Spare the Rod and spoil the show?
Not on a Saturday night at the first of two Rod Stewart performances, where the rock icon was generous with a greatest-hits set featuring the songs that have helped him sell out Madison Square Garden a whopping 42 times.
That number is testament to the mutual affection between New Yorkers and the shaggy-haired singer. Stewart, 66, wears it well — to quote his song. Tan and thin, he hardly showed his years, moving to the music with a hipster’s cool that was more athletic grace than dancing. There was no more rust in his voice at this gig than there was 20 years ago.
Stewart is still a chick magnet. The audience was dominated by girls . . . young and old — who definitely loved the music, but gave lusty cheers when he mentioned the birth of his 6-week-old son Aiden — with model Penny Lancaster. If you ask Stewart what’s worn under the kilt, he’d tell you nothing, everything is in working order.
Jokes aside, Stewart is in terrific shape, and he’s a shrewd entertainer who creates concert excitement by intertwining his signature tunes like “Forever Young,” “Maggie May” and “Hot Legs” with sizzling covers of Sam Cooke’s “Having a Party” and Cat Stevens’ “The First Cut Is the Deepest.”
Add to that concert-craft tricks for show momentum like inviting opening act Stevie Nicks (who looks great and has a new record dropping May 3) to join him for a mini duet set.
Treating the show as an ensemble effort, Stewart was gracious, giving each member of his 13-piece band room to move. Everyone, even the mandolin plucker, got center-stage time to show off some serious solo skills.
Stewart’s one gimmick, which he’s enjoyed for years, is when he kicks signed soccer balls into the crowd from the stage. At this show, the balls started flying during “Hot Legs.” When it comes to kicking, Rod’s no wimp. Yeah, he slow-tossed a few balls to the girls in party dresses camped out on the rail stage right, but he mostly kicked for distance, with some shots getting to the nosebleed seats.
Nicks, Stewart and the bag of soccer balls return to the Garden on April 6, but rumors are buzzing about the possibility of Stewart joining up with his pal and former bandmate Jeff Beck, when Beck plays the Beacon tonight.