Rod Stewart
Metro Arena, Newcastle – 28th September 2013
As a lifelong Rod Stewart fan; I was still surprised that Rod had sold out the 12,000 capacity venue with tickets commanding silly prices on the internet; yet as soon as I entered the venue I got the same feeling of excitement as when I saw him at Newcastle Mayfair in 1974.
Starting the evening in a shocking pink jacket Rod the ex-Mod blasted through a couple of songs before telling the sold-out audience “you can beat an egg; but you can’t beat a Friday night in Newcastle!” then belted out a rip-roaring version of Sam Cooke’s Twisting The Night Away, before taking his jacket off to a chorus of wolf-whistles before cranking up the atmosphere even further with Tonight’s the Night.
Always the consummate showman Rod changed costume three times, with each one being more glamorous than the previous one. When not singing he laughed and fooled around with various members of the band; skipped around the stage like a teenager and constantly waved to fans who he pretended to recognise.
With a back catalogue as superb as his; there were always going to have to be some songs missed out; but apart from an over extended Forever Young featuring a duet with his daughter Ruby and a tedious drum solo featuring 5 drummers, it really was all killer and no filler with classics like Maggie May and Sailing eliciting 12,000 part harmonies that may not have suited sensitive ears.
Three songs from the latest album TIME were fitted in seamlessly, with videos playing in the background incorporating old video clips and family photos that illicited plenty of oohs and aaahs.
A Rod Stewart concert is always part Rock and Roll, Pantomime, Vegas and New Years Eve all rolled into one; with a soundtrack that covers every emotion known to man.
While the Rock Legend paced the concert perfectly to suit his voice, which was a touch croaky at the beginning, the fans hardly had time to draw breath as hit after hit received ever louder receptions as soon as they were recognised.
Although not exactly surprise surprises, it was a true joy to hear First Cut is the Deepest and I Don’t Want to Talk About It performed live and even I got carried away when he kicked over 50 footballs into the crowd during Baby Jane; desperately trying to catch one that sailed over my head.
The concert ended with all of the musicians joining Rod in a chorus line for an ironic and raucous version of D’ya Think I’m Sexy as thousands of balloons dropped from the ceiling.
What a man, what a night.
The Rocking Magpie 