As a Rod Stewart fan for over 40 years I was “Beside myself” when I caught the last ball Rod kicked in Cork last May. As he declared that this would be the last time he would kick footballs then I caught the last one, If Rod was to be believed, it was something special.
To date he hasn’t kicked one out since…I even travelled to Paris in July just to make sure! Anyway how could a Rod fan top that? Truth is I probably never will but the anticipation of hearing “Grace” in Dublin (where it all began) held some promise.
The arena in Dublin is superbly set out and the acoustics great…there probably isn’t a bad seat in the house….last night it was packed to the rafters,and the hall full by 8pm when Johnny Mac took to the stage….probably mostly because Rod was advertised from 8pm
Johnny Mac and the Faithful are a great warm up band…the song choice is indicative of the venue and true crowd pleasers…They are liked even more because they (or at least Johnny) is a Rod fan and of course Celtic fans…which went down well in Dublin.
You can definitely see how they have grown in confidence since the summer…Johnny now dresses in “Rock Star” jacket and tries (with some success) to emulate the Rod swagger….an excellent opening act…very enjoyable and great to get the crowd in the mood. They left the stage at 8.45pm…the curtain came down and 10 minutes later the “swirling pipes” heralded Rods arrival.
On he came to rapturous applause…”Some Guys” the opener.The stage is somewhat small at The 3 Arena and the layout made for a very intimate gig.I am sure Rod had a few brandy and cokes before he hit the stage. His mood, gestures and laughter somewhat validating my suspicions.The voice however …no trace of such…just brilliant!
The band were visibly taken aback by the reception and singing. “Havin a Party” followed then (In my opinion the terrible) “It Takes Two” before Rod welcomed everyone.”We had a great audience last night.I want to thank the radio stations for the great reviews….but let’s make it even better tonight…”
The set list very similar…”Its a Heartache” got an airing…and although not a song any fan would want included in the setlist it was great for a singalong and a real pleaser for the “neutral”.
The acoustic set was outstanding as always and the crowd deafening when he started with “Dirty Old Town”.The usual acoustic set followed with “Grace” second from the last ….”Have I told you lately?” finishing the acoustic segment.
So to Grace…well…simply put you could hardly hear Rod…The whole place just erupted and if there was ever any doubt (which there wasn’t) that Rod is an adoptive Irish son then there is none now. You could tell that the band really couldn’t believe the reception.Rod finished, tearful with the whole crowd on their feet in adoration cheering for at least two minutes…Rod even sang the last line again …nothing short of spectacular.Of course Rod singing “Grace” in Dublin was always going to be great but trust me there were more spine tingling moments…Of course the silhouetted Rod singing ‘Rather Go Blind” is always something to behold.
A nod to the new album and an announcement that it had gone to No.1 in the U.S. classical charts was the introduction to the “unplugged” version of Maggie…that just brought the house down.
I was delighted to note that Rod was on stage more than normal ….”let’s get as many songs in before the 11 o’clock curfew” he told us..and with only really one significant costume change he delivered.
“Stay with Me” energetically brought the show to a close before a “spine tingling” “Sailing”.
Brilliant!
As we say in Ireland
go raibh maith agat Rod
Review By Gerard Rafferty
Photos By Gerard Rafferty
Montage By Tommy Kevitt