A middle age castle somewhere in Austria. First mentioned in a document in the middle of the 12th century. 100 miles away from Vienna, nearly 90 miles away from Salzburg.
Not everyone gets the idea that this location was chosen as the venue for a Rod Stewart concert. But yes it was and that last Wednesday night was a very special one in many ways.
First, you couldn’t find any seats. Only standing, first come, first serve. Some of the longtime Rod Stewart fans felt at a time 20 years ago, when fights and runs for the best places had been a regular part of every show.
Second, the heat. It was a hot summer’s night with around 40° C in the afternoon when the doors opened by 5 pm. Some of the stewards had a few problems using the ticket scanners at the entrance. But this couldn’t stop the Stewart Armada running down the concert area for the best places right in front of stage. HOT LEGS on their way to the front row. As soon as the people arrived at the front wet towels, lots of bottles of cool water and many other things were brought out to fight the tropical temperatures and popping sunshine.
About 8000 people gathered in front of the stage and waited for the start of the show. Among them some well known longtime fans from Germany and many other countries. For example Holger Slomski from Berlin. He arrived in Austria the night before and was very surprised that he could steer his car right up to the stage. No barrier, nothing stopped him on his way to the concert area. So he had a very special experience you usually don’t expect to have and got a very special memorable image for his Stewart museum at home …
Three hours left to the start of the show. The crowd was very patient, the heat made them walk over to the bars with cool drinks and food and everybody was looking for a shady place, but there wasn’t any. Some of the crew workers positioned a ventilator at the edge of the stage, but hey, you are right, when you say that this doesn’t help at all. Maybe the people in the front row got some little swathes of wind. But that was all.
It was 8.20 pm when Rod entered the stage and opened the show with INFATUATION and HAVING A PARTY. These two songs were followed by IT’S A HEARTACHE and TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT. The setlist was very equal to the last ones which isn’t a surprise really. Rod put on THE KILLING OF GEORGIE and IT TAKES TWO (Tina Turner’s part was taken over by Becca Kotte). The band filled the breaks with the Dire Straits classic GOING HOME and Donna Summer’s SHE WORKS HARD FOR THE MONEY.
At the end Rod waived the encore BABY JANE – even the girls were already in the Celtic shirts – and left the stage without a farewell. An Austrian newspaper found out that the reduction was due to the tropical temperatures. Anyway most of the people went home happily, cos Rod was – despite the heat – brilliant. A strong voice, a lot of fun on and off the stage – all in all another night to remember and a confirmation of all the latest performances in the UK and other European countries since the start of May. Rod Stewart 2019 – a music event you cannot miss. The tour carries on with shows in Spain, Portugal, France, England and Scotland.
Upcoming shows:
June 29th Sierra de Gredos/Spain
July 1st Lisbon/Portugal
July 3rd Fuengirola/Spain
July 6th Paris/France
July 9th Newcastle/UK
July 12th Hove/UK
July 13th Lytham Festival/UK
July 16th Aberdeen/Scotland (rescheduled)
Review: Martin Heidt
Rod Photos: 00Blitz – Car picture: Holger Slomski
Montage: Tommy Kevitt