Rod Stewart, Cyndi Lauper draw huge crowd to SPAC
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.» Two stars took the SPAC stage on Sunday night for one of the biggest shows of the season.
Rod Stewart and Cyndi Lauper drew thousands of fans to Saratoga Performing Arts Center over the weekend.
Both the amphitheater and lawn were packed with people. Some came to see Cyndi Lauper and others were there for headlining act Rod Stewart, but most in the audience enjoyed at least a bit of both.
Between the two artists, there were plenty of popular hits to sing along with at Saturday’s show, from Lauper’s iconic rendition of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” to Stewart’s “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”
Lauper and Stewart, each with their distinct personas, both had several outfit changes during their respective sets. What impressed show-goers, however, wasn’t their hair or flashy fashions, but their talent.
The singers’ vocal abilities were best showcased in the more strippeddown songs, like Lauper’s 1986 hit “True Colors,” on which she played her zither, and Stewart’s mid-set acoustic session that included “Ooh La La” from his days with the band Faces.
Backed by a band of about a dozen musicians, Stewart and his group played a range of tunes from throughout his diverse career, with highlights like “Some Guys Have All The Luck,” “Reason to Believe,” “You Wear It Well,” “Tonight’s the Night,” “Infatuation,” “Young Turks” and “Maggie May.”
The 72-year-old London native had energy, dance moves and showmanship on Saturday night. At one point in the evening he said to the crowd, “This is the best job in the world.”
Lauper, 64, didn’t seem to have quite that level of enthusiasm during her performance. Though she did some dancing on her more upbeat songs and would strike a sexy pose from time to time, the star spoke to her audience in a very casual tone and introduced her band members with little fanfare.
Despite her on-stage demeanor being a little off, fans were happy to hear her sing the hits on the local stage.
A highlight for many audience members was seeing Lauper and Stewart share the stage for a duet of ““This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You),” a Motown classic that Stewart adopted in a later era.
“I thought they were both awesome,” said concert-goer Melissa Stinson of South Glens Falls after the show, where she was seeing each act for the first time. Lauper’s songs brought back high school memories, Stinson said, “and Rod definitely didn’t disappoint.”
She and her friend Cynthia Longinetti thought the headliner’s 90-minute set really covered the span of his career.
“All those good old songs,” said Longinetti, of Greenfield. “It was great. We had a really good time.”
With the many years of experience touring and performing that Stewart has behind him, Longinetti added, “He’s the best he’s ever been.”