CALGARY - Rod Stewart has always been a confident showman.
But he has also been able to back up his full-sized ego with one of rock's most soulful voices.
It's that voice which caught the ear of late bluesman Long John Baldry, who asked Stewart to sing backup in his band after seeing the young performer drunkenly busking in a London Tube station.
It was that voice that helped lead British soul-rockers The Faces into music history, as well making Stewart a solo star with such memorable hits as Maggie May, You Wear It Well and The First Cut is the Deepest.
Unfortunately, that voice isn't what it once was.
The 64-year-old's trademark sexy rasp is now more of a scratchy growl.
But man formerly known as Rod the Mod was still able to impress a crowd of about 10,000 who took in his 90-minute set at the Saddledome last night.
Though his voice lacked the power of his early years, Stewart possesses such an insouciant charm that it's almost impossible not to enjoy his performance.
Fans were on their feet the moment spiky-haired Stewart kicked off the first song of the night, Some Guys Have All the Luck.
Stewart is a legendary entertainer and last night he did not disappoint.
Wearing a shiny, light blue jacket, smart black pants and ridiculous gold shoes, Stewart shimmied and shook his way across the stage as he serenaded the audience with some of his biggest hits and several covers, including the First Cut is the Deepest, It's a Heartache, Rhythm of My Heart and This Old Heart of Mine.
The latter song was a perfect example of what kind of vibe Stewart was going for. He's never been one to hide his love for Motown and there were many elements of the show that paid homage to the classic Detroit sound.
The backdrop of white drapes and the uncluttered, white stage and instruments, as well as the backing band's tasteful matching outfits brought to mind the stage set ups of Motown performances.
Stewart's three female back-up singers were clad in '60s style mini-dresses and had choreographed stage moves in the vein of The Supremes.
And during This Old Heart of Mine, a massive screen showed images of some of Stewart's inspirations, including The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder and The Jackson 5.
But Stewart didn't disappoint the thousands of fans who wanted to hear his pop and rock hits. An extended version of Downtown Train and mellowed-out Tonight's the Night had fans singing along at the top of their lungs.
Thankfully, he stayed clear of songs from his Great American Songbook CDs, at least by press time. Some of those shmaltzy ballads would have completely stopped the otherwise well-paced concert in its tracks.
Stewart can be a bit of a ham onstage and he sometimes ran the risk of coming across as a Vegas hack. But as close as he got, he never did cross that line.
Still, Stewart has always been about having a good time on stage. Especially during the heyday of The Faces when he and guitarist Ronnie Wood would basically turn their stage into a pub. Though far less booze soaked than during his early days, Stewart still knows how to throw a party for his devoted fans.
Stewart's vast collection of songs meant he could have probably played an hour longer, but instead he drafted in Australian duo The Kin for warm-up duties.
Brothers Isaac and Thorry Koren share vocal duties and have a knack for great harmonies, though their music is fairly generic, middle-of-the-road pop/rock.
They were joined by a touring bass player and drummer and at one point they dragged out a digeridoo to the amusement of the crowd.
I'm pretty certain I've never seen that instrument played at a Saddledome rock show before and not sure if I'll see another one there unless Xavier Rudd starts selling a lot more CDs.
The Kin's more memorable tracks -- Abraham and Animals -- had a little bit of bite, but just enough to make them accessible for mainstream radio.
