Mark & Mark: The Party
On Saturday Rod and Penny attended the celebration of marriage of Penny’s good friend’s Mark Aldridge and Mark Hooper in London.
Lizzie Cundy also got a photo taken with Rod
Hot Legs
Rod’s “Hot Legs” has officially been voted the most instantly recognizable song intro of all time.
According to a stunning new classic rock listener poll on The Top Tens, the ultimate crown for the most iconic intro goes to “Hot Legs” beating Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” And Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water.”
Released on his 1977 multi-platinum album Foot Loose & Fancy Free, “Hot Legs” represents the absolute peak of Stewart’s late-70s rock stardom. Written entirely by Stewart himself, the track was never meant to be a polite radio single. In fact, Stewart has openly leaned into the track’s unabashedly scandalous nature throughout his career, saying, “This is what rock and roll is all about for me: raw, with plenty of fighting guitars, and a steady back beat… It’s one of my dirty, rude, shagging songs.”
The Colosseum Theatre at Caesars Palace
The latest run of Caesars palace dates started on Wednesday and the SMILER‘s were out in force
Iris Alexander, Sue Walton, Laura Bean and Roland Macher all got great photos of the first night
And here is a review of the night from Sue Walton
He’s back: Rod Stewart kicks off his next Vegas run
Fans had to go without Sir Rod Stewart for 236 days – or 7 months and 24 days – at his second home, Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
Last night he returned to the gambling capital and took to the stage at the Colosseum at Caesars at 7.30 pm sharp, opening with his 1981 hit “Tonight I’m Yours” and immediately getting the fans fired up. Before that, a bagpipe trio had kicked off the evening with the finest Scottish tunes.
And right from the start, it was as if he’d never been away. In high spirits, fully rested after his four-week break from touring and as fit as a teenager, the 81-year-old sang, danced, hopped and ran across the stage, stringing one hit after another together during the 90-minute show.
For many, this may be business as usual – something he has honed and perfected over many years in the Nevada desert – but no, a Rod Stewart show is never run-of-the-mill.
Admittedly, the setlists consist mainly of his well-known hits, but as Stewart once said: “You have to give the people what they want to hear”. And that’s exactly what he does night after night, even at his advanced age. As special treats, he regularly works in lesser-known and less popular songs, which, however, are considered by fans to be among the very special highlights of a Rod show. Last night, these were “The Killing of Georgie” and “People Get Ready”, and the band, and above all the three singers Holly Brewer, Joanne Harper and Becca Kotte, shone with the Dolly Parton classic “Jolene”, which Sir Rod used as an opportunity to slip into a new outfit backstage, tidy his tousled hair and have a quick refreshment.
A Rod Stewart show is not just about the music spanning more than six decades; it’s always a huge entertainment spectacle.
This is primarily because the star of the show still has so much fun on stage and manages to pass that on to the audience. Be it a little quip with a touch of self-deprecation, a brief wiggle of his still very toned backside, or even high-fiving the audience members right at the front.
So there’s hardly any chance of going home in a bad mood after one of the Brit’s concerts. That was certainly the case on Wednesday too. “I had so much fun tonight, everything was perfect. Rod still puts on a fantastic show,” wrote one visitor. “Simply brilliant, I’ve loved Rod since I was a child and he’s still wonderful,” added another.
Sue Walton, who had travelled from Minnesota to Sin City, had a special experience. “Before the concert, I met up with some friends from Kentucky and California – friendships we owe to our shared passion for Rod. We were at Gordon Ramsay’s Pub when we bumped into Kevin Savigar and his wife Sue. They’re a lovely couple and so pleasant and charming,” she said. “The show that evening was simply phenomenal. I’ve seen Rod live for the 62nd time now and, quite honestly, he looks younger every time and is so full of energy. It’s amazing. My two musical highlights of the evening were ‘Tonight I’m Yours’ and his heart-wrenching rendition of ‘The Killing Of Georgie’,” Sue enthuses, still raving about it hours after the show ended. But for Sue Walton, Rod’s summer isn’t over yet. “I’ll be in Cincinnati on 9 August and at the Minnesota State Fair on 1 September,” she says. “I saw Rod there (at the Minnesota State Fair, ed.) back in 1984 during his Camouflage Tour.”
Setlist:
Tonight I’m Yours
Having A Party
This Old Heart Of Mine
It’s A Heartache
The First Cut Is The Deepest
You’re In My Heart
Forever Young
Maggie May
I’d Rather Go Blind
Young Turks
Jolene (Band only)
People Get Ready
The Killing Of Georgie
Have I Told You Lately
Proud Mary (Band only)
It Takes Two
Some Guys Have All The Luck
Da Ya Think I’m Sexy
Love Train
Loose Women
While Rod was back in Vegas Penny was on the panel of Thursdays Loose Women
This week’s Rod Art
Ontario artist Mark Tumber’s art work has been featured on SMILER in the past, but this great story makes it well worth another look
One of Mark’s customers Patricia L Martin from New York who is a big fan of Rod’s asked Mark to design a Rod Stewart silhouetted decal for the back window of her car. Thus, it appears Sir Rod is singing to her while she drives.
Patricia said we could share her pictures on SMILER and Mark added “This looks exactly like what Patricia wanted. Love the whimsical nature of this impromptu custom order”.
Last time Mark’s art was on SMILER we showed a brilliant pencil portrait he had done
Mark still has a limited number of umbered and signed prints left available of my graphite drawing of Rod. Each is 11.5”x14.5”, selling for $75 CAD + shipping. https://www.marktumber.com/
And Finally..
Tonight’s show and Saturday’s show in Vegas have been cancelled on doctors orders, SMILER has reached out to Caesars Entertainment officials for a statement, but we have not heard back at this time.
Rod did point out at Wednesday’s show that his voice wasn’t 100% and also joked that he had just flown in from London the day before and said “What do I bloody well think, that I am still 25 years old?”
Hopefully Tuesday’s and Thursday’s shows will go ahead so anyone attending have a great time and please send in any photos or reviews for next week’s news
See you next week…