Guess who I’m going to see Friday. I’ll give you a hint ( if the title hasn’t already ):
Now, I’d go into a LOT of detail of how Rod Stewart’s music has been a part of my transition from kid to adult. But, I would guess it would mimic pretty much every 40-something’s experience. For me, since about 1978 or so, if you wanted to get some, or even wanted to try, you HAD to have Rod Stewart’s album on. Or, at the very least, have his picture on the album laying around very visibly after you’ve gotten about six beers into your love for the moment. If that didn’t work instanteously, put on Buffett and get them a little drunker. THEN fall back on Rod. Sure, some guys passed around some pretty awful rumors about Rod, but he was scoring models faster than any of those guys scored period. Rod is somewhere in the same league as Hugh Heffner to me. Just one of those guys that just don’t have a clue how to be anything other than a babe-magnet. I can’t relate, I don’t want to either. If I could, then I’d have no reason, other than hearing Maggie May, to go have some fun Friday night.
And trust me peeps, I’ll have lots of tequila ready. If it works, I don’t change it.
Post show update:
The show was excellent! Rod did all the classics and tossed in some covers. The best of which was definitely “Have you ever seen the rain?”. Toss in a smokin hot sax player and three backup singers who can sing better than almost anyone I’ve heard in years, and you’ve got an excellent show regardless of the headliner. The one thing that really struck me was his stage. It was white. All white. Not just curtain white, but instruments were all white, carpet was white, microphones were white, even his wristwatch was white. This made for some very neat, very simple effects. I tried to capture them, but needless to say, my equipment was rudimentary at best. Here’s some samples:
and:
In essence, with a simple flick of the switch, the entire stage changed. For ballads the stage would be blue. For rockers the stage would turn white, purple, whatever. It was very, very, simple. And, it was even moreso effective. I love it. Toss in a massive super high definition screen and you had all kinds of special effects for songs, and pics to tell a story. It was just a well done show. Nothing wild, nothing crazy, just impressive. Toss in Rod’s crowd-abilities and you had a very enjoyable show.
You’d think kids today would look at old-rockers like Rod, Bowie, the Stones, The Who, etc.. and take note that forty years after getting started, they’re still draw crowds in the tens of thousands. Those pics just show the people in front of us. There are probably twice as many, or more, behind us.
Due to a bout with sciatica before and during the show, this may be my last major outdoor show. It’s just too hard on me. If it is my last one, it was definitely worthy of going out on!
