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WINNIPEG - You know who wears it well?
Rod Stewart wears it well; the years, the silly haircuts, heck, for the first few numbers of his stellar show at MTS Centre last night, Rod the Mod even managed to look dapper in a shiny black tartan blazer. Not too shabby for a dude in his 60s.
But most of all, Stewart proved that he's still got the chops to mount a rousing rock 'n' roll extravaganza, even if it is stacked with hits he wrote when he was a much younger man.
Course, Stewart's storied back catalogue has probably proven his biggest ally in avoiding the pitfalls that can lay claim to performers "of a certain age," particularly those who forget their older fans show up at concerts expecting to hear the songs they remember from their youth.
So while Stewart could have insisted on playing tracks from his latest album -- a tepid collection of classic rock covers -- he instead kept the focus on his own collection of classics, delivering a lively two-hour spectacle that was at once nostalgic and completely fresh.
First, a word about the stage set-up. As befits a star of Stewart's stature, last night's show was an in-the-round affair, giving all 11,500 fans in attendance a clear view of Rod and his eight-piece backing band (and three back-up singers). Extending from two sides of the circular stage were arc-shaped walkways that allowed Rod to get up close and personal with those in the front rows.
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And that's precisely what he did, as soon as a group of bagpipers finished heralding his entrance. Clad in the aforementioned flashy jacket (his bandmates all wore tartan, too) Stewart played to virtually every corner of the room with his opening number You Wear It Well.
He sounded a bit raspier than usual for the first few bars, but we're not gonna nit-pick -- Stewart's sandpapery croon is one of his trademarks, after all. Besides, he had so much audience goodwill on his side, he needed only glance backward for a few seconds to elicit frenzied squeals from those in the crowd.
Pausing intermittently for solos from his guitarist, his sexy sax player, and at one point, both his drummers, Stewart tore through Reason To Believe, Infatuation, and the Temptations' cover I Know I'm Losing You, before slowing things down with the Cat Stevens gem Father & Son, during which old photos of Stewart and his dad were flashed on the giant video screens flanking the stage.
And though he paused for an intermission halfway through the set (not to mention a couple costume changes), Stewart kept the hits coming at a steady clip.
As press time rolled around, Stewart was gamely executing a few dance moves to the opening strains of the disco-rocker Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?
The answer to that one is still a firm no, but after seeing Rod work his magic in person, we can definitely see what all the fuss is about.