I’ve been a Rod Stewart fan since his early days with Jeff Beck in the late ‘60s. We didn’t have much chance to attend concerts in those days, but from the late ‘80s to late ‘00s, we made it an annual tradition to see Rod, who came to Toronto every year, sometimes twice. It’s been five years between shows this time and I missed him, so, off we went to the Budweiser Stage on August 10.
Cyndi Lauper was the featured special guest and she opened the show with great gusto. Her penchant for wandering into the audience at regular intervals delighted the crowd
After a brief intermission, Rod came out to wild applause. Unfortunately, I was stuck in the bathroom and missed the visuals (damn those long lineups!) but I could hear the enthusiastic response.
First five songs:INFATUATION, THIS OLD HEART OF MINE, HAVING A PARTY, RHYTHM OF MY HEART, SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK
Then Cyndi joined Rod onstage for a duet of “IT TAKES TWO”. Every bit as good as the Rod & Tina (Turner) version!
Next eight songs; a “Greatest Hits” showcase:YOU WEAR IT WELL, FOREVER YOUNG, SWEET LITTLE ROCK’N’ROLLER,TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT, MAGGIE MAY, DOWNTOWN TRAIN,YOU’RE IN MY HEART, THE FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST
This is like visiting an old friend and catching up.
Then came something completely unexpected and incredibly moving! It’s a cover of an old Celtic Irish rebellion song, GRACE, from the upcoming Blood Red Roses album.
This was followed by the equally touching HAVE I TOLD YOU LATELY?, the hard-rockin’ STAY WITH ME, a sizzling rendition of Etta James’ I’D RATHER GO BLIND and, of course, DO YOU THINK I’M SEXY? (Hell yeah, even at 73!)
On to the encore……First, let me state that SAILING is my favourite Rod Stewart song over all. In the 30 years we’ve been attending his concerts, I have NEVER had the pleasure of watching him perform it live. (Apparently, he doesn’t often include it for North American tours because it wasn’t a hit over here.) Well, my dream finally came true this night! I could hardly believe it and was literally moved to tears! Yes, I turned into a blubbering idiot and hubby thought I’d gone completely bonkers. Even worse, the video I was filming picked up these histrionics and I’ve yet to figure out a way to edit them out. Just a little embarrassing…
In conclusion, between Cyndi Lauper’s excellent performance, Rod’s kick-ass band with equally talented backup singers and the ageless wonder himself (not to mention the unexpected encore), this concert gets an A+ and a big, fat 5-star rating from me!
First published on THE DOGLADY’S DEN
https://thedogladysden.com/rod-does-it-again-concert-review/
Review By Debbie D.
Photos by Debbie D.
Montage By Tommy Kevitt