After a long cold winter it was finally time for a week full of adventure. My trip started off with my flight to Las Vegas to see 3 Rod Stewart Shows. April 1st Friday, was my first show. Rod has brought me together with so many thoughtful and caring people that I âam so proud to know. I usually wear an orange shirt while sitting in my favorite section; it seems that Rod has noticed me many times. Rod must think I donât have any other clothes, but all the money Iâve spent on his tickets they should be hanging in my closet. If one of us needs something we all try to spread the word to help that person out. I myself was able to help two dear friends with acquiring a few tickets so it was possible for all of us to sit together. This is all because of one special man, Thank you Rod!!
The time was near, the venue was filling up. It was now time for Rodâs show. Some of his opening numbers were âSome guys have all the Luckâ, âHaving a partyâ, âDowntown Trainâ, âTonightâs the Nightâ, and my favorite, âForever Youngâ. Rod seemed to be in a very energetic mood. He looked great as Always. He at one point wore a black and white jacket that looked terrific on him. He was asking the audience which jacket the audience liked better and changed to the better looking jacket, he wanted our opinion.
I was hoping that Rod would sing, âCanât Stop me Nowâ, what a remarkable song. Half way through the show Rod sat down and sang slower songs. Which consisted of âThe First Cut is the Deepestâ, âHave I told you latelyâ, âYouâre In My Heartâ. Rod took a little stroll through the audience, while he was singing. After that we knew what was coming, âHot Legsâ and he started kicking soccer balls. My friend Gilles was next to me he was very lucky to catch one. âMaggie Mayâ, was the second to the last song on the agenda. Which was followed by, âDo you think Iâm Sexyâ, and balloons fell from the ceiling.
After the show many of the fans gathered in the food court; after a while Di Reed from the Band came over and took a few pictures with us. I asked if I could have a picture with her she said of course. Di told me that I looked good out there and that said “Rod does know you and wants to thank you for supporting all of us”, That made my vacation, my week, my year etc.⌠Thank you Rod!! I told her that I hope to meet him someday and that Iâve been a fan of the bandâs since 1976 and have been to more than 200 shows!
April 2nd Saturday, what a show. A great deal of the fans had arrived by now; we knew what a great show this was going to be. The audience was filled with Green and White color all over, the Celtic supporters were here. Rod mentioned that there were a lot of Celtic fans here tonight and that his wife Penny was here too. At one point he invited all the Celtic fans to come sit on the stage steps, and at the end of the song he asked us to go back to our seats. I spotted her singing a lot with her husband what a great time that was. This show was very energetic, and totally sold out, the fans were on their feet all night.
April 5 the Final show of this run was great. The Rod Stewart fans were all lined up in front of the stage. So many people had traveled such a far distance to see Rod in Las Vegas. We all spoke of where we were from, and how long it took us to get here. I spoke to some fans from Italy and Belgium, they said the trip in all is about 24 hours long. Even Rod himself during the show said I have a question âHow many of you are from Las Vegas? âNot too many hands went up.
As the show started, Rod sang, âSome Guys Have All the Luckâ followed by, âHaving a Partyâ. The audience was singing and clapping throughout the show. This was a very energetic crowd. During the show Rod said to the band that they messed up but in different words. He was laughing. He did this twice. Then he said, go back to the beginning, while he was laughing. Rod wore a blueish suit with gold buttons that looked great on him, what doesnât. Jimmy on Saxophone was terrific, he was playing right in front of us. At one point, he gave a drum stick to a fan next to me, who was so happy. I told her she should try to get it signed. I myself have a signed drum stick from Carmine Appice, who I met this year in New York. Rod did sing a song called, âAngelâ that everyone loved. He doesnât sing this too much, but it sounded great.
It was now time for Rod to sit down and sing some slow songs. This set consisted of, âFirst cut is the deepestâ, âHave I told you latelyâ, and a few others. Rod was sitting on a plastic stool; then he said âit is broken and crackedâ, He told us donât say anything be good. Rod Said, that the stool will go to one of his fans later. Well we all knew who that was Yes, Manny. Rod then asked Manny to come up to the stage. He asked âManny how many shows have you been too?â Manny said âOver 260 great showsâ. As the show, ended Jean was walking in the theater with the stool. I asked her if I can take a picture of it, she said of course and took one for me. Thanks Jean and good luck with your new furniture.
Rod took a little stroll out in the audience, singing and saying Hello to the fans as he was picking up scarfs and flowers along the way. The time has come for âHot legsâ so we all were getting into position, to try to catch a ball. At one point my friend Gilles, called out Rodney to Rod, and Rod threw a ball right to him. I was so happy for Gilles, he travels so far to see Rodâs shows. Gilles also had a book for Rod, but was not able to get it to him I said, âDonât worry there will be another chanceâ. Rod said âThere will be a few more songs to comeâ. This was a fantastic week for 3 Rod Stewart shows, and spending the precious time I had with my Rod friendâs was amazing!
The song, âDo you think I am sexyâ, started and I motioned for Rod to sign my book, that I brought for a dear friend of mine Rick Larrimore a Rod Stewart tribute singer. But Rod turned to me, and said I canât, I am singing. Oh well, I will try next time, At least Rod spoke to me. I will never forget that! Now we all need to get back home to work and make money for our next adventure.
New York FOREVER FAN BARBARA HOLLAND
April 8 Lorenzoâs Hilton Hotel Staten Island NY
Rick Larrimore/Rod Stewart/ Blondes show
This was a fantastic event that we were looking forward to going too. A trip to Staten Island, NY for Maureen and I. She has been planning this for a while. I was away attending 3 Rod Stewart shows out in Las Vegas. We had seats at the first table, the place was beautiful. The food was great. Rick really knows how to pick the place. The stage was very close to us, which we like and are used too.
The Music sounded great, Rickâs opening song was âLove Boatâ, as his intro then, âTonight the nightâ, followed by, âFooled Around and fell in Loveâ, âStay with meâ and, âI donât wanna to talk about itâ which was dedicated to Maureen, and Myself by Rick. He said, âThis goes out to his two biggest, Rod Stewart fans in the world.â He then asked, me how many concerts we have attend and we said, over hundreds.
Rick then called Maureen up on the stage, to show her tattoo of Rod to everyone and they all applauded. Rick sang, âTwisting the night awayâ, which is one of my favorite songs. His set included, âHot Legsâ, âTonightâs the Nightâ, and âSweet little Rock n Rollerâ. One song that both Maureen and I love that Rick does fabulous is called, âSweet Lorettaâ, which he wrote himself. We had the privilege to have him sing this song to us at an after party given by Maureen. Rick has a part of his show where he gives out his hotel room key to a lucky lady. Well it pays off. Well in this case we gave him ours to come to the party, we were lucky enough that the whole band and Lisa also came to. We all had a great night into the wee hours of the morning, Thanks Rick and Lisa. We talked about the 3 Rod Stewart shows that I just came back from, that same week. We hope that Rick and the band will get to Las Vegas to see Rod perform.
I want to thanks all the members of Rickâs band for attending our party you are all are great performers. Thank You!
New Yorkâs Barbara Holland, Maureen Gale
Reviews By Barbra Holland
Photos By Barbra Holland
Montage By Tommy Kevitt
