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LIVE
IN CONCERT! |
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ROD
STEWART |
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Reviewed By
Mary Ellen Gustafson
Photos By
Gary Gustafson
Blockbuster Desert Sky Pavillion
Phoenix, AZ
9/6/98 |
Despite my determination not to patronize
Desert Sky Pavillion again, if we were going to see "Rod
Stewart," I had to give in and hope they didn't have the
photo passes and tickets screwed up as they have in the past.
During one of the worst storms Phoenix had seen all summer, we
drove across town to end up in the middle of a dust storm (more
common than rain in Phoenix), and one hell of a lot of lightning,
to get the photo pass and wait in line for entrance to the venue.
At least this time the photo pass was there, and arrangements
were in place to take pictures. Unfortunately for all of us,
Rod Stewart does not permit photographers in the pit in front
of the stage. That's reserved for his fans. So, although we do
have some pretty great photos, they were taken from quite a distance
away, and aren't the size I would have liked them to be.
When we arrived, there was an announcement of a "surprise"
opening band for Rod. While I waited for someone to take the
stage, I kept hearing bagpipe music, and eventually saw a guy
playing pipes stopping at various places in the audience to play.
Thinking this was the "surprise," I made my way over
to the area where he was playing to see what I could find out.
Lo and behold, it turned out to be "Davidson Wuichet,"
the bagpipe player for local band the "Keltic Cowboys,"
a band I reviewed last spring when they opened for the "Young
Dubliners." This time around he was on his own, but his
entertainment was enthusiastically received by the people there
(not too many yet - it was a while 'til show time). After having
a chat with Davidson to catch up on what he and Keltic Cowboys,
had been up to, I returned to my seat, still waiting for the
"surprise" opener.
Eventually, the curtains opened and we were treated to the "surprise"
- Flip/Elektra recording artists, "F.I.N.E." I did
my best to catch what songs they played, because their debut
album isn't due out until January, 1999, but between the thunder
and people talking, I'm only really sure of the name of one song.
The rest are poor guesses. They opened with "She Waits For
Me" (?), a typical alterna/pop number, then moved into "She's
My Candy" (?) with some great wailing guitar riffs. "Come
Down" (?) was next, followed by a rather strange number,
with an ethereal intro, guitar pickin' and odd sounds. I think
this one was called "I Know Something," but that's
a big ??. The next number was the best one they did, and this
one I'm sure of the name - although I don't agree with the sentiment!
"Industrial Is Dead" started out like a march/dirge,
then moved into a MUCH heavier sound than their previous songs
(which proves that the heavy sound is NOT dead, since this was
their best song!). I could even hear the lyrics to this one -
all about the death of industrial music. Not yet fellas! The
next song had a girl in the middle of the band for I'm not sure
what purpose - she didn't do anything except walk around, and
I didn't catch the name of the song. Their last number will be
the first single off their new album, "Sunday." This
was an okay song, but nothing to write home about, although there
was some good guitar work. "F.I.N.E." left the stage,
the curtain came down, and it was time for some serious waiting
for "Rod Stewart." |
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Rod Stewart |
After an instrumental intro, Rod Stewart took
the stage, singing "Cigarettes and Alcohol," off his
latest album. The crowd went nuts of course, and were on their
feet from the first note sung. Apparently a lot of people already
knew this song, because the audience was singing right along.
However, this was one of the few I wasn't familiar with, since
I didn't have the album yet. I was a bit surprised at the plain
set and lack of a "fantastic light show," but actually,
Rod, his band, and the Big Screen above the drummer were the
perfect setup for this concert. No need to concentrate on anything
but Rod, the band and the music. Rod Stewart is a show all by
himself. He uses the full length of the stage, swings his microphone
stand around with even more vigor than "Steven Tyler,"
and constantly bends over the front of the stage to touch hands
with the fans, or receive some of the myriad of gifts given to
him throughout the show. Oh, and the song really started the
concert off right with total rock!
Moving into "Forever Young," Rod now had me hooked
too. I'm looking at my notes, and besides the fact that the song
was terrific (what else would it be?), I have written down "One
SKINNY dude, and he STILL has the moves at age 53!" Obviously
I was impressed with his stage presence, as well as his singing
abilities. When he started to sing "Hot Legs," the
crowd went even crazier - and that Big Screen was put into use
showing famous legs from the 30's up through the 90's. The mic
stand was sure getting a work out too! |
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Rod Stewart |
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Fred White, Dee
Harvey, Lamont Van Hook |
Rod has a group of fantastic back-up vocalists,
and they joined him at the front of the stage for "Some
Guys Have All The Luck" - and a a little dancing to go along
with it. This number started showcasing the talents of the rest
of the band, first with saxaphonist Jimmy Roberts. Toward the
end of the song, Rod did a bit of spoken word, while his back-up
vocalists sang the lyrics in harmony. Now the concert was starting
to really get down to business!
With a sort of reggae beat intro, moving into big band sound,
was a slowed down version of "Losing You," from the
album "Every Picture Tells A Story." This particular
song featured a long drum solo by Dave Palmer, an indication
of solos by other band members to come. This was followed by
a very low key version of "Tonight's the Night," highlighting
Rod's vocals, a sax solo by Jimmy Roberts leading into an instrumental
bridge, then larger instrumentals to back Rod's vocals. "The
First Cut Is The Deepest," featured great "do wap"
backing vocals, and a long guitar solo by John Shanks. Kneeling
on the stage for the 2nd to last chorus of "Try to love
again," Rod sang this part of the song a capella with his
backup singers.
Up to this point, it seemed as if all the songs were being done
slower than normal, but "Stay With Me" picked up the
pace some, and keyboardist Chuck Kentis was featured on this
number. There were also a couple short guitar solos and great
bridges, then both guitar players ended up at the microphone
to sing with Rod before taking off into another solo. The whole
band kind of took over for a while, and Stewart ended up at the
top of the steps behind the drummer dancing for everyone. I think
that's when I first noticed his trademark yellow socks and highwater
pants! |
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Oliver Leiber,
Carmine Rojas, John Shanks |
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Dave Palmer,
Jimmy Roberts, Chuck Kentis |
Rod and the band did a 25 song set, so I think
I need to talk more about the standout numbers, since every song
in the set was a past hit. That's why I've mostly included just
the names of the songs, and concentrated on what was going on
with the band. By this point in the concert, it was more than
apparent that Rod had great back up, and the band, the back-up
vocalists and Stewart were having a great old time. I haven't
been to many concerts where woman's underwear was constantly
being thrown on the stage, but believe me, there was a blizzard
of it at this show - along with stuffed animals, flowers and
photos being handed to Rod if he moved even close to the front
of the stage. Gracious guy that he is, he made a point of taking
as many of the items offered to him as he could.
Moving on, we heard a rather bluesy rendition of "You're
In My Heart," followed by "Someone Like You."
For "Rocks," another song from the new album, two girls
who had won radio contests got the chance to come on stage and
sing the chorus of "Get your rocks off/ Get your rocks off
honey" at their own microphones, and Rod joined them several
times. There was also lots of dancing going on with the girls,
the back-up singers and of course, Stewart. This number REALLY
rocked, and we were treated to some major saxophone and guitar
solos, and awesome instrumental bridges. This number was even
more fun in person than it is on the album.
With a soft acoustic intro moving into the familiar accordian
like notes of "Ooh, La la," Rod sang the song he recorded
as a tribute to Ronnie Lowe, who co-wrote the song with Ron Wood,
when they were in "Faces." It may have started off
softly, but Rod turned this into one hell of a show. Geez this
guy is a dancer - and limber! Suddenly massive strobes were going
off on the stage, accompanied by heavy drums and rock-out instrumentals,
leading into "Infatuation." Now the shower of gifts
coming from in front of the stage really picked up, and the excitement
in the air out-did the lightning that was still flahsing pretty
regularly all around us. Carrying a boquet of roses from a fan,
Rod launched "Young Hearts Be Free." This song had
another long guitar solo, and the required audience participation
time. Then there was Rod, hopping and dancing all over the stage.
What fun!
At this point we were treated to a song performed by the back-up
vocalists, Fred White, Dee Harvery and Lamont Van Hook, along
with the band, while Rod took a break. The song, "Everyday
People," by "Sly and the Family Stone," had everyone
in the audience singing and dancing along. This rather extended
version was pretty awesome, and I have to say that it was better
than when I heard "Sly and the Family Stone" perform
the song live many years ago. If possible, the crowd was even
MORE into the concert with each new song played! |
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Fred White, Dee
Harvey, Lamont Van Hook |
After things settled down a bit, Rod knelt
on one knee facing the audience, accompanied by the keyboards
only, and began to sing "Downtown Train." This was
a very emotional song, and as the back-up vocalists left the
stage, Rod went around and hugged all the band members during
a long instrumental, then sax, solos. Things were back to fairly
calm by the end of this number, but the audience was quite affected.
With a mellow, yet sexy, delivery was "Have I Told You Lately
That I Love You?" I have to say this one got to a lot of
people, as guys put their arms around their girls (including
my guy), while others slow danced in the aisles.
Next up was my favorite Rod Stewart song (after "Maggie
May"), and I was so totally into it, singing along, that
I didn't take many notes. Starting off with street corner "do
wap" from the back-up vocalists, was "Sound Of The
City." Between the "do waps," harmonizing, dancing,
etc., the whole audience was singing right along to "Bring
over some of your old Motown records . . ." Pretty exciting
stuff! This was followed by a rock-out version of "I Love
You," and what a presence Rod Stewart had on this one. Awesome!
The song Rod hates, his fans love, and which he donates his royalties
to charity for, was up next. For "If You Think I'm Sexy,"
Rod lost his jacket and gave the audience what they wanted -
one hell of a rendition of a song he can't stand. The crowd was
TOTALLY into this number, dancing in their seats, the aisles,
on somebody's shoulders, and any other place they could find
room. Some girls even managed to get past security and onto the
stage to dance along, and when security tried to pull them off,
Rod put his arms around them and they all danced together. What
a great performer, huh? |
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With "Twistin' The Night Away,"
the video panned the audience doing the twist and projected it
onto the big screen on the stage. All the band members, the back
up vocalists and Rod were dancing right along. During this song,
Rod went the whole length of the stage shaking/slapping hands
with the fans, while we were treated to some really awesome saxophone
and a long instrumental.
I was so into what was going on, I forgot to write down the last
song before the encore! I do have notes that say the audience
sang the whole opening with no help from the stage, and believe
it or not, during this song, Rod tossed the microphone stand
up into the rafters of the stage (you couldn't even see it!),
then caught it as it came down. He must practice that move a
lot, or else he'd get smacked with it on it's way down! Again
down on his knees singing (insert your favorite Rod Stewart song
not previously mentioned - they all would have worked and I can't
remember), while the crowd went totally nuts! After the bows,
and the lights going down, the band left the stage for the obligatory
howls, screams, whistles, clapping hands, stomping feet, etc.
At this performance, Rod did one Encore, "Having A Party."
and it was one gigantic party in that audience! People were putting
pens and markers and anything else handy, along with paper, programs,
shirts and you name it, on the edge of the stage, and while he
sang " . . .dancing with my baby. . .," Rod got down
on his knees and signed autographs - while he was singing. What
a guy! He really does love his fans. After an extended rendition
of the song, the band left the stage, the lights came up and
it was time to fight the crowds and the traffic to get out of
the venue. And it was worth every single minute! I may have entered
the venue thinking "This will be okay, and I'm doing it
for my husband," but I left as a lifetime Rod Stewart fan!! |
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THE MAN! |
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