Author: Urban Bolta
Photos: Tadej Bolta
Location: Zagreb / Arena Zagreb / Croatia
Concert date: 02.02.2018
Attendance: 10,000
Rod Stewart is the first big musical name to visit our (wider) region in the 2018 calendar year. His Zagreb show was announced with a hefty promo campaign, and central Slovenia was plastered with billboards in the months leading up to the event, so it’s no wonder that, despite a snowstorm and traffic chaos, plenty of fans of his music headed for the Croatian capital on the first Friday evening of February. Rod Stewart had never played in Slovenia, and the gig in our southern neighbor was actually his first ever in the region.
Rod Stewart is among the handful of greatest musical performers on the planet. He shaped the British music scene of the sixties and seventies, first as part of The Faces, later as a solo artist. He’s passed the test of time, outlived many of his contemporaries, smashed more than a few sales records and, most importantly, even after more than half a century of career, his work and persona are still appealing enough for him to play the biggest venues with ease. His latest album, »Another Country«, came out two and a half years ago, and he has already finished the tours supporting it, so in Zagreb we could look forward to a night full of evergreen hits.
The inside of Arena Zagreb wasn’t completely full yet when, a little after eight in the evening, the curtain dropped and the opening motifs of classical and traditional Scottish music gave way to the soul-inspired tune Soul Finger. With it, the ten-piece backing band of seasoned musicians introduced themselves, before handing center stage over to the star of the night with the song Infatuation. Now it’s on!
The staging itself was similar to what we saw four years ago in Vienna. Twelve big trucks parked outside the hall testified to a major touring production, which was nonetheless not oversized and fit nicely into the overall concert look. Big screens at the back of the stage provided the visuals, thematically woven into the songs being played. During Rhythm of My Heart, the crowd cheered along to footage of Stewart’s knighthood ceremony, when he received his title from the British royal court three years ago for his services to music.
The stage dynamics were incredible! You’d hardly guess Rod Stewart was 73. He sang now on one side of the stage, now on the other, constantly keeping in touch with the audience, whom he addressed several times throughout the show. The mood wasn’t spoiled even by a nutcase in the front rows who kept yelling Stewart’s name, so that during one of the breaks the singer shut him up with the words: »Be quiet already and go yell some other name, like Elton John«. The sequence of events was carefully choreographed. During shorter instrumental passages, when the drums took the spotlight, then a harp and a saxophone, Stewart had enough time backstage to catch his breath and change into a new outfit. With extravagant clothes like these, the glamour stays high!
The crowd on the floor, where the seats were, watched the show on their feet from the first second. For the expected acoustic set in the middle of the show, Stewart sat them down, saying the seats were probably outrageously expensive and they should make use of them. The jokey self-irony was followed by a minor slip-up when, introducing The First Cut Is the Deepest, he couldn’t remember who wrote it (Cat Stevens). Then came more emotionally intense moments with the ballads I Don’t Want to Talk About It and Have I Told You Lately, with which he once conquered the radio charts (and the hearts of countless girls). The stripped-down approach and organic sound showed off the superb team of backing musicians who gave Stewart a safe haven onstage. Even though his voice is well preserved for his age, he left the most famous tunes to the thousands of throats beneath the stage.
Two of his own hits, Maggie May and Baby Jane, carried the get-together into the final stretch, where Stewart, as usual, added fuel to the fire by kicking signed footballs into the crowd. He once had to choose between a career as a professional footballer and as a musician. We know how that turned out, but the sporting background clearly helps keep him in great shape too, since he powered through an almost two-hour spectacle with the drive of someone with a couple of decades less on his shoulders.
Sailing with Rod Stewart lived up to every expectation. Even though he played our region for the first time only in the autumn of his life, the wait wasn’t in vain! With his soulful power, he effortlessly made time and space vanish for a moment – it was a musical voyage that only Rod Stewart can deliver. It was another concert highlight. No more, no less than that!
Setlist
1. Soul Finger
2. Infatuation
3. Having a Party
4. Some Guys Have All the Luck
5. Young Turks
6. Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)
7. It’s a Heartache
8. Forever Young
9. Rhythm of My Heart
10. Downtown Train
11. The First Cut Is the Deepest
12. I Don’t Want to Talk About It
13. You’re in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)
14. Have I Told You Lately
15. Proud Mary
16. People Get Ready
17. Maggie May
18. Baby Jane
19. Stay With Me
20. Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?
21. Sailing
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22. Enjoy Yourself (It’s Later Than You Think)
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