This was Rod’s second show in Nottingham this year and tonight was even better than the brilliant summer show.
Has anyone got work in the morning? Rod asked after a few reminders that ‘It is Saturday night and this is going to be special’ A roaring Noooooooo was screamed back ..and special it was ..
Carrying on from a stunning performance in Manchester, Rod is showing no signs at all of his recent throat problems in fact his voice is in perfect condition and sounding as good as it ever has, and the band were also perfection.. The Matt O’Connor and Dave Palmer drum duet in the middle of Forever Young is fantastic.
I have read a few reviews and comments saying that Rod’s set list is too predictable ..Well there was nothing wrong with this set list..’This Old heart of mine’ stayed in from Manchester and it was a storming version as did ‘Ooh La La’ that came in the same section as ‘Reason To Believe’ in the acoustic set.
Every era of Rod’s career is covered 70’s 80′ 90’s and bang up to date with ‘Love is’ and ‘Can’t stop me now’
Rod told us I know you want all the hits but sometimes you have to please yourself and did a great version of Muddy Waters ‘Rollin’ and Tumblin’
I love the inclusion of the mega talented Julia Thornton doing the Britt Ekland voiceover on ‘Tonight’s The Night’ ..Rod informed us that on the original record Britt was ordering a Take-Away! and also love the latest version of ‘Maggie May’ that has J’Anna Jacoby Rod and the boys on there knees ad libbing in a huddle for a great end to the classic anthem.
In the second half of a show nearly all the crowd ..that once again are up for a party, are nearly all stood and once again I must say Nottingham arena gets it’s security spot on, they are so easy to spot with the luminous polo shirts, they are everywhere, always mega helpful and friendly and they don’t seem to employ the bully boys that some other venues do..these guys are more likely to have a dance with you than throw you out for enjoying yourselves..well done the Nottingham security team!
‘Stay with me’ saw the usual footballs kicked into the crowd and I swear the lady in row 10 who caught one and was immediately jumped on by the guy in front of her were still fighting over it with smiles on their faces as everyone started to leave at the end!! …If you are a SMILER member please get in touch I would love to know who took the ball home.
At the start of ‘Can’t stop me now’ Rod was telling the usual story about his Dad then said ‘Talking of family What did you think of my daughter Ruby?’ This was actually the first time I had watched her Sisterhood set all the way through and it was really good, the ‘Gasoline Alley’ cover is done with a twist and is a great arrangement.
All in all this was a stunning performance from Rod backed by a band that any one of it’s members could fit in perfectly with any Rod band from any era, Emerson Swinford is an outstanding guitarist and solo performance of the set must go to Jimmy Roberts who delivers a supreme solo performance.
The Rodetts new addition Becca Kotte also had a great night tonight as she had family in the audience including her mum who got a wave from Rod and also an apology after he dropped the ‘F’ word! Becca also got to show her talents at the end of ‘Sailing’
I thought ‘Have yourself A Merry Christmas’ fitted in fine with the party atmosphere and contrary to most other reviews I have read I thought the short burst of ‘Enjoy Yourself’ that followed a blistering rocked up version of ‘sexy’ was a good little feel good end to another special night with Rod.
As always I listened to comments on the way out..brilliant, fantastic..The Dogs Bollocks!…now you can’t say better than that, can you?
Review By Mike Walton
Photos By Mike Walton
Montage By Tommy Kevitt