It was a nightmare ride to get into the Queens Midtown tunnel, the a complete stand still on 34th St. to go one block to my usual garage. It took over an hour to go 7 ½ miles and our pre show dinner had to be canceled. By the time we shleped the rain to get to the Garden the lights went down &.........
Rod Stewart himself, came out to introduce Stevie Nicks at 7:30 sharp. This was a Rod Stewart crowd so being a diehard Stevie Nicks fan it was tough to adjust to the luke warm love the crowd was giving Stevie. Usually her shows are filled with fans who adore her. Although with that said by the end of her set she was getting a standing ovation & had the crowd up.
She took the stage & opened with her classic, Stand Back, dressed in her high black boots & long black dress complete with a beige shawl. She is still beautiful as always, with her gorgeous long blonde hair flowing & her lips puckered up as she sings. Her vocals are still amazing, with that distinct lovely voice sounding as good as ever.
Her band consisted of the usual members, headed by long time musical director Waddy Wachtel donning a John Lennon New York City t-shirt. They were as always tight, polished & powerful. Stevie’s backup singers; the lovely Sharon Celani (who’s been with her for thirty years) & sister in law Lori Nicks, once again did a fantastic job of accompanying Stevie’s songs.
The set list was shorter than I wished for but as an opening act it was quite long, no deep tracks just the usual popular songs. Although she did debut her new single & pulled out Love Is from the Trouble in Shangri la album.
Stevie also came out during Rod Stewarts set & sand together with him on Young Turks & then Leather & Lace which he did a fine job on the Don Henley parts. As Stevie left the stage, she graciously thanked the crowd for their support as she always does. She also said “the world is in chaos, pray for the world”.
Set List: Stand Back
Secret Love
If Anyone Falls
Dreams
Sorcerer
Gold Dust Woman
Fall From Grace
Rhiannon
Landslide
Edge of Seventeen
Encores: Love Is
Rock & Roll
As the Rod Stewart multi colored soul train curtain rose, it unveiled his huge stage set up. It was a sixties style decor with three video screens, including a tremendous high def one in the center. He was backed by a full 13 piece band (2 guitarist, bass player, keyboardist & two drummers) all dressed in early Beatles style jackets & ties. There were three female back up dancer/ singers, along with one of Rod’s long time sax men.
Then there were, the lovely lady musicians; the long legged blondes, the German Katja Rieckermann on sax & Zoltana Karen on trumpet. The beautiful J'Anna Jacoby who is a fantastic musician, played the violin & mandolin. All the ladies were decked out in short red frilly miniskirts & spiked high heels. It was a very impressive stage show to say the least, something out of a Las Vegas extravaganza.
Rod Stewart was full of life, dancing around, kicking his legs, & shaking his little butt across the stage. He hammed it up as the women in the crowd went wild for him. He has an incredible following, and myself being more of a casual fan, was amazed at the support he received. Remember this was the second sell out (or close to a sell out) show the two put on in the last two weeks at the Garden. In these economic times, that’s pretty impressive.
The crowd took over the vocals on many of the big hits, as Rod led the Garden crowd in giant sing alongs. Rod Stewart’s singing voice is incredible; the classic raspy voice sounds almost the same as ever. At one point I went to the rest room & could have sworn I was hearing one of his album’s playing, his voice was that good.
The show had a soul theme around it, which if you look back, is where his roots began just as much as his rock & blues did. He did a lot of the slower love songs, as well as a bunch of cover songs.
He seemed to get away a bit from the older blues rock stuff from his Jeff Beck, Ron Wood, Faces days. That’s the Rod Stewart I like best, but don’t get me wrong he has had an incredible career with a lot of good songs throughout it. That’s why he has sold over 100 million records & is one of the most successful artists of all time. I must say though, I can’t understand why a man with such a huge personal library of good stuff does so many cover songs???
His hair was looking as perfectly Rod as ever, & his flashy wardrobe consisted of a everything from a gold jacket to a shiny blue jacket & tight black pants. The topper was a purple suit during the final set of songs. At one point his young son came up on stage & mumbled a few words, his wife Penny Lancaster-Stewart was present as well. By the way, Rod is also the proud parent of a newborn and flashed his picture on the screen as well.
He dedicated a song to all the serviceman fighting in the world, pointing out how America & Britain are allies once again. He also dedicated You’re In My Heart to all the people he met at Dempsey’s bar earlier in the day watching his Celtic United football team play. (Imagine what that scene was like!) And yes, he still kicks soccer balls out into the crowd, at least a dozen were booted out.
It was quite a night a great double bill, that was worth the price of admission. In case your wondering, we had great seats Section 61 left side of stage, just a few rows up.
set list: Love Train
Tonight’s the Night
Having A Party
Duet with Stevie Nicks: Young Turks/ Leather & Lace
First Cut Is the Deepest
Forever Young
Some Guys Have All the Luck
Twisting the Night Away
Downtown Train
Reason to Believe
You’re In My Heart (The Final Acclaim)
Sweet Little Rock& Roller
Rhythm of My Heart
Knock on Wood (female singer took lead)
Have I Told You Lately That I Love You
Hot Legs
Maggie Mae
Encore: Do Ya Think I’m Sexy
Her band consisted of the usual members, headed by long time musical director Waddy Wachtel donning a John Lennon New York City t-shirt. They were as always tight, polished & powerful. Stevie’s backup singers; the lovely Sharon Celani (who’s been with her for thirty years) & sister in law Lori Nicks, once again did a fantastic job of accompanying Stevie’s songs. 
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