Well it was the show of shows. For myself and Jan it was like a time warp as Time Waits For No One. Jan and I had a history with Rod based on fun and friendship in the 70’s when he was a Face. Now his Face is out there and he is the one that sells out the shows at Caesars. This show was called The Hits and boy were they ever Rod’s hits and they just kept on coming.
The string section was all female and the horn section had two females and one male. The women were excellent musicians, but we would not expect anything less than that for Rod. Rod’s keyboardist has been with him since the 80’s and also is a great keyboardist. There were three female back up singers in hot pink dresses and they were the best too! There were three guitarists and one of the backup singers filled in on the mandolin. The harp was also a great addition to music. We were surprised when Rod left the stage to walk through the sold out auditorium singing and greeting his fans personally.
Now to The Hits which reminded me of watching him in the 70’s. The Hits were the Killing of Georgie, Rhythm of my Heart, Twistin’ The Night Away, The First Cut is the Deepest, Some Guys Have All of the Luck, Tonight’s The Night, Do You Think I’m Sexy, Have I Told You Lately amongst other hits.
Ruby Stewart did an original tune of hers and then broke into Forever Young with her dad. Personally that was the aha moment for us. Who would not want to perform THAT hit with their dad if their dad was Rod? The backup singers performed Proud Mary written by John Fogerty and famously performed by Tina Turner. Tina would have been proud Tina for sure. That tune was an opportunity for Rod to change his wardrobe again. The show ended with Maggie May and the crowd screamed for an encore when the curtain went down. The encore song was Stay With Me, which was written by Rod and Ronnie Wood. We knew in our hearts that this song was written by the two, as the permissions for any other Faces tunes performances would have been thwarted by copyright issues, since the band split from each other.
Of course there were the wardrobe changes with the silk suits and the kicking of soccer balls to the fans. Maggie was done with balloons coming down from the top of the Colosseum and Rod in his cowboy hat with his green and white Celtic boa. A bit of flash but would we Rodders expect anything less?
How appropriate that Rod be performing to the masses at Caesars in Las Vegas. I bet he had no clue of his future when he decided to record Marc Jordan’s Rhythm of My Heart in 1991.
Oh, I’ve got lightning in my veins
Shifting like the handle
Of a slot machine
Love may still exist
In another place
I’m just yanking back the handle
No expression on my face
Well his expression was sheer delight as well as those of us in the audience. Thanks to you Rod, we will always be Forever Young watching you perform.
Review by Beverly R. Ross and Jan Turbyfill
Photographs by Beverly R. Ross and Jan Turbyfill