HE MAY BE 77, BUT ROD CAN STILL THROW A PARTY
LIVE: ROD STEWART (Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham) Verdict: He wears it well ★★★★I
‘WE’RE full of energy, so we don’t tire,’ said Rod Stewart as he led his band into the first night of a UK tour. He was as good as his word, too, serving up a career-spanning set in which his determination to give fans plenty of bang for their buck didn’t waver. At 77, he can still throw a swell party.
Arriving onstage to pre- recorded bagpipes, and sporting a silver satin jacket straight out of his 1970s wardrobe, Rod hit the ground running and upped the ante from there. If the early parts of a two-hour show were high on the gaudy razzle-dazzle of his Las Vegas residency, The Hits, it was his authenticity and artistry that ultimately shone through.
Accompanied by agile musicians and backing singers, he revisited early favourites You Wear It Well and Maggie May and performed the Faces’ Ooh La La as photos of old bandmates were projected onto a giant screen. Handbags And Gladrags (‘I first sang this in 1969’) was a highlight of an acoustic mini-set.
For all the nostalgia, though, it was a show that lived in the moment, acknowledging 2022’s big issues. ‘I appreciate how money is tight,’ he said, thanking fans for coming out on a wet Wednesday night.
He sang Rhythm Of My Heart in the blue and yellow of Ukraine, with loud cheers greeting an image of President Zelensky. And a portrait of The Queen dominated the stage during Sailing. Rod remains a master of playing to the gallery, leading a singalong on an emotional I Don’t Want To Talk About It and breaking into a Cheshire Cat grin on The First Cut Is The Deepest.
Before Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?, he asked if anyone had ever been to fabled New York nightspot Studio 54 (‘Not in Nottingham,’ deadpanned the woman behind me). ‘I should know better at my age . . . but I don’t,’ he quipped. Like that raspy voice, his mischievous humour remains in fine fettle. n The tour continues on Tuesday (Nov 22) at The O2 Arena, London (livenation.co.uk).