilarious because he's been a legend all along!"

Since its premiere in London in 2003, the musical, which includes hits such as Maggie May, Baby Jane, Hot Legs, Sailing and Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?, has played to sell-out audiences across the UK.

Although the jukebox musical genre isn't favoured by theatre critics, Elton believes they have a place in the theatre.

"Jukeboxes are not something to be ashamed of," laughs the former stand-up comedian, who wrote TV comedy Blackadder, several bestselling books and the Queen musical We Will Rock You.

"They are filled with memories and dreams and love and laughter and they are good, fun things. The theatre can be good fun.

"It's a perfectly legitimate and honourable thing to seek to entertain the public with music that they love, and the fact that the music is old and the story is new strikes me as no more reprehensible than attaching new music to an old story, as with The Lion King and Billy Elliot."

Review: Tonight's The Night @ Palace Theatre

Manchester Evenin news

22/1/2014

You would expect a musical featuring the songs of Rod Stewart to be a hit with his devoted fans.

But theatregoers of all musical persuasions can expect to be won over by this charmer of a jukebox musical based on the Scottish rocker's rich songbook.

The songs of Stewart are woven perfectly into musical theatre style, and the arrangements for the stage are wonderful.

Rod fans were calling out for their favourite songs, literally dancing in the aisles and enthusiastically swaying along to the finale of We Are Sailing while wearing the paper sailor hat handed to them on arrival.

Toe-tapping old classics Baby Jane and Maggie May and tearjerkers such as I Don't Want To Talk About It are injected with punchy new life by a bright young cast including Sugababes singer Jade Ewen, who is almost unrecognisable in her role as the feisty, smoking, leather jacket wearing Dee Dee.

The ensemble are fantastic but Jade's voice is simply sublime, especially on The First Cut Is The Deepest, given the rapt attention it deserved from the audience.

Written by comedian Ben Elton, who also penned that other jukebox megahit We Will Rock You in tribute to Queen, the story is about a lovestruck young man called Stu who strikes a deal with the devil to trade his soul for Rod Stewart's.

This may sound ridiculous but it's all in the spirit of the jape. And the moral behind the tale is to be true to yourself.

Ben Heathcote is fabulous as the awkward mechanic who becomes a strutting rock and roll rebel in the hope of winning over his sweetheart Mary.

And he sounds uncannily like a young Rod throughout the musical, which in places feels more like a greatest hits concert.

Stacked with a line-up of statuesque dancers that would have the real-life Rod singing Hot Legs in an instant, this is a show that doesn't just wake up Maggie but the entire crowd.

Rod fans were calling out for their favourite songs, literally dancing in the aisles and enthusiastically swaying along to the finale of We Are Sailing while wearing the paper sailor hat handed to them on arrival - a nice touch.

Tonight's the Night is for anyone who enjoys great music and a night of tip-top entertainment.

The only way it could have been improved is by an appearance from hot Rod himself.

Rod Stewart's still got charm and energy to spare:

The Star.com

By: Nick Krewen

 17/12/2013

Rod Stewart brings Vegas to Toronto

By  Jane Stevenson

QMI Agency

 16/12/2013

TORONTO - Not all rockers know how to grow old gracefully on stage - or off for that matter.

But Brit veterans Rod Stewart and Steve Winwood proved to be a formidable duo, for different reasons, as they wrapped up the North American leg of their Live The Life tour on Sunday night at the Air Canada Centre in front of 15,000 fans.

As Rod The Mod promised fans, it was “memorable,” not only for Stewart’s expert showman abilities - not to mention boyish playfulness and love of campy fun - but Winwood’s serious musicianship with a definite jazz bent in his advancing years.

“Thank you for coming out on such a bloody horrible evening!” said the raspy-voiced and still spikey blond-haired Stewart, 68, initially dressed in a grey silk suit and backed by a 13 musicians on a sleek white stage brimming with impressive video screens and lights.

Stewart was, of course, referring to his arrival in the city following the first major snowstorm of the season.

“You’ve had enough snow haven’t you?” said the singer after some fake stuff fell inside the arena during Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas complete with Christmas tree.

But despite the inhospitable weather - Stewart said it was a struggle getting from his show in Montreal on Saturday night to Toronto - the crowd was in a good mood for one of their perenially favourite singers who commented: “For a Sunday night crowd, you’ve got lots of energy!”

Rod The Mod kicked off his two-hour set with two Motown covers, This Old Heart Of Mine and Having a Party, before getting to his own You Wear It Well, Tonight’s the Night, Rhythm of My Heart - which he dedicated to “those who fought for our freedom on the beaches of Normandy,” and The Faces classic Stay With Me.

He even offered up tunes that he normally doesn’t perform like The Motown Song.

“We only rehearsed this, this afternoon, so it could be a complete cock up,” said Stewart.

The London-born singer also brought his daughter Ruby (from his ‘80s relationship with Kelly Emberg) for her Toronto performing debut - the two also appear on stage at his Las Vegas show at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace which just extended its run for another two years - as she sang one of her own songs, Just Another Day, so her dad could go “backstage and fluff his hair for you all.”

And then father - who returned in a fuschia suit and lime grey socks as only he can pull off - and daughter dueted on Forever Young.

There was also a quieter, less compelling acoustic part of the evening with Stewart, his band and some classical players from Toronto performing The First Cut Is the Deepest, Brighton Beach - the first of two songs from his 2013 album, Time - Have I Told You Lately and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, complete with Christmas tree.

Thankfully, Stewart then reverted to such energetic tunes as Can’t Stop Me Now, also from Time, and Sweet Little Rock & Roller, the latter which saw him lying down on the stage with his legs over his head.

“I fell over there - did you see that?” said Stewart. “I’d fallen and couldn’t get up!”

He also had a good line about the next song, I’d Rather Go Blind, which he recorded with Faces co-hort Ronnie Wood in 1972: “Three takes, one bottle of brandy!”

Such Stewart crowd pleasers as You’re in My Heart, Hot Legs - with the Celtic Football Club supporter kicking out soccer ball after autographed soccer ball into the audience - and Maggie May brought the show to a rousing conclusion before the encore number Do Ya Think I’m Sexy? that saw balloons and streamers rain down on the audience.

“It’s such a pleasure to share a stage with a real icon,” said Stewart of Winwood, earlier in the show before displaying some vintage black and white footage of the two of them playing with the late bluesman Long John Baldry when Stewart was 20 and Winwood was just 17.

“I appear to be hogging the show as usual,” quipped Stewart.

Winwood, 65, still adept on both organ and guitar, was joined by four musicians for his jammy hour-long opening set that showed off his diverse soul-psych-rock career with The Spencer Davis Group (I’m A Man, Gimme Some Lovin’), Blind Faith (Can’t Find My Way Home) and Traffic (Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, Dear Mr. Fantasy) and his own ‘80s solo success (Higher Love).

“This is the end of our tour with Rod and we’ve really enjoyed it,” said the unassuming yet still powerful Winwood, sporting grey mutton chops and dressed in a bright green plaid shirt and jeans.

Rod Stewart SET LIST
This Old Heart Of Mine
Having a Party  
You Wear It Well
Stay With Me  
Tonight’s The Night
Some Guys Have All the Luck  
Rhythm of My Heart
The Motown Song
Just Another Day (Ruby Stewart)
Forever Young  
The First Cut Is the Deepest
Brighton Beach
Have I Told You Lately
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Can’t Stop Me Now
Sweet Little Rock & Roller
I’d Rather Go Blind
Proud Mary (Backup singers)
You’re In My Heart
Hot Legs
Maggie May
ENCORE:
Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?

PBBhotos from Montreal

By Marie-France Coallier

The Gazette

15/12/2013

http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Photos+Stewart+Montreal+show/9289046/story.html

Concert review: Rod Stewart at the Bell Centre;

Bernard Perusse

Montreal Gazette

15/12.2013

To review Rod Stewart concerts at this point in the singer’s career is, essentially, to cover the same show over and over again. Year in, year out, with only slight variations, he does a flashy, visually-arresting, rocked-up Vegas act: all the hits, good and bad, delivered with incomparable showmanship – and soccer balls.

And yet something strange happened at Stewart’s Bell Centre performance Saturday night. Was it a slight tweaking of the setlist from last time? Was it the palpable warmth and sentimentality that seemed to fill the stage? Could it have been the Christmas song?

Who knows? But somehow, what might look like a boilerplate Stewart show on paper turned out to be one of his best Montreal concerts in ages.

Steve Winwood – a British rock legend in his own right – set the bar high in a superb one-hour opening set, heavy on jazzy, leisurely R&B grooves. Working with a small combo, Winwood stretched out on eight funky, percussion-heavy songs covering all stages of his own impressive history: The Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith and solo material.

The level of musicianship and the empathy between the players were astonishing at times. Case in point: guitarist Jose Neto’s solo in The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, with Winwood gleefully pushing him along on the organ, which was enough to draw howls of appreciation from a crowd that had not really come to get immersed in subtle interplay.

Alternating between organ and guitar, Winwood proved to be in fine voice, his high, soulful wail barely diminished by time.

The same was not quite true of Stewart, who admitted he had been fighting a cold for three days and struggled at times to hit expected notes on the likes of You Wear It Well and Stay With Me. And yet a powerful unit of backup vocalists and an audience of 10,500 in a mood to sing covered up more than a few vocal shortcomings, making them easy to overlook. And indeed, some of the singer’s struggles to capture challenging lines paid off on satisfying renditions of Have I Told You Lately and I’d Rather Go Blind, among others.

Opening his almost two-hour set with his own well-known covers of soul classics by the Isley Brothers (This Old Heart of Mine) and Sam Cooke (Having a Party), Stewart served notice that while this might be an all-entertainment, hits-filled event, he was still prepared to let us in on what is close to his heart.

And unless your own heart is made of ice, it would have been hard not to be touched by the photo of Stewart and his late father, whose support he celebrated in the wonderful Can’t Stop Me Now, the only new song performed during the evening. (In keeping with the family theme, Stewart’s daughter Ruby was brought out to sing her quite-decent original, Just One More Day, showing the bloodline in her phrasing. She and her father followed that with a duet on Forever Young.)

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, performed as part of an unplugged set with a local string section, was also surprisingly stirring. Old-school Stewart fans might think this was an occasion to run out to the beer concession, but with snowflakes drifting down on the band and a Christmas tree onstage, the cornball sentiment just plain worked.

Also in the unplugged set was a surprise addition: The Killing of Georgie (Part 1 and II), one of Stewart’s most moving and beautiful songs. To the delight of a few in the know, he dedicated the song to “my friend, Richard Burnett.”

Burnett, a Gazette contributor, wrote an open letter to Stewart in his Pop Tart blog, asking the singer to do his favourite song, Sailing, which Burnett insisted Stewart had never performed in Montreal. Displaying Burnett’s open letter on the video screen later in the set, Stewart announced that “this man has waited long enough,” and sang it.

It was that kind of night: filled with little surprises and delightful cracks in the facade. And while no amount of goodwill might convince you that the dreadful American Idol-style oversinging Stewart allows his backup vocalists at the end of Rhythm of My Heart does anything but ruin a great song, the overall feel of the night still seemed perfect. So perfect that singing along with Some Guys Have All the Luck and even the usually-dreaded Do Ya Think I’m Sexy was clearly the only thing to do.

During Sexy, the sole encore, Stewart demonstrated he has lost none of his sense of humour by showing a vintage Rolling Stone cover on the screen, featuring the following quotation displayed with his image: “I don’t want to be singing Do Ya Think I’m Sexy at 50 and become a parody of myself.”

Stewart, 18 years after that self-imposed deadline, is still singing the song. And what’s amazing is that he seems less of a self-parody –  and more the guy we always wanted to hang with – than he has been in quite some time.

Set List

1. This Old Heart of Mine

2. Having a Party

3. You Wear It Well

4. Stay With Me

5. Tonight’s the Night

6. Some Guys Have All the Luck

7. Rhythm of My Heart

8. Just One More Day (Ruby Stewart solo performance)

9. Forever Young (Rod and Ruby Stewart duet)

10. The First Cut Is the Deepest

11. The Killing of Georgie (Part I and II)

12. Have I Told You Lately

13. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

14. Can’t Stop Me Now

15. Sweet Little Rock n’ Roller

16. I’d Rather Go Blind

17. Proud Mary (backup singers solo spot)

18. You’re In My Heart (The Final Acclaim)

19. Hot Legs

20. Sailing

21. Maggie May

Encore:

22. Do Ya Think I’m Sexy

Rod Stewart Delivers the Hits at Madison Square Garden:

The Hollywood reporter
Frank Scheck

10/12/2013

He may have started off with “This Old Heart of Mine” but Rod Stewart proved that he’s “Forever Young” in his concert Monday night at NYC’s Madison Square Garden. The venerable rocker showcased every aspect of his stylistically diverse, decades-long career in a two-hour show that well demonstrated the reasons for his musical longevity. Add to that a similarly terrific career-spanning opening set by Steve Winwood and you had an evening guaranteed to please baby boomers with deep pockets.

And that he did, delivering a 21-song set that included a generous selection of hits, even the cheesiest of which were delivered with a winning combination of conviction and winking humor. Ever eager to please, he refrained from dipping extensively into the recent album, featuring only two new songs. But they were choice: the highly personal ballad “Brighton Beach,” about a love affair he had when he was just 18 — “We had a daughter … she’s 50 now,” he said ruefully during his introduction  and the peppy rocker “Can’t Stop Me Now.”

He dutifully performed the hits: “You Wear It Well,” “Tonight’s the Night,” “Some Guys Have All the Luck,” “You’re in My Heart (The Final Acclaim),” “Maggie May” and the Faces’ “Stay With Me” among them. But he seemed most energized performing cover versions of such classics as Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Rock & Roller” and Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind,” displaying his most impassioned vocal performance of the evening on the latter.

His raspy voice is miraculously intact, faltering only slightly on the higher notes. And at age 68, his lithe physicality remains equally undiminished, as demonstrated by his athletic kicking of personally autographed soccer balls into the crowd while belting out “Hot Legs.”

Ever the proud papa, he brought out his 26-year-old daughter Ruby to sing a solo number, the impassioned R&B ballad “Just One More Day,” in which she proved that she’s inherited her father’s pipes. The two also dueted on “Forever Young,” during which a mid-song percussion break allowed him to take a break for one of his several costume changes.

The show’s visuals were carefully thought out. The gleaming white stage platform was framed by giant video screens displaying entertaining archival footage, while the male band members were clad in sharp black suits and the female players and back-up singers, all of whom happened to be gorgeous, were outfitted in short, spangly dresses.

A mid-show acoustic set was a highlight, with Stewart, accompanied by a string section and harpist,  delivering soulful versions of such classics as “The First Cut is the Deepest,” “Have I Told You Lately” and, in a nod to the season, a tender “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

The inevitable encore of one of his biggest hits was amusingly introduced by a self-deprecating projection of a years-old quote by Stewart from a Rolling Stone interview in which he declared, “I don’t want to be singing ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?’ when I’m 50 and become a parody of myself.” Accompanied by the dropping of thousands of balloons onto the crowd, the moment did live up to his observation. But no one, least of all Stewart himself, seemed to mind.

Winwood’s opening set was as modest as the headliner’s was ostentatious, but it had maximum musical impact.  He and his superb four-piece band performed only eight songs in the course of an hour, but practically each one was a classic, including hits from the Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith, Traffic and his solo career. Allowing each number to breathe with jazz/funk arrangements featuring extended instrumental interludes, including a brilliant guitar solo by Winwood on “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” it served as an effective primer on ‘60s and ‘70s era British rock. 

Rod Stewart

This Old Heart of Mine
Having a Party
You Wear It Well
Stay With Me
Tonight’s the Night
Some Guys Have All the Luck
Rhythm of My Heart
Just One More Day
Forever Young
The First Cut is the Deepest
Brighton Beach
Have I Told You Lately
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Can’t Stop Me Now
Sweet Little Rock & Roller
I’d Rather Go Blind
Proud Mary
You’re in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)
Hot Legs
Maggie May
Da Ya Think I’m Sexy

By Mike Weatherford

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Nov. 6, 2013

You can guess what the last song will be, but not that it will begin with a Rolling Stone quote displayed on the massive video screen:

“I don’t want to be singing ‘Do Ya Think I’m Sexy’ at 50 and become a parody of myself.”

Yet here we are in the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, with the 68-year-old Rod Stewart in peach-colored trousers, flanked by 18 musicians (predominately women in short skirts and high heels) along the lip of the stage, with hundreds of balloons dropping from the ceiling in celebration of the once-and-future sex god.

But if you think about it, the quote wasn’t entirely ironic. He’s still singing “Sexy,” but he’s not a self-parody.

As the evening to that point proved, Stewart really is still that guy who is not you or me. He’s that other guy in “Some Guys Have All the Luck,” living the dream but not taking himself too seriously.

He’s just older, that’s all. And he doesn’t try to hide it.

The hi-def video screens can be unflinching in close-ups, but Stewart offers the upper balcony more live-time shots than any of his younger Colosseum roommates. His present-day image is even juxtaposed with 1970s album covers, inviting direct comparison.

But the screen shots tend to be vertical, head to toe, because you need to see he’s still got the dancin’ feet and keeps those hips in motion inside that silver suit.

Stewart is the only star in the Colosseum’s current rotation of stars who doesn’t promise exclusive, only-in-Vegas content. The set list is cherry-picked from longer shows he does on the road. And, he told the audience on his opening night last week, “We brought our stage all the way over from Europe.”

The new stage is sleeker and looks less like a late-night talk show. Don’t ask if we really need to see a saxophone solo on nine separate screens. We’re getting it get it anyway, thanks to six pop-up slabs that display video in front of the permanent screens.

The net effect is more in keeping with other Colosseum spectaculars, even if Stewart vowed “There’ll be no clowns on the stage, or fountains or dwarves. This is a rock ’n’ roll show.”

You could argue that. But like the self-parody thing, it’s not worth your breath. The set list, at least on this opening night of the current stint, went deeper into his early career than last year’s show.

It’s the first time I’ve heard the Faces favorite “Stay With Me” at the Colosseum. And the blues standard “I’d Rather Go Blind,” as covered by the Faces, was for the “old-timers,” he said, pushing the singer to his knees to actually plead “Baby, baby, baby.”

If more of the show was the easy-going victory lap we’re now used to, Stewart at least seems to care about protecting his legacy and playing the party host to make sure everyone has a good time.

Early on, he didn’t seem to think the crowd was loud enough. But he vowed, “We’ll get you in the end, when we kick the footballs out.”

Rock ’n’ soul oldies such as “Sweet Little Rock Rock ’n’ Roller” — sung from the aisles so everyone could whip out their camera phones — paced signature crowd-pleasers. He introduced “Have I Told You Lately” as “the most popular song ever sung at weddings since weddings were invented.”

The large band proved there is no song that can’t be overarranged, and sometimes overwhelmed a voice that’s become more fragile with age. But the ensemble provides good cover for a star who disappears three times, a lot for a 95-minute show. Don’t know if he’s taking hits off an oxygen tank or merely changing clothes while Di Reed belts “Proud Mary” without him.

But one break at least offered the pleasant surprise of his 26-year-old daughter Ruby singing her original, “Just One More Day.”

The family tie, plus the autobiographical “Can’t Stop Me Now” from this year’s “Time” album, touched upon the more resonant look back at the singer’s life explored in the album and recent autobiography.

But if Stewart was right in suggesting Las Vegas audiences just want to share his contagious good mood and wait for the soccer balls, he wasn’t going to disappoint them. Two shots made the middle balcony and one reached the upper nose-bleed section during “Hot Legs.”

After all, this is a guy who’s made a deep career of being shallow.

Photos. Rod performs at the Colosseum

Rod Stewart performs in his residency show “Rod Stewart: The Hits” at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Photographer Denise Truscello shares some of her best photos from the show.

ROD'S ON TOUR IN THE USA... Check out these reviews

Rod Stewart: Grasping the Passage of Time

.
Concert/Album Review - United Center- Chicago, IL - October 24, 2013

Time is in stores now and Rod Stewart begins a three-week residency in Las Vegas on November 6th followed by another leg of arena shows in Boston, Newark, New York, Philadelphia, Montreal and Toronto in December.

Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMUSIC Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at tonyk AT antiMUSIC DOT com and can be followed on Twitter

"You never know beforehand what people are capable of, you have to wait, give it time, it's time that rules, time is our gambling partner on the other side of the table and it holds all the cards of the deck in its hand, we have to guess the winning cards of life, our lives."
― José Saramago, Blindness



Awareness of the passage of time if a gift; most people wander through life without much thought to the future or a awareness of how their past has formed not just who they are but where they are going. Last week I watched Rod Stewart sing a pair of new songs onstage in Chicago with a renewed purpose and vitality. Stewart is touring in support of his twenty-ninth studio record (not including any Faces or Jeff Beck Group records), Time. What differentiates Timefrom every other record he has ever made is Stewart co-wrote eleven of the album's twelve cuts. After eight covers records in a row, the sudden change in direction was a surprise and one no one could have imagined. Who knew all it would take was having Stewart put his pen to paper for a book? His pen yielded more than a book, but an album that is the most personal he has ever made.

Last year when I sat down and read a slew of music biographies by the likes of Pete Townshend, Mick Jagger and Bruce Springsteen I didn't think I'd ever get to the one Stewart wrote. On a whim, I picked it up thinking I'd put it down faster than you can say "Maggie May", but the opposite happened, I became engrossed, so much so that when I was done with the book, I rented the audio book from my library to experience it again. In a day and age where rock biographies are a dime a dozen, Stewart's stands head-and-shoulder above the rest. After reading it, I had revelation about Rod Stewart. For decades, every Rod Stewart album was met with disdain by the rock press because it does not sound like the bump-and-grind ecstasy of the Jeff Beck Group or The Faces. The ramshackle grit was replaced with disco grooves, drum machines, melodies made for pop radio and over the last decade, eight cover records of classics (nine if you include his Christmas record). A few fellow writers over at the excellent Popdose website even started a column entitle "Redeeming Rod" where they scoured Stewart's post-Faces career in search of gems that fell in-between the cracks and out of the public view. When I bought the exquisite Faces box set Five Guys Walk Into A Bar, it maddened me to no extent that more people were buying one of the Great American Songbooks in its opening week than would ever uncover the untainted bluesy delight that was Rod Stewart pre-1975. But after reading Rod: The Autobiography antiMUSIC review here) I changed my tune. I no longer hated what he left behind but rather embraced what he became. I forgot how much I loved Out of Order ,  Vagabond Heart and what a discovery the Storyteller box set was back in 1990. I also could not really tell the difference between Bruce Springsteen doing an album of Pete Seeger covers and Stewart recording several collections of the greatest songs ever written. He has always seen himself as an interpreter of music first and foremost, and he may arguably be the best of the rock n' roll era. The tone of his autobiography was delivered in such winking jollity you can't help but be swept up by it all. Here was the key to his story; he won the lottery of life and he knows it. He still loves the blues and soul he grew up with; he simply projects it in a different light. He creates music for enjoyment primarily and (I am guessing here) he doesn't take himself seriously, so why should we?

Looking upon him with this new outlook, I've simply enjoyed more of his output and when he released Time this past April, I couldn't help but feel it's one of his best all-around solo records because it captures the beat of his heart over the course of a dozen songs. From the ray light optimism of "Beautiful Day" (which would have made a stellar show opener), to "It's Over" which captures the sting of divorce gracefully while "Live the Life" and "Time" hearken back to the minimalist approach of his early records with their toes dipped in the bluesy soul of Stax and Motown. Stewart sings from his heart as if he hasn't in decades. Instead of singing someone else's lyrics, he went deep within himself to create the most honest record of his career. Make no mistake, the production of the record leans towards the pop sheen of his 80's and 90's material, but the arrangements suit the songs. Within each song is a lifetime of love, heartbreak and awareness of what had made his life possible. From the youthful heartache of "BrightonBeach" to the Celtic kick of "Make Love to Me Tonight", Stewart doesn't misfire because it is candid and sincere and I only hope more people discover the record.

The 2013 Live the Life tour is quite a sight to see inside an arena. A stage wrapped in all white with towering pillars that substitute for video screens amidst a back wall video screen and one that would occasionally drop from the center of the top rig focusing on Stewart's every move. It's a bright and appealing set made to make those in the nosebleeds feel a little closer. Depending on the song, Stewart is backed by a passionately remarkable thirteen-piece band that do justice to his solo songs, his jubilant covers and the resolute AM dial rock of his early years. Stewart seemed to do everything right during the course of his nearly two-hour show. After a tease of "I Can't Turn You Loose", Stewart appeared in a silver suit for his take on "This Old Heart of Mine", an Isley Brothers cover he took to the Top Ten in 1990. What I've always loved about Stewart is even when he hasn't made great records, he's found a way to construct a couple of indelible pop tunes you can't help but find yourself singing along with. "Some Guys Have All the Luck" and "Young Turks" harnessed the rousing glimmer of a man who still feels like he has something to prove. How many men approaching seventy could sing a lyric of "Young hearts be free tonight" and mean it?

On "I'd Rather Go Blind"; Stewart transported the crowd to the other side of the world in a tiny club on a small street. Anyone in doubt of his talent was silenced after seeing the fan boy alive and well.

The harp and violinist give "The First Cut is the Deepest" and "Have I Told You Lately" a gorgeousness my keyboard can't convey while "Forever Young" (a duet with his daughter Ruby) revealed layers of sentiment I had forgotten. Maybe it was time away from the song, the crowd's rejoinder, the dueling electric guitar solo, the mid-song drum break colored by bagpipes or the simple fact that he was sharing the stage with his daughter. Ruby is on her own journey trying to find her own way that she did quite well on "Just One More Day" which Dad let her perform in the set. "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)" was delicate with the crowd singing the chorus as the band stopped in its tracks. "Reason To Believe", "You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)" and show closer "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" all had moments where the crowd took the song away from Rod stealing it as their own as their voices pierced through the arena roof. With every sing-a-long the crowd too the song and put it inside their own time machine where they'll revisit time and time again reminding them of the past, the present and hopefully their future.

Several changes of clothes, snappy socks and a few dozen soccer balls kicked into the upper reaches of the arena (during "Hot Legs"), found Stewart at the top of his game as the consummate front man, crooning his way through a twenty-plus song set that lasted nearly two-hours. Stewart could have performed forty songs and still left out dozens of essential cuts. Reconciling his pop persona with the artist that is Rod Stewart isn't easy, but onstage, both thrive and are alive. If there was one fault of the current tour is he should have found a way to incorporate more songs from Time. The poignant "Brighton Beach" was infused with weighty reflection. Done during the acoustic part of the set, Stewart lost himself in the performance. The majority of the set Stewart could probably perform in his sleep, but here the artist lives because of the concentration with which he sung every lyric. However, the evening's most affecting moment came with the performance of "Can't Stop Me Now", a buoyant song that recounts his start in the music business that is a love letter to his father. Co-written with his regular collaborator Kevin Savigar, it's evocative and elegiac. Stewart's father passed in the early 1990's and more than two decades later, Stewart has captured the adoration he had for the man in a perfect four-minute pop song. The emotion anchors the song excavating untapped truths. My seats were on the side of the stage and midway through "Can't Stop Me Now", Stewart made his way to where I was sitting and locked eyes with me as I mouthed every lyric and his face lit up knowing the song he wrote for the man who inspired him to reach for great heights has touched someone. Hearing the song, I don't just hear a tale of a boy who ascended to towering heights, but a song that reminds me of my family, my daughter, my struggles and my mortality. For this alone, I'll forever be in debt to him.

Discussing Rod Stewart often brings more questions than answers. Is he a sellout? Is he a man who relinquished his colossal talent in the pursuit of fame and fortune? Is he a man wise beyond his years finding ways to reinvent himself decade-after-decade? On the other hand, is he simply a good old-fashioned rock and roller? In my estimation, he is a little of all of the above. The sixty-eight year old man I watched on the United Center stage in Chicago last week was not just an entertainer but also an artist who is still evolving whose artistic heart beats loud and proud. It may have taken Stewart more than a decade but with the passage of time he is fully aware of what he's accomplished and how much more he still hopes to achieve with the time he has left.

Delayed Stewart-Winwood show like 'Having a Party" at The Palace

Steve Winwood (left) and Rod Stewart performed together at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2013. Winwood photo via MySpace; Stewart performing in Las Vegas, Ethan Miller/Getty Images

So he promised a little extra when he finally hit town on Saturday night, Oct. 27.

Then again, Saturday's show would have been satisfying even if it had stopped with the opening act.

It was as perfect a set-up as you could imagine for Stewart's set — it also gave the dudes in the crowd a heavier dose of rock than Stewart would be providing for his largely female faithful — and he even acknowledged their shared history by showing a brief black-and-white video clip of him and Winwood performing together, along with the Animals' Eric Burdon, circa 1965.

His 13-piece band, meanwhile, carried enough multi-instrumental firepower (including a full-size harp) to re-create the night's 23 songs, from the straightforward rock of "Hot Legs" — during which Stewart, who sported three different outfits during the show, kicked and threw soccer balls into the crowd — Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Rock & Roller" and the Faces' "Stay With Me" to a lush four-song acoustic set bolstered by seven locally based string players.

But the Palace crowd still ate up every swivel of his hips and lift of his legs and laughed along with Stewart when he had to start over "Young Turks" and Van Morrison's "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?"

And by the time the balloons dropped from the ceiling during the encore of "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy," outfitted with contemporary EDM touches, Stewart had everyone up and dancing and hardly feeling their ages — and likely forgetting that the show was supposed to have happened six months ago.

Forever young

By Ryan Snyder



Greensboro Coliseum, North Carolina. 17th October 2013