At the age of 60 his wrinkles are showing a bit more than they used to. But the legendary Rod Stewart is, in his own words, ‘Forever Young’ and certainly knows how to woo his audience.
And it was a fitting hit with which to open his two-hour show at Kilkenny’s Nowlan Park on Saturday night.
The expectant father bounded onto the stage like a performer half his age.
While rock legends don’t have to explain why they emerge on stage wearing sun glasses at 9pm, he felt he had to make an excuse.
“I’m not trying to be Bono. I just have a problem with my eyes,” he said before discarding his designer specs early into his first set.
The show gathered momentum as he performed hit after hit, continuing with ‘Young Turks’ and ‘This Old Heart Of Mine’. While he hooked his near capacity audience from the outset, it was hits like ‘Hot Legs’, ‘Baby Jane’ and the legendary ‘I Don’t Want To Talk About It’ that really got the middle-aged fans going.
The lighting was spectacular, the video screens were massive and his back-up band were a huge hit. Only a crooner like Rod Stewart could find a 6ft tall, leggy blonde saxophone player to share such a stage.
The crowd queued for the €4.50 pints and the Rod Stewart t-shirts, with particularly high demand for the black Rod Stewart thongs, several of which were catapulted onto the stage, much to the entertainer’s delight.
